CPBigwood 4 July commercial and residential property auction achieves £8,028,50017th July 2013

Bidders pushed out the boat on a series of Canal & River Trust properties, which came before CPBigwood’s latest auction on 4 July.

The Trust – formerly British Waterways – brought four forward at this month’s sale at the Holte Suite, Aston Villa.
They were part of a strong selection of vacant retail, office and industrial buildings across the Midlands and beyond.

The most impressive Trust result was land and buildings at Peartree Lane, Dudley, let to a pallet business. From a reserve of £28,000 the hammer came down at £78,000 – 179 per cent over.

1-3 Bridgnorth Road, Compton, Wolverhampton, a freehold canalside restaurant investment opportunity with redevelopment potential, currently a Chinese takeaway trading as Tiger Wok, was snapped up prior to auction.

A freehold industrial investment at Lath Lane, off Spon Lane, Smethwick, bounded by the Birmingham Canal Wolverhampton Level and beside an elevated section of the M5 motorway, with a guide price of £50,000, sold for £53,000. And Unit One, Holly Park Industrial Estate, Erdington, a modern freehold warehouse investment, let to a painting company, with a guide of £110,000, sold for £115,000.

Overall, the auction saw 98 lots offered - 68 were sold, 70 per cent of the total. The sale brought in £8,028,500.

All lots on behalf of local authorities went along with 81 per cent of vacant residential lots and 85 per cent of commercial investments.

Jonathan Hackett, partner and head of auctions for CPBigwood, said: “It was another successful outcome. The auction room was packed and there was brisk bidding.”

Three former children’s homes produced an excellent response – 143 Kings Lodge, Kingstanding Road, Kingstanding, a two storey complex built in the 1970s, sold for £305,000 against a reserve of £200,000, 52.5 per cent ahead; 7 Chamberlain Road, Kings Heath, a substantial 14 bedroom detached house, came in at £370,000, 32 per cent above the reserve; and 6 Victoria Avenue, Halesowen, a substantial 1920s seven bedroom detached property, reached £335,000, up on its guide price.

The leisure sector was again prominent. The Cleveland Arms, Shrewsbury Road, High Ercall, Shropshire, a village pub with living accommodation, also incorporating a bowling green with pavilion, the home of Ercall Magna Bowling Club, produced a sale prior to auction for an undisclosed amount. Meanwhile 113 Ladypool Road and 180-182 Ombersley Road, Sparkbrook, a cracking opportunity to develop two restaurants in the Balti Belt, hit £386,000, 157 per cent over the reserve.

There was strong trade for residential properties with plenty of interest in 3 Anchorage Road, Sutton Coldfield, a four bedroom detached, which sold for £370,000, 35 per cent above the reserve.

Other highlights were 78 Shirley Road, Acocks Green, a mid-terrace, sold at £130,000, 86 per cent up on its reserve; 32 Fisher Road, Walsall, a semi-detached, £59,000, 34 per cent better; 130 Pershore Road, Edgbaston, a substantial four-bedroom detached, £250,000, 67 per cent up; 33 Kenelm Road, Small Heath, another mid-terrace, £87,000, 45 per cent over; 6 Beaconsfield Avenue, Parkfields, Wolverhampton, a semi-detached bungalow, £66,500, 51 per cent above; and 106 Whitehill Lane, Northfield, a semi-detached, £117,000, a 72 per cent improvement.