Ian Kitson, Director, Cheffins comments: “This next catalogue offers a variety of income-producing assets throughout East Anglia, with the commercial and mixed-use lots demonstrating the long-term mixture of rental yield and capital growth that buyers are currently looking for. Commercial property is increasingly a go-to vehicle for those looking to add to self-invested personal pensions and we have seen a marked increase in this type of investor in the auction space, particularly as savings accounts continue to report low returns across the board.”
Those looking to increase SIPP holdings will be attracted to the headline lot of the day which is an attractive commercial building on White Lion Street, Norwich, which is fully let to Moss Bros Group Plc. The Grade II listed building includes sales areas over the first two floors, as well as kitchen and staff rooms on the third floor and storage in the cellar, stretching to a total of 460 sqm. It currently commands a rent of £80,000 per annum, is available on a freehold basis, and carries an estimate of £950,000+. Another retail investment opportunity is a building on Newmarket High Street which includes ground and first floor retail units, producing £36,000 per annum, and lapsed planning permission for a seven-bedroom House of Multiple Occupancy on the upper floors. This building is currently let to The Little Beauty Box salon and The Lancer Indian restaurant and is available, freehold, for £470,000. There are also mixed-use properties available in Baldock, Wisbech and March.
Ian Kitson, Director, Cheffins says: “The success of the July auction with its 100 per cent sale rate goes to show that it is business as usual for the majority of investors in the market with a continued demand for property across the region. There has also been an increase in the number of residential lots on offer which are sure to draw both investors and first-time buyers, who are presently particularly active in the market due to the stamp duty holiday. The smaller residential options available will be good opportunities for buy-to-let investors, allowing greater yields due to smaller outlays following the changes to stamp duty rules.”
On the residential side, there are five houses available across the Eastern region. On Wetenhall Road in Cambridge an end-terrace, three-bedroom house needing full refurbishment is on offer with an estimate of £365,000; whilst a pretty Grade II listed thatched cottage in Hundon, Suffolk also in need of updating has a guide price of £200,000. Also available is a two-bedroom flat in Saffron Walden, a semi-detached three-bedroom house in Hardwick and a two-bedroom garden flat in Royston.
For those looking for an unusual opportunity there is a former chapel in the popular village of Aspley Guise, near Milton Keynes. It sits in 0.11 acres and offers change of use and development potential, subject to planning permission. This has an estimate of £220,000.
In the land section, the most valuable lot is 13.68 acres of Grade 2 arable land at Doddington near March. This is in a strategic edge of village location and has an estimate of £110,000. Another land lot is 14.11 acres at Witchford, near Ely which is laid totally to grassland and has an estimate of £90,000. There is also a small parcel of woodland in Ashdon and 3.66 acres of arable land at Walpole St Andrews, Wisbech.
The Cheffins July sale grossed £1,711,000 with a 100 percent sale rate. Cheffins’ property auction generated around £10,000,000 in the previous 12 months, throughout the East Anglia and Mid Anglia regions.
The auction will take place on Wednesday 16th September from 2pm at Cheffins, Clifton House, 1&2 Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA and online at https://www.cheffins.co.uk/property-auctions.htm