Commercial Auctions - Allsop Auction Reviews
Transcription
Commercial Auctions - Allsop Auction Reviews
Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 Contents 1 2015 update 2 Auction results 3 2015 commercial auction market 4 Property analysis 5 Market notes 6 Vendor analysis 7 Buyer analysis 8 2015 auction sale highlights 9 Reasons to sell and buy at auction 10 Outlook for 2016 11 Expert views 12 Forthcoming auction dates for 2016 www.allsop.co.uk 2015 update Auction results Figures for 2012–2015 Current Totals (£) and Success Rates (%). In our Summer Review we cited strength of demand coupled with a shortage of supply as being the main drivers of capital growth. These factors, together with the improving outlook on rental levels, prolonged low interest rates, global stock market volatility and recent pension reforms, have all helped our clients achieve total sales of £449 million in 2015 and an overall 90% success rate, our highest annual success rate in a decade. Since the summer we have conducted two auctions. Our October auction, held over two days, raised £110m reflecting a success rate of 88%. It was the largest property auction held in the UK since our October 2014 auction with the well let and well located properties, as well as those where value could be added, all again benefitting from the greatest competition with 70% of all lots sold in the room achieving above their reserves. Office investments with development potential saw particularly strong competition following the announcement, prior to the auction, that Permitted Development Rights are to be made permanent. Our December auction largely mirrored our October sale with similar trends. £63m was raised reflecting a success rate of 89% whilst 73% of all the lots sold in the room were sold above their reserves. February March May July October December 2015 £37m 92% £70m 91% £71m 90% £98m 93% £110m 88% £63m 87% 2014 £40m 93% £80m 87% £90m 88% £111m 87% £134m 88% £84m 89% 2013 £43m 95% £57m 85% £59m 85% £58m 82% £84m 91% £82m 87% 2012 £44m 85% £46m 81% £58m 76% £63m 83% £90m 84% £48m 86% Source: Allsop Auction Data, February – December Figures. Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 Total Raised Lots Sold Success Rate 2015 £449m 791 90% 2014 £539m 872 88% 2013 £383m 715 87% 2012 £349m 688 82% www.allsop.co.uk Estates Gazette Media: Edition: Date: Page: 2015 commercial auction market The UK’s No.1 Property Auctioneer : Media : Edition Date: Page: January to December 2015 Sales and Success Rates 2, Friday 30 {Main} Property We ek {Main} Friday 18, December 2015 17 ember 2015 Saturday 12, Dec 37 in} ek {Ma rty We Prope Media: Edition: Date: Page: r 2015 e Octob £450m 90% Media: Edition: Date: Page: Property Week {Main} Friday 23, October 2015 23 £287m 91% COPYRIG HT: This cuttin g is repro duced by digital repro Gorkana duction or under licen forwarding ce from the is permitted NLA, CLA except unde Article Page or other copy r license from 1 of 1 right owne the NLA, A23807 r. No furth www.nla.c 14 er copying o.uk (for news (including papers) CLA, the printing of digital cuttin www.cla.c o.uk (for book gs), s and maga zines) or other copy right body £74m 89% £71m 80% £61m 88% £12m 93% Allsop Commercial Acuitus Barnett Ross Pugh Lambert Smith Hampton Osborne King £11m 75% the printing of digital cuttings), from the NLA, CLA or other copyright owner. No further copying (including COPYRIGHT: This cutting is reproduced by Gorkana under licence (for books and magazines) or other copyright body. from the NLA, www.nla.co.uk (for newspapers) CLA, www.cla.co.uk digital reproduction or forwarding is permitted except under license Eddisons London Article Page 1 of 1 gs), g of digital cuttin g (including the printin copyright body. No further copyin copyright owner. magazines) or other NLA, CLA or other .uk (for books and licence from the ) CLA, www.cla.co by Gorkana under .uk (for newspapers cutting is reproduced NLA, www.nla.co the This T: from e RIGH licens COPY tted except under permi is rding forwa or digital reproduction A23807 - 14 1 Article Page 1 of Source: EI Group Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 . gs), dy. l cuttin right bo of digita er copy inting ) or oth g the pr gazines (includin and ma pying s co ok r bo the (for r. No fur .co.uk ne cla ow w. ht copyrig CLA, ww or other papers) r news A, CLA .uk (fo the NL w.nla.co ce from A, ww r licen the NL na unde se from Gorka en by lic r uced pt unde reprod d exce tting is permitte This cu rding is RIGHT: or forwa COPY uction - 14 reprod A23807 digital of 1 Page 1 Article A23807 - 14 Property analysis Sector distribution 2013 to 2015 Regional distribution 2013 to 2015 The year saw a significant increase in the percentage of retail investments sold, increasing to 68% of the total realisation, from 58% in 2014. This represents £302 million of disposals and 75% of the volume of sales. The breakdown of these investments include £71 million of national High Street retail investments, £46 million of investments let to banks and over £29 million of convenience stores. Improved levels of economic activity will often be mirrored by improved interest in the industrial sector, and this was evidenced by a 13% increase in the value of lots sold, despite a slightly lower volume. Despite the lower volumes in the commercial catalogue, the office sector remained strong. Perhaps the main change was the route to market. As a result of the extension of PDR a larger number have been offered in our residential catalogue, in order to access the specialist pool of buyers in this fast evolving marketplace. The South East and London jointly accounted for 50% of the total value of sales in 2015 (£219 million), no change from 2014. The number of lots in London however eased, despite exceptional demand. Holders of Central London assets will have benefitted from the strong investment in the capital, but there seems to have been little appetite for profit-taking. Overall there was negligible variation in volume, with 55 properties selling (raising £68m) 14 of which were sold with consent for residential conversion. Volumes, in the majority of regions showed, as a percentage of the whole, signs of improvement. Purchasers have been shifting 80% 40% 70% 35% 60% 30% 50% 25% 40% 20% 30% 15% 20% 10% 10% 5% 0% Retail Offices % by Value 2013 Leisure Industrial % by Value 2014 Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 Misc % by Value 2015 Ground Rents Motor Trade Retail Warehouse Medical 0% South East London % by Value 2013 www.allsop.co.uk North West South West % by Value 2014 East Anglia their sights away from the competitive South East, in the hunt for better returns. Regional sales accounted for £230 million of the total sales, making up 65% of the total volume. Average lot sizes in the South East continued to improve, rising to £790,000 from a 4-year average of £680,000. West Midlands % by Value 2015 East Midlands Wales Scotland N. Ireland Property analysis continued Market notes Yield analysis 2006 to 2015 For years buy-to-let has been a staple investment choice for those looking to generate healthy income on their savings. caught short for coffee or milk, so demand is typically stable so long as the location is right to begin with. However, George Osborne’s double whammy of tax changes on ‘buy-to-let’ in 2015 have reduced the viability of the sector for many. Mortgage interest will no longer be deductible from tax from 2017. Investments for higher-rate taxpayers with mortgage interest above 75% of their rent will become loss-making. Location is also key to finding the opportunities outside the ‘safe havens’ of London and the South East. Looking at the range of single-let retail investments sold “under the hammer” (a sample of over 3,000 transactions totalling £1.6 billion since 2006) we categorise the assets into A-grade and B-grade investments, depending on the quality of the tenant, the length of income and the location. We can observe the narrow fluctuation in the A-grade yields, between 5.0% and 6.5% over the whole 10 year period. The yield stability of the better quality investments, even in times of significant economic upheaval is clear. This is undeniably the result of low interest rates and Quantitative Easing. This is made even clearer when viewed against the more risky B-grade range, which has much greater volatility, and therefore a spread of 6% to 10%. Historically, there was a link between borrowing costs and investment yields, given the ready availability of bank finance to the sector. This link was broken by the financial crisis, as purchasers were unable to borrow, and for the last 5 years the cash buyer has predominated. As the lending climate gradually improves we may see this link reinstated. Returns to savers holding cash, will continue however, to be modest even as rates improve. The demand for the higher yields available in the real estate sector is, in our view unlikely to soften in the mid-term. hi/lo range with 5-year swap rate (monthly average) COMMERCIAL AUCTION RESULTS–2006 to date On the commercial front, there are many assets available at auction that offer stability of income. The results show that even un-fashionable areas can contain properties that provide a good quality rental income. The well placed unit in a less attractive area can support a thriving business, which in turn supports the payment of rent. 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 2007 A-Grade 2008 B-Grade Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 2009 For example a £500,000 purchase price of a ‘buy-to-let’ property will attract £30,000 stamp duty whereas on a commercial investment stamp duty will only be levied at £8,750. While the capital gain of residential property is still a key attraction, commercial property has the potential to generate far more attractive returns while requiring less day-to-day management. Overall Retail Investment Yield 0% 2006 With the Chancellor also adding a 3% increase on stamp duty for all second properties from April, buy-to-let is no longer the attractive investment it once was. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Convenience stores for example have offered stable investment income at auction over the past few years, with yields steady at around 6%, which has not changed in 5 years. Betting shops or banks may make cost savings by moving online, but a convenience store’s main selling point of being convenient will ensure a need for a physical presence. People will always be 5 year swap % www.allsop.co.uk At a headline level, one of the more stable regions has been the South West. With nearly a third of the region’s population living in the countryside, local businesses are able to tap into a pool of affluent local customers. While other types of retail are more susceptible to the threat of online shopping, the older generation’s preference to go to a shop – and the fact that banking and shopping for many people still requires a physical foothold – has ensured stability in this area. Additionally poor transport links in rural areas in Devon and Cornwall make local pubs, restaurants and post offices more likely to serve as a focal point for a local community, thereby ensuring continuing custom. For those still considering residential, there is plenty of value in converting commercial space. The government’s extension of Permitted Development Rights (PDR) to allow conversions without the need for full planning permission has seen big demand for offices at auction in recent years. Shrewd investors will be keeping an eye out for light industrial and launderette lots, which now also come under the PDR. However the lesson of the last year is that for those willing to leave the emotion of home ownership at the door, buying a commercial property for investment at auction could prove a lucrative option. Vendor analysis A selection of our clients The Property Company vendor – i.e. a multiple asset owner, without external shareholders – consolidated a return to the market. There is a clear opportunity to sell into a market where there continues to be lack of stock. They accounted for 65% of sales (£290 million of asset disposals) an increase over the 2014 figure of 59%. In contrast, the volume of Receivership sales continues to ease, accounting for only 7% of sales by volume (4% by value), from a 2012 peak of 30%. The smaller Private Investor also appeared to be enjoying a higher level of activity, with almost 20% of the sales volume. Improving market conditions are allowing the smaller Private Investor greater trading opportunities. There remains however ongoing pressure from lenders to sell. Corporate Vendors in the “sale and leaseback” market are still active, with portfolios from IDH and two Funeral operators, which created good interest. As economic conditions improve, some corporate vendors are perhaps under less pressure to extract value from their operational estates. There continues to be a steady supply from some corporates, selling on, as sale and leasebacks, operational properties acquired in the course of business expansion. The motivation for sale varies enormously across vendor types. However common to all is appeal of the opportunity to sell into a market, where there is clearly a shortage of stock and strong buyer demand. 70% The Forester Society 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Priv. Propco % by Value 2013 Receivers Priv. Investor % by Value 2014 Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 Corporate Institutional Trustees PLC Propco Govt. Bodies % by Value 2015 www.allsop.co.uk Buyer analysis Our regular buyer’s survey conducted at the point of exchange at the auction and now in its fourth year, has again revealed some interesting trends. We have seen a return to 2013 levels through an increase to 26% of new buyers to the auction (20% in 2014). Repeat buyers also remained high at 74% (graph a). With regard to buyers’ purchase intentions, 81% of our buyers stated their desire to buy again at auction within the next 12 months. This reflects a 10% increase in buyers sentiment over the 4 years since the inception of our survey and a good leading indicator of future demand (graph b). Once again buyers are located all over the country and indeed the globe. We have noted an increase in buyers coming from afar, (i.e. outside their home region) to purchase a property, highlighting not only our market reach but increasing confidence in the regions and a wider search for value (graph c). Buyers have indicated a fairly balanced spread with regards to how much they intend to invest. The greatest uplift in demand has been in the lower lot sizes with the £0-£250,000 band increasing to 12% (9% in 2014) and £250,000-£500,000 band increasing to 29% (23% in 2014) (graph d). Surprisingly, when there are more borrowing opportunites we have seen a marked increase in cash purchasers, an increase of 4% on 2014, the highest proportion of cash buyers since 2012 (graph e). This is an indication of buyers having larger saving pots due to economic recovery and the ongoing difficulty in securing finance for secondary property, particularly from the High Street banks. (b) Do you intend to buy another commercial (c) H ow far are you located from the property at auction in the next 12 months? property you have purchased? 82% 60% 80% 50% 78% 40% 76% 74% 30% 72% 20% 70% 10% 68% 0% 66% Yes within the next 12 months 2013 2012 (a) Have you bought a property at auction before? 2014 2015 67% 20% 30% 66% 15% 20% 65% 10% 10% 64% 5% 0% 2012 No Yes Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 2013 2014 2015 0% (e) Do you intend to use finance? 68% 25% 40% 2015 69% 30% 50% Overseas 70% 35% 60% 2014 Outside the region 71% 40% 70% In the same region 2013 2012 (d) How much do you intend to invest? 80% Within 5 miles 63% £0 - £250,000 2013 www.allsop.co.uk £250,000 £500,000 2014 2015 £500,000 £1m £1m+ 62% 2012 2013 2014 2015 % of Buyers not intending to use finance 2015 auction sale highlights February May SOLD £1,690,000 5.1% NIY SOLD £1,070,000 5.3% NIY 8.5% NIY SOLD £2,000,000 £73 PSF LOT 44 LOT 60 LOT 22 LOT 106 BECKENHAM ENFIELD CIRENCESTER GATLEY LEISURE MOTOR TRADE OFFICE OFFICE Freehold shop investment Freehold tyre fitting depot investment Let to Nando’s Chickenland Ltd at £90,875pa until 2033 (no breaks) Let to Kwik-Fit at £60,282pa with lease expiring 2027 9,986 sq ft modern office, lessees include BAe Systems and Smiths Gore, £146,064pa Let to Intervoice Ltd at £250,000pa until 2016 March Consent granted for 24 residential units July SOLD £1,240,000 SOLD £5,020,000 SOLD £1,520,000 SOLD £1,010,000 LOT 10 LOT 84 LOT 101 LOT 107 BANGOR LEWISHAM, LONDON SE13 BRISTOL FALMOUTH MULTI-LET RETAIL RETAIL Two newly built Freehold shop investments Freehold shop investment 5.6% NIY LEISURE Freehold drive-thru restaurant investment Let to McDonald’s at £73,500pa until 2025 Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 SOLD £1,620,000 5.4% NIY 5.4% NIY MIXED USE RETAIL Freehold parade of six shops and thirteen self-contained flats Let to WM Morrison until 2029 and Connells Residential until 2030 www.allsop.co.uk 7% NIY Let to Mountain Warehouse on a new 10 year lease at £75,000pa. Review 2025 2015 auction sale highlights Reasons to sell and buy at auction October Reasons to sell at a commercial auction Reasons to buy at a commercial auction 1. Market reach We have a network of more than 250,000 subscribers to our database to whom we promote every item sold – a far bigger network than any of our competitors. Public bodies disposing of assets can achieve the best price possible; sellers of high-value assets can access the widest pool of capital possible. 1. Price Many of the lots that come up at auction are being sold by organisations that need to demonstrate they have been to a wide market and secured the best possible deal. Many lots will have realistic reserve prices, so there is every chance of getting a property at an attractive price. 2. Price So far this year, on average a commercial lot at our auctions has sold for a price 14% higher than the reserve price. Setting the price at a level to appeal to buyers is the key and in the vast majority of cases, this price is soundly beaten. 2. Speed With contracts completed within a month of the successful bid, auction avoids negotiation and conveyancing processes that can often take several months. Everything has to be in place beforehand when buying at auction, making it the obvious option for those who want to get access to the commercial property market. SOLD £2,090,000 3.7% NIY SOLD £1,100,000 7.5% NIY LOT 75 LOT 105 STREATHAM, LONDON SW16 LEEDS RETAIL Freehold convenience store investment Let to Tesco Stores Ltd until 2022 at £81,759pa. INDUSTRIAL Retail Warehouse investment Let to Saint Gobain Building Distribution Ltd on a lease expiring 2023 at £87,500pa December SOLD £1,500,000 SOLD £1,100,000 LOT 77 LOT 94 HOLLOWAY LONDON N7 WIDNES 4.7% NIY RETAIL Three modern restaurants Ground Floor shop let to Boots UK Ltd at £75,000pa. Lease expires 2023 Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 7% NIY RETAIL Four modern virtual Freehold shops Let to Barnados, Subway, White Cross Vets and Bargain Booze. Whole let at £81,000pa 3. Certainty Just as importantly, auctions offer a little-fuss option for selling compared with what can be fraught and drawn out private treaty negotiation processes. Though an auction offers no guarantee that a lot will sell, it cuts out any lengthy haggling process. Once the gavel has fallen, the contract is in place: no chance of gazumping or backing out. 4. Speed The other big advantage of going through auction is the efficiency of the transactions. No other method of transacting property secures a binding contract so easily: exchange happens immediately – with completion usually 30 days later. Buyers bid unconditionally - i.e. NOT subject to survey, finance or contract. 5. Reliability By being marketed to a wider range of buyers, successful disposal is overwhelmingly the norm at auction: at Allsop 90% of lots were successfully sold in 2015. With a market share of 45% of the commercial auction market, that level of success is instructive on how likely it is that going to auction would reap rewards for your property. www.allsop.co.uk 3. Certainty and transparency When a deal is done, it’s done - and legally binding. Gazumping is the scourge of many looking to buy in competitive markets. But at auction the gavel is law: if you are the top bidder when the gavel falls, the property is yours. 4. Variety of lots With typically over 200 lots on offer at each of our six auctions a year, there is plenty of choice for those looking for commercial property in which to invest their savings. Properties range from offices to shops to pubs, many with big brand retail tenants. Some also have inherent development opportunities. Those considering commercial property can be assured of finding the widest variety of options at Allsop auctions. Outlook for 2016 Looking ahead By any measure 2015 has been a very good year for our clients and with the positive trends we saw prior to the summer being maintained at both our October and December auctions, we see no reason why the current strong market conditions will not continue well into the New Year… Having achieved our best annual success rate, in over a decade, and with 81% of our buyers declaring their intention to buy again in the next 12 months, the demand for commercial property looks set to grow. An increasing pool of investors have discovered the appeal of owning a tangible asset that can produce a decent return with a risk profile to suit their needs. Indeed many are likely to be ‘buyto-let’’ investors frustrated by the taxation changes announced in the Summer Budget and the Autumn Statement. Other investors will no doubt be using pension money following relaxation in the personal pension regime. The influence of a volatile stock market on buyers also cannot be underestimated. The supply of stock to the market is likely to increase during 2016 as some of the Private Equity Groups who purchased loan books will take the opportunity of selling into a strong market. Private individuals will also take a similar view, whilst we are also likely to see further consensual sales from borrowers who are either unable or unwilling to refinance. Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 Loan expiries and the evident strength of the market will encourage others to re-evaluate their portfolios and consider taking profits. Receivership sales are also likely to continue to form a small but significant part of the market for the foreseeable future. Our unique view from the rostrum, where we can see the number of bidders for each lot, makes us confident that the market will comfortably absorb the likely increase in supply. We were delighted to have achieved some truly excellent prices for our clients throughout the year. There were familiar themes amongst the more popular properties, with the vast majority being either well let, well located or having potential to add value. These properties are now in short supply and are accordingly attracting premium bids in the auction forum. We saw yields hardening at our December auction in particular for long income. The private investor’s ongoing confidence in the UK’s High Street has been clearly demonstrated through the 10% increase in the proportion of retail sales we have seen relative to 2014. Clearly investor confidence in this sector remains strong. The number of Industrial sales at our auctions has remained fairly static and we see no reason why this would change. The effects of PDR on the office sector is clear: as the only auction house to have divisions dedicated to both commercial and residential sectors, we can deliver first rate access to the appropriate buyers, particularly for specialist building’s such as these. London and the South East will remain the regions of choice for many investors, but increasing competition for a limited supply of stock in these areas will continue to drive the attention of some of these investors towards the regions in their search for better returns. Following the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates in December, we are likely to see clearer guidance and possibly pressure on the timing of the UK’s first rise in interest rates. As we commented in our Summer Review, we believe any rise will be modest and that the market has to a large extent already priced an increase such is the length of time it has been on the cards. Moreover, any rise in interest rates will be a reflection of a strengthening wider economy and it will be interesting to see whether this leads to an increase in the number of buyers using finance. We expect the market will continue to look to the internet as a medium for the marketing and transacting of property. We have found many of our new buyers through the use of multi-channel www.allsop.co.uk marketing and we have provided our buyers with an online bidding service for almost 7 years. This service, in conjunction with telephone bidding, has served to enhance the accessibility of our auction room and enables us to find buyers from all over the world. Moreover, we are continually investing in new technology and monitoring the opportunities presented by IT. The wide range of properties and the high volume of our sales consistently attracts new buyers. This unrivalled market access combined with the principal auction benefits of speed and certainty, make our auctions the obvious route to market for any potential vendors looking to take full advantage of the current market conditions and the strong prices we are achieving. We would like to thank all our clients and our buyers for their support in 2015 and look forward to working with you again in 2016. We wish you all a very Happy New Year. Expert views i. Accountancy Tom specialises in providing audit, accounting and business advice on property. Simon specialises in providing advice on taxation for individuals TOM WARD Lead Audit and Advisory Partner Moore Stephens LLP SIMON BAYLISS Private Client Tax Partner Moore Stephens LLP Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 What are the main ways of holding commercial property? The four main ways are to own it individually; via a limited company; through a limited liability partnership (LLP); or through a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). People tend not to hold property personally as they prefer the limited liability. There are advantages to holding commercial property personally though, as it is very straight-forward for tax purposes. The income goes onto your tax return, and you pay capital gains tax when you sell the property. Your net rent after expenses is taxed at a marginal income tax rate, which is up to 45%. You pay a maximum 28% on any gains you get from the sale of the property. What are the advantages of owning a commercial property through a company? Corporate ownership works for people who are looking for a long-term structure – those looking at long-term ownership, family ownership, and the ability to buy new properties. It doesn’t work as well for those who just want to have a single property to hold then sell. At first glance paying 20% corporation tax on the gain and the profit looks better than 45% on the income and 28% on the gain. However there is additional tax incurred taking the money out of the company structure. Dividend tax rates are set at a maximum 37.5%. Broadly speaking you end up with an effective tax rate on income, as if you owned the property personally. The big disadvantage comes from the tax on the gain. If you paid corporation tax on the property sale through the company, and you pay tax on the dividend as well, you would pay a higher effective tax rate on the gain than had you owned the property personally. So for many people an LLP structure may be best? LLP rates reflect personal rates, so they are transparent for tax purposes. As well as the obvious advantages of limited liability, LLPs make it easier to manage joint relationships as an investor – people can come in and out of the LLP structure easily. If you own it personally anybody who comes into the ownership structure has to be entered on the land structure registry. There are also no restrictions on distributions. You are taxed on the year of profit, but after that anyone can take it presuming the money is available. If you have 10 partners with 10% each and the asset is sold, your share of the gain is liable at the 28% rate – 28% of that 10%. www.allsop.co.uk What are the considerations about holding commercial property via a SIPP? There are two restricting factors on pensions: annual restrictions and the lifetime allowance. Annually, you can only put in up to £40,000 a year gross. This is reduced to a maximum of £10,000 a year for those earning over £150,000 annually, a very small amount for those hoping to build up a pension pot and often not enough in its own right to buy a commercial property. However, you can borrow up to 50% of the value in your SIPP, it is difficult to build up enough with the annual allowance of potentially only £10,000 to eventually buy a commercial property. The second restriction is the lifetime allowance which sets a total limit of how much you can put in your pension, which is going down to £1 million from April 2016. To take the example of buying a £700,000 property, if its value went up to £1.4 million you would be given an excess surcharge of 55% on the amount in excess of the £1 million allowance when you came to take pension benefits out of the fund. Therefore commercial SIPPs are useful for commercial properties within the individual’s lifetime allowances. Expert views ii. Lawyers Philip was awarded a CBE in 2005 for his services to property law and in 2009 he enjoyed the rare honour of being appointed a Queen’s Counsel Honoris Causa for his work developing the practical aspects of property law. “New leases are being granted for slightly longer terms. This adds extra value and could provide a good opportunity for a seller to release value.” PHILIP FREEDMAN CBE, QC (HON) Chairman and Partner, Real Estate Mishcon de Reya What do you view as the main difference of buying and selling by auction? Compared with private treaty, an auction creates a very short time limit to finalise a deal. For those who want a quick sale; who like the certainty of knowing the price is final; and who enjoy the transparent nature of the process, it’s clearly a good opportunity. Of course, if you don’t do your homework as a buyer, you risk getting burned but this is the same as with any type of business transaction. The crucial thing is that as part of the auction process, all relevant papers have to be made available up front. Buyers can’t complain if there was a problem pre-advertised which they could have found with due diligence. If they find a problem after the property is knocked down to them, then the commercial question is what happens next. What are some of the things you wouldn’t want to find? Provisions within leases are some of the most common causes of difficulty, for example with a long leasehold property Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 where the lease could be forfeited by the landlord if the tenant became insolvent. While auctions are for cash, many people will chose to refinance, particularly to drive better cash-on-cash returns. Such a clause makes the whole lease unacceptable as a mortgageable asset, because banks normally take security over the property precisely to give protection if the borrower goes bust. With erosion of pension sizes and contributions and continued low rates, there’s a compelling case for more people to invest in commercial property as part of their pension plans. What’s your view? It certainly beats the half a percent you get from your local high street bank. Obviously, in the long term buying a reasonable property is an excellent investment for people for their long-term savings and pensions. And sometimes you can pick up very good things at auctions. The balance you have to weigh up as a buyer is in spending money beforehand for structural or legal check-ups. Clearly if you’re buying to hold for 10-15 years or more, then any upfront cost is minimal when spread over such a period. Office-to-residential conversions have been a major driver of transactions in many areas. Are there any additional considerations now the government has loosened this policy up to allow things to be knocked down? A lot of the statutory provisions allowing permitted development have conditions and processes attached to them, in which people do need to get professional advice. For example, one of our clients found councils making orders taking away permitted development rights for particular pubs or cafes that they were going to take over for use as estate agencies. In some cases problems can arise by local people applying to designate such units as “assets of community value”. Councils can also call things in for prior consent if they are perceived to warrant extra scrutiny around highway or contamination issues – all of which are subjective. www.allsop.co.uk Expert views iii. Pensions Martin has worked for over 33 years in the Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) market, with 27 years working at SIPP specialists Dentons. MARTIN TILLEY Director of Technical Services Dentons Pensions Management What are the broad benefits of owning commercial property as part of a diversified portfolio? Commercial property is an important asset class for diversifying risk in an investment portfolio, as generally property doesn’t highly correlate with other asset classes such as equities, fixed income (bonds and gilts) and cash. Property values move independently of other assets and aren’t typically affected by what’s going on in the stock market. Why do you think some private investors are put off of commercial property – despite the obvious higher yields than residential property, equities and bonds over the last 10 years? Although they share the obvious characteristic of being physical buildings, residential and commercial properties are very different animals. Different rules and regulations apply to commercial landlords and market principles are quite different. Tenancies tend to be for longer periods, but the market for new tenants is considerably smaller. Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 What are some of the restrictions and considerations in acquiring commercial property in a SIPP through auction sales? The key restriction is the timescale. Completion is usually required within a short timeframe - typically 28 or 42 days. The process of acquiring property through a SIPP is the same as you would follow in a personal capacity. However, the SIPP operator will need to approve the property as acceptable ahead of the auction. The SIPP will need to be in place before the auction and the funding put in place. All SIPPs operate a statutory cancellation period on SIPP establishment and on funds transferred in from other pension schemes, which prohibit use of the money until the cancellation period has expired. Property must also be wholly commercial. Residential property can be accepted on occasion but the circumstances that permit this are extremely rare. SIPP operators’ service and turnaround times are also critical, so it would be worthwhile sourcing a SIPP who specialises in commercial property and whose systems for auction purchases are sound. What advice would you give around keeping cash aside to cover costs such as insurance, renovation and potentially other unplanned expenses? It would always be advisable to plan cash flow within a SIPP to take account of expected rental inflows – but also against outgoings which could include not only expected items such as SIPP fees, property management fees and insurance, but also the prospect of landlords repairs or renovation. www.allsop.co.uk A rental void also requires insurance and rates to be maintained so there is a balance of retaining liquidity to cover these events against perhaps better returns from tying the funds up into longer term investment. Contributions to the SIPP if possible could also cover some immediate shortfalls. Holding residential property through a SIPP incurs punitive tax charges, but how would a shop with a flat above it be treated? HMRC’s interpretation is quite clear and with the exception of a very small number of cases any property that can be used for residential purposes will incur large tax penalties. Where a shop has a flat above, unless the flat is occupied as a condition of the lease by a third party as a condition of their employment by the tenant, the flat will need to be held as a separate title outside of the SIPP. Even a reversionary interest resulting from the sale of the flat on a long lease can trigger a tax charge. Forthcoming auction dates for 2016 Monday 8th February 2016 Wednesday 6th July 2016 The Berkeley, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RL Park Lane, Piccadilly, W1J 7BX Online catalogue available: 16th January Online catalogue available: 11th June Monday 21st March 2016 Monday 10th October 2016 The Berkeley, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RL The Berkeley, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RL Online catalogue available: 27th February Online catalogue available: 17th September Monday 16th May 2016 Tuesday 6th December 2016 The Berkeley, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RL The Berkeley, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RL Online catalogue available: 23rd April Online catalogue available: 12th November Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 www.allsop.co.uk Contact us Contact a member of the team to discuss selling at auction Patrick Kerr, FRICS Gregor Campbell, MRICS Will Clough MRICS David Marshall Partner [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6701 Joined: 1977 Partner [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6703 Joined: 1986 Senior Surveyor [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6838 Joined: 2010 Auction Assistant [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6730 Joined: 2011 Neil Mackilligin FRICS Philip Parsons MRICS Ben Hodge MRICS Charlotte Sloan Partner [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6702 Joined: 1983 Partner [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6891 Joined: 1991 Surveyor [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6831 Joined: 2011 Secretary [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6705 Joined: 2008 Duncan Moir FRICS Alex Neil MRICS Doug Guild Chattie Webb–Bowen Partner & Auctioneer [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6704 Joined: 1986 Partner [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6895 Joined: 2002 Surveyor [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6890 Joined: 2015 Secretary [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6824 Joined: 2014 George Walker MRICS Chris Childs MRICS Liam Stray Jessica Tooke-Kirby Partner & Auctioneer [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6706 Joined: 1997 Associate [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6817 Joined: 2006 Graduate Surveyor [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6791 Joined: 2014 Secretary [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6869 Joined: 2015 Mark Gower MRICS Jonathan Wright MRICS Thomas Shaw Caroline Rundle Partner [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6727 Joined: 1996 Associate [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6725 Joined: 2008 Graduate Surveyor [email protected] DDI: 0207 543 6830 Joined: 2015 Viewings Co-Ordinator [email protected] Joined: 2015 Commercial Auctions Annual Review 2015 www.allsop.co.uk 6 4 2 0 Head office: City office: Leeds office: 33 Wigmore Street, London W1U 1BZ Tel: +44 (0)20 7437 6977 2 Copthall Avenue, London EC2R 7DA Tel: +44 (0)20 7588 4433 33 Park Place, Leeds LS1 2RY Tel: +44 (0)113 236 6677 www.allsop.co.uk