The latest Acuitus auction achieved strong results and raised £55.7m as investors targeted a wide range of commercial property. A total of 73 lots sold – 83% of those offered in the sale – with 20 achieving prices of more than £1m.

Acuitus auctioneer, Richard Auterac, commented: “In this time of economic uncertainty, the auction room enables investors to access the type of income returns which are not available through other investment media and that demand was vividly illustrated today.

“Interestingly, the mood of investors in the room was as upbeat as it was at our May auction.”

The highest price achieved at the sale was for a 13,986-sq ft Aldi supermarket investment in Rochdale. Let until 2030 at a current rent of £226,281, it sold for £3.7m at a yield of 5.7%.

Buyers were also in the market for properties with asset management or development opportunities. A vacant 3,814 freehold office building with residential redevelopment potential in Grange Road near Tower Bridge, London SE1 sold for £1.35m - 60% above its guide price.

Richard Auterac comments: “Confronted by negative returns from government bonds and continued volatility in the equities market both private investors and entrepreneurial property companies are continuing to target commercial property. There was no apparent difference in pricing between our pre and post Brexit auctions.”

A post-referendum survey carried out by Acuitus which canvassed 50 UK clearing banks, international banks, development lenders and providers of short-term finance indicated that there has been little or no change to lending terms.

Richard Auterac comments: “With regard to the commercial property investment market, the clear message from the UK clearing banks and specialist lenders is that they are open for business as usual.

“The prudent level of debt finance available to investors was clearly an important factor in the strong level of buyer demand at this auction.

“There is a long way to go with the negotiation of the UK’s exit from the European Union but this sale demonstrated that despite the headlines around the large open-ended investment funds, there is strong investor demand for direct ownership.”