Oldest pub was among the hammered

Built in 1858, the Queen's Ferry Hotel in Auckland's sought-after Vulcan Lane sold post-auction for $2.6 million. Photo / Supplied

The historic Queen's Ferry Hotel at 12 Vulcan Lane in the Auckland CBD was among nine properties with a total value of $9.35 million that sold at, before or following a recent Bayleys Total Property auction.

Chris Bayley, commercial and industrial general manager for Bayleys Real Estate, says there was strong competition for a range of properties with the auction reflecting investor focus on lower risk properties in the current market.

"There was spirited bidding on well-located, good quality offerings which fetched excellent prices as a result, but conversely, there was more limited interest in properties that didn't have these qualities," Bayley said.

"Retail outlets, in particular, proved once again to be very popular with investors," he said.

The Queen's Ferry achieved the highest price of $2.6 million, selling post- auction, after being passed in at $2,520,000 following lively bidding.

The 118sq m three-level building is reputed to be Auckland's oldest pub and is fully leased to Hunter & Co, trading as Queens Ferry Hotel, on an eight-year lease from 2004, with three rights of renewal of four years each. The Queens Ferry Hotel was built in 1858 and granted a liquor licence in 1865, making it one of New Zealand's longest-established hotels.

It was sold by Henry Thompson, Stuart Bode and Robert Platt at a yield of 6.8 per cent which, Thompson says, reflects its prime position in one of the CBD's most sought-after retail destinations. The three were also involved in the sale of the neighbouring O'Carrolls pub at 10 Vulcan Lane which was also featured in Total Property and sold before tenders closed for a confidential sum.

Four Albany industrial units offered as one lot fetched the highest under the hammer price at auction, selling for $1,370,000. The units located on a 1392sq m site at 68 Paul Matthews Drive, a key access road into the North Harbour Industrial Estate, sold at a 9.2 per cent yield on short-term leases to a variety of well-established tenants. The property, marketed by Matt Mimmack, Alex Strever and Laurie Burt, of Bayleys North Shore, is about 200 metres north of the interchange with Upper Harbour Highway. It was developed in 2001 by the KEA Property Group and comprises an attractively designed single building divided into four office and warehouse units totalling 859sq m.

Another industrial property on the North Shore also attracted strong bidding at the Bayleys Total Property auction. The standalone 920 sq m building at 113 Wairau Rd, on a high profile 1141sq m site with dual frontage to Currys Lane sold for $1,090,000. Marketed by Ranjan Unka, Greg Heatley and Michael Block, of Bayleys North Shore, it was offered for sale with vacant possession. The building includes 757sq m of warehouse and storage space, with access via three roller doors allowing it to be split to accommodate multiple tenancies.

Two retail units on the ground floor of the Sentinel Building in Northcroft St, Takapuna, marketed by Simon Aldridge, Tony Ye and Terry Kim of Bayleys North Shore, also sold, with a 70sq m tenanted unit attracting particularly spirited bidding before selling at a 7.7 per cent yield. The unit, leased to a drycleaner for six years from February 2010, was declared to be on the market with the bidding at $328,000. Two bidders then fought it out, with increments of $2000, $1000 and $500 and one "jump" bid of $10,000, before it finally sold for $360,000. A 180sq m vacant unit in the same complex, with a full commercial kitchen and an outdoor dining area, sold before the auction for $688,000.

In Mt Wellington, at 99 Carbine Rd, a standalone 406sq m office building operating as a business recovery centre, sold before auction for $1,255,000 at an 8.04 per cent yield through John Algie and Sunil Bhana of Bayleys Auckland. It was sold with an 8-year lease back to the vendor Plan B, with two six-year rights of renewal.

A 105sq m unit on the ground floor of the Mid City retail complex located between Queen St and Elliott St sold for $850,000 at an 8.2 per cent yield through Henry Thompson and James Chan of Bayleys Auckland. It has a new eight-year lease, with two-yearly rent reviews to Carleton which operates women's clothing and accessories store "Venessa" from the premises at the Elliott St end of the arcade.

Two retail tenancies on three separate freehold titles with a total land area of 477sq m at 713-717 Richardson Rd, Hillsborough, sold for $554,000 at a 7.5 per cent yield. The property is occupied by an Indian restaurant on a six-year lease from March 2007 and a pharmacy with a lease until November 2012. It is part of a larger suburban commercial complex and comes with 10 common carparks and further parking at the rear.

Tony Chaudhary, of Bayleys Manukau who marketed the property with Nicolas Ching of Bayleys Auckland, says it was in a popular price bracket for smaller investors, with its surplus land providing potential to add value at some stage in the future.

Further south, a 134sq m unit in the established Highland Park retail and commercial precinct sold for $600,000 at an 8.6 per cent yield through Bayleys Manukau's Geoff Wyatt and Chaudhary. It has a six-year lease from April 2009 to computer store PC Force.

Bayleys also sold all four Total Property properties put up for sale in Wellington with the Empire Hotel building on a high-profile corner site in Jackson St, Petone, fetching the top price of $2,325,000.