Fewer pubs went under the hammer in 2011, with 593 offered, compared to the 629 offered in 2010. The year did see an improvement in the number of sites sold, with 434 pubs selling at auction, compared with 430 sold in 2010.
The north-west had the highest number of pubs selling at auction in 2011, with 122 sold out of 154 offered
for auction. The north-east had the lowest amount of pubs selling at auction, with just 13 sites sold out of the
23 offered.
However, these figures may be distorted by fewer sale-and-leaseback agreements from Enterprise Inns on some of its high-end pubs in London, which dominated the auction market in 2010 and the start of 2011.
This was more prominent in 2010 when 40 pubs were offered for a 35-year sale-and-leaseback agreement, and 10 went unsold. In comparison, 2011 saw 36 sale-and-leaseback sites go under the hammer, and only nine go unsold.
August showed highest activity, with 102 pubs offered for auction, and 71 sold at auction, whereas in 2010, July had the most activity, with 100 pubs put under the hammer and 81 sites sold at auction.
Essential Information Group managing director David Sandeman said: “Despite a slight fall in the number of pubs going to auction in 2011 compared with 2010, the sale rate has actually improved.
“This comes against a backdrop of a seemingly stagnant open market, made up of private treaty sales. The figures show that property auctions remain an attractive and viable means of buying and selling property.”
