BidX1, the online auction specialist, has doubled its UK sales year-on-year, with £108m-worth of property sold in 2020, up from £52m in 2019.
BidX1’s success rates have also seen a jump, increasing from 76% in 2019 to 90% last year.
The firm recorded 6,980 bids on UK property in 2020, resulting in the sale of more than 320 assets, with bidder numbers increasing by more than 200%.
BidX1 can also claim one of the year’s largest commercial auction sales among its 2020 results: Westway Retail Park in Cumbernauld, Scotland. The 11-unit retail park was sold to a UK-based buyer prior to auction in October, for a price which topped the £6.5m guide by more than 15%, following a number of competitive bids.
Other notable retail sales included two North-West shopping centre investments. BidX1 sold the Belle Vale Shopping Centre in Liverpool and the Port Arcades Shopping Centre in nearby Ellesmere Port prior to auction in September. Both schemes were purchased by a property company for an undisclosed sum, which BidX1 has confirmed was significantly in excess of the combined guide price of £7.6m.
BidX1 teamed up with Savills on all three shopping centre sales, and the firm believes that a joint approach, which allows vendors to benefit from a combined skillset that includes specialist digital expertise, will gain further traction this year.
Meanwhile, BidX1’s partnership with Foxtons accounted for more than a quarter of the total raised in 2020. BidX1 first teamed up with the London agency early last year when Foxtons began listing properties on BidX1’s digital platform. In September, the two firms announced a strategic partnership, and the collaboration has seen 65 joint sales to date, at a sales value of £27.1m.
On average, these properties saw an uplift of 14% on their guide prices, with an average of just 30 days marketing on the BidX1 platform prior to sale. Stock in Canary Wharf, Croydon and North West London made up the bulk of these BidX1-Foxtons sales.
Among the highlights, a three-bedroom lower-ground floor flat within an elegant building at Montagu Square in Marylebone – held leasehold but benefitting from a share of the freehold – was sold for £1.05m in August. A three-bedroom fourth-floor apartment in Fitzrovia, just moments from Oxford Street and Regents Park, was sold prior to auction in July, exceeding its £1.5m guide, while an attractive four-bedroom home in Northwood, boasting period features and large gardens, was sold for £950,000.
Oliver Childs, Head of Commercial Auctions at BidX1 UK, commented: "We’re very pleased to be announcing such positive results in the UK. While 2020 was a year of challenges, the crucial role of PropTech in overcoming those challenges – but also in addressing longer-term inefficiencies and pain-points in the property sale process – has never been clearer.
“Our UK client base continues to expand as vendors of all stripes seek to maximise returns using best-in-class online methods. We’re delighted to have worked with a number of new clients in 2020, including UK Power Networks, RBS, Severn Trent Water, L&Q, Canal & River Trust and Homes England.
“From a technology perspective, we have the benefit of maturity. As digital specialists, we are uniquely placed to complement the expertise and experience of market-leading firms like Foxtons. We’re looking forward to building relationships with real estate agencies in other parts of the UK in 2021.”
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