Sale of Dickensian workhouse offices contributes to £19.6m raised in latest Bond Wolfe auction
Even Charles Dickens’ character Ebenezer Scrooge might have smiled this Christmas as a former workhouse building in the Black Country raised well over twice its guide price at our latest auction.
The £236,000 paid for the Victorian Grade II-listed former Board Of Guardians Offices at 100 Pleck Road in Walsall was just part of more than £19.6 million raised in sale prices at the livestreamed event on Thursday 14 December.
The building, which had a £99,000+ guide price*, has been empty for some years but still retains many features, including glazed tile dados, panelled doors, stained glass and a first-floor board room with a moulded plaster panelled coved ceiling.
Gurpreet Bassi, our Chief Executive, said: “It’s rather fitting that this building, which could easily have featured in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, has fetched such an impressive price in the run up to Christmas!”
We saw 130 lots sold out of 146 offered at the auction on 14 December, an industry leading success rate of 90% that included properties from across the whole Midlands and as far away as Devon, Kent, the north-west and north-east.
The enthusiasm of bidders was reflected in the 515,000 website pages views before the auction, with 116,201 video tours watched and 21,892 legal documents downloaded.
Mr Bassi added: “Festive jollities aside, the keen appetite for property was reflected in the strong competition we experienced throughout the auction with many healthy prices achieved.
“In spite of prevailing economic circumstances, our auctions consistently surpass the industry standard, delivering outstanding outcomes for our clients nationwide.”
Other highlights at the auction saw a three-storey, locally listed building that has stood at 2 Bearwood Road in Smethwick for 120 years successfully sold for £450,000 on behalf of Sandwell Council.
This large property has numerous rooms on all floors and has the potential for change of use from offices to education facilities, a health facility or residential use subject to planning permission, although conditions expressly exclude any use as a house of multiple occupation.
Two three-bedroomed terraced houses on the same street were sold on behalf of Wolverhampton City Council at 85 and 95 Joeys Lane in the Codsall area of the town, raising healthy sales prices of £181,000 and £242,000 from guide prices of £128,000 and £155,000 respectively.
Another lot that sold well for Wolverhampton City Council was a four-bedroomed, semi-detached house at 7 Kingsland Road, which raised £182,500 from a guide price of £114,000+.
Down in Coventry, the former Potters Green United Reformed Church at 363 Woodway Lane, dating back to 1819 during the reign of King George III, was sold along with its neighbouring meeting hall and grounds for £250,000 from a guide price of £99,000+.
Across in south Birmingham, a valuable commercial property let out to Lloyds Bank at 2-4 Hawkhurst Road in Maypole, which is generating £21,500 a year in rent, was sold for £325,000 from a guide price of £255,000+.
Further north in the city, a double fronted, mixed-use investment on a neighbourhood parade at 77 & 77a Mason Road in Erdington, with rental income of £15,000 a year, was sold for £158,000 from a guide price of £120,000+.
Back up in the Black Country, a substantial detached period property which has been converted into 25 accommodation units called Aven House on Birchills Street in Walsall, which had a guide price of £460,000+, was sold prior to auction for £550,000
Our next livestreamed auction starts at 9am on Thursday 8 February.
Anyone with a property they are considering selling should visit https://www.bondwolfe.com/
* Each property is subject to a reserve price which may be different from the guide price. Please refer to the Important Information and legal pack(s) for further information and any additional fees which may apply.
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