A pair of pubs, including one hailed as a town’s “only real pub”, have been sold at auction for a combined value of £730,000.
The two boozers were among a variety of buildings and plots in Kent to be sold at Clive Emson’s fifth auction of the year, with bidding taking place last week.
Among the most eye-catching lots was The Foresters, a seafront boozer described by KentOnline’s Secret Drinker as Deal’s “only real pub”.
The end-terrace building, which also includes a three-bedroom flat and garden, sold for £470,000.
Further up the coast, the former Kings Head Inn in Sarre, near Birchington, has also been moved on.
Once a popular venue with seven en-suite letting rooms, it has lapsed planning permission to be converted into a home, but a deal worth £260,000 has been agreed.
The most valuable lot in this month’s sale was a freehold block in Maidstone, comprising nine flats at 41 Hedley Street.
Seven are currently let, with two vacant, and the total estimated annual rental income when fully occupied is almost £90,000. The freehold for the site sold for £1,053,000.
Another block in Bower Lane, also in the county town, contains six flats and fetched £720,000 at last week’s auction.
In Ashford, a triangular site at the junction of Carlton Road and Bridge Road – previously granted planning permission for a car park – sold for £152,500.
Another potential project in Ramsgate has been snapped up at Addington Street Garage, a site that already has permission in place for four new townhouses in Addington Place. It went for £325,000.
However, in Canterbury, a long-established business premises is one of the remaining unsold lots from the sale.
The freehold of 12 Whitstable Road includes the home of Canterbury Rock, a double-fronted record shop that has been trading from the same site for 46 years – and will continue to operate after any sale as the tenant has a lease on the store.
The property, which also contains two flats, was listed with a guide price of £350,000 and is billed as a solid investment prospect.
Land at the rear of 18–24 City Way in Rochester, where planning permission has been granted for eight new flats, also failed to attract interest.
The site is currently occupied by an advertising hoarding, which auctioneers say could be removed with notice, and is worth £315,000.
In Sittingbourne, a High Street building comprising a shop and five flats was postponed. Three of the flats are currently vacant, offering scope to boost the rental yield.
Another Sittingbourne lot is Filmer House at 21 High Street, a block of flats currently let at £37,650 per annum, which was sold for £350,000.
The next auction is due to take place on September 16.
