Irish online firm BidX1 and its wholly owned UK ballroom auctioneer Andrews & Robertson sold more than £45m of stock in six sales held within a 10-day period starting at the end of May.
The lion’s share of the total was raised in its biggest online sale to date of Irish property, which raised €36m (£32m).
More than 4,300 bids were placed by 897 bidders, with a lot closing every two minutes. Bidders based all over the world – from Saudi Arabia to New Zealand – took part and 40% of the bidding was from mobile devices.
Managing director Stephen McCarthy said the business was focussed on “continually improving the experience,” with plans under way to develop a vendor portal and a buyer app.
Chief financial officer Mike Murphy added: “We want to help the seller and the buyer. We want both to come back to our platform.”
The headline commercial result was achieved by a five-storey building on Patrick’s Street in Cork City Centre. With the ground and first floor let to Schuh for €180,000 per annum, the property was sold for €1.63m.
On the residential side, a complete block of seven flats in Dublin, sold for €1.15m.
The online sale took place over three days, beginning on May 30, with unsold lots then re-offered.
A total of 313 lots were listed and 250 were sold – an 80% success rate.
A few days later, BidX1 held an online sale of 18 lots located in Northern Ireland, raising £897,000.
In the room, Andrews & Robertson raised £12.2m from its 7 June sale, posting a 73% success rate.
It sold 40 lots, with an average price of £309,000.
The most sought-after property was a freehold former vicarage on Church Road, Richmond, south-west London, sold on behlaf of the Diocese of Southwark. The guide price was £1.6m and the opening bid was £1.4m. The property, arranged as three flats, eventually sold for £2.5m.
The same diocese sold a vicarage in Plumstead, SE18, for £725,000 against a guide of £525,000. It has consent to demolish the existing building and redevelop for residential.
Other highlights included a mixed-use corner building at 13 Blackheath Village, Blackheath, SE3. The guide price was £925,000 and it sold for £1.1m, a yield of 6.18%.
BidX1 will hold its next UK online sale on 5 July.
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