East Midlands property companies announce joint venture

IPS Estates is set to enter into a joint venture with Midlands auction specialist SDL Auctions.

IPS Estates, based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, will sell properties through online auction on its own website, through the SDL Auctions website and portals such as Rightmove.

Director of IPS Estates, Richard Jones, called the arrangment “the perfect route to market for tenanted properties”.

He said IPS Estates has a lot of investment sales properties in its portfolio and felt the conventional way of selling them was not always appropriate for investors.

Jones added: “We are delighted to align our brand with SDL Auctions when it comes to on-line investment property sales.

“The first place people look now is online. Five years ago only one per cent of properties were sold through online auction, this year it was five per cent and that’s forecast to grow to ten per cent over the next ten years. The online method is only going to get bigger, better and adapt to improving methods of disposal”

The auctions, which will see properties listed for free with 0 per cent commission to the seller, will start to go live in the next two weeks.

Jones said one of the main appeals of selling in this route, is that it is not always necessary to sell with vacant possession or evict a perfectly good tenant.

He said: “Selling through the traditional private treaty route, you usually sell with vacant possession because that’s what buyers require.

“This way’s great because you don’t have to evict the tenant. By selling through auction the property is showcased in a live online auction where buyers are more used to having tenants in a property. This was a big attraction for us because we have a lot of tenanted properties.

“Because of the timescale, the free listing and the time it takes, a lot of investors are looking at this method and think it’s great,” said Richard.

SDL Auctions was established following the SDL Group’s acquisition of the CPBigwood, Graham Penny Auctions and Humphreys of Chester auction businesses in 2016.

Fred Hopkins, auction growth specialist at SDL Auctions, said: “We are delighted to be working with an established and reputable agent such as IPS Estates. We share similar values of offering outstanding customer service, so I know our partnership is going to be a great success. By adding auctions to their list of services, they will be able to offer their professional advice on the best way to sell a property to suit their client’s circumstances.”