Former sewage pumping station in Codsall sold at auction for a sum significantly exceeding its guide price
By Beverly Rademacher
Copyright expressandstar
The former Bishopswood Dormant Ballot Station (DBS), in Codsall Wood, located around four miles northwest of Wolverhampton city centre, was offered for sale with a guide price of just £7,500 initially.
The freehold site, comprising a small brick building on approximately 0.01 acres of land, was sold by BidX1 at its latest auction on September 18.
BidX1, Europe’s leading auction platform, said it has handled an increasing volume of utility company portfolio disposals across the country.
Stuart Collar-Brown, head of client acquisitions for BidX1, said. “A lot of residential landlords are moving into commercial property and land now as changes are coming in, such as the Renters Reform bill, which will affect residential landlords. Land and commercial buildings can sometimes provide the returns that residential property cannot.”
Auction business bosses believe utility companies are increasingly turning to online property auctions to help plug budget gaps and online sales confirm there’s a strong appetite among investors for stock that might once have been overlooked, such as land and disused buildings.
BidX1 said any change of use of buildings, such as the former sewage pumping station, will be subject to obtaining the correct permissions, in this case from planning authorities in South Staffordshire, but it may be suitable for storage or use as a studio.
Severn Trent sold five lots, located across the country, through BidX1 in the last auction, raising a total of £437,000.
A spokesperson for Severn Trent said: “We recently sold by way of auction the former Bishopswood Distribution Booster Station (DBS) which became redundant after we invested in building a new and larger booster station nearby, to better serve the local community.
“Some assets can become redundant as we continue to modernise our infrastructure, with some £15 billion of investment planned over the next five years.
“Funds from these types of disposals are reinvested back into the business, to help keep customer bills low.”