Some 83 bids were recorded for the former Lighthouse Inn at Capel-le-Ferne, a village on the White Cliffs of Dover, Kent.
It eventually went for £797,000, some £197,000 above the guide price, with the property being auctioned by Clive Emson Auctioneers.
James Emson, managing director, said: “Our March auction listed 147 lots, with a number of bidding battles, including for a former pub on the iconic White Cliffs of Dover. We look forward to listing another diverse range of lots in our May auction, the third of eight this year.”
Another highlight was the former adult education centre in Maidstone, which sold for £604,000, £204,000 above guide price.
In another bidding battle, a town centre block of five self-contained flats in Tunbridge Wells fetched £706,500, with a gross yield of 5.4% at £39,180 rent per annum.
A mid-terrace property, situated in The Ley of Dover Castle and currently arranged as manager’s accommodation and 12 further flats, also drew above-guide bids, this time for £552,000 and equating to a gross yield of nearly 16% at £87,152 rent per year.
Meanwhile a vacant commercial premises in Sittingbourne’s High Street, previously let on a long lease to Iceland and offered freehold, went for £566,000, which was £241,000 above guide price after 118 bids (lot 145).
Elsewhere, a former public loo with a sea view at Long Rock, Penzance, owned by Cornwall Council, sold for £169,000 off a guide price of £20,000-plus, with 109 bids.
It was a case of ‘hail and farewell’ as Portsmouth’s former Royal Naval Comrades Club exchanged ownership for £498,000; there is planning consent for conversion into eight residential dwellings.
On an acre of land, a detached cottage at Weeley, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, and put up for sale by executors, was acquired for £340,000.
Among the lots was a parcel of land at Lostock Hall, Preston, Lancashire; bought for £15,000.
The third auction of eight this year by Clive Emson Auctioneers ends on Wednesday, 1 May; bidding opens 48 hours beforehand. Lot entries close on 8 April, with the online catalogue available from 12 April.
