Six banks and an indoor cricket stadium were among the special properties that made up the roll at the well-attended multiple auction held by Alliance Group on Wednesday.

“Attendance was unbelievable and there was almost a mini- bidding war for the prime properties, ” Shaie Zindel of Alliance Group said. “Those in outlying districts such as Klerksdorp, Krugersdorp, Springs, Vereeniging and Welkom did very well.” The sell-off of old banking halls by Absa put on the market a number of interesting buildings that once housed financial institutions such as the United Building Society (UBS) and Volkskas.

First under the hammer was a retail and office block that once was the Volkskas branch in Vereeniging. It was built in 1944, nine years after the bank was founded. It sold for R4,6m.

The five-storey Vereeniging branch of the old UBS building, built in 1948, fetched a hammer price of R6,1m.

The old Volkskas building at 3 President Kruger Street, Vanderbijlpark , fetched R1,35m, and an office block that formerly housed Volkskas Bank in Edenvale attracted R3,1m.

Another former Volkskas building in central Benoni attained a hammer price of R3,25m, and the 44-year-old two- storey former UBS building in central Springs fetched R3,85m.

Less was paid for the indoor cricket stadium in Klerkindustria, Klerksdorp, that received a final bid of R600000.

The auction got off to a brisk start with a building in Voorspoed, Welkom, that has a Metcash lease until 2012. With a gross lettable area of 5202m², a hammer price of R4,65m was attained.

Described as “quite a landmark” by auctioneer Rael Levitt, a retail and office building off Louis Botha Avenue in Savoy, Kew, sold for R9m.

“There is strong rental income from the retail component and the building, with flats on the second and third floors, offers a strong sectional title oppor- tunity,” Levitt said.

Highlight of the day was the Safari Hotel and adjoining land on Yettah Road, Berea. Bidding opened at R15m and the hammer came down on a final bid of R22m. Another eight-figure bid was received for commercial buildings with a gross lettable area of 5701m² on four erven, and undeveloped land in the Randburg CBD. The lot fetched R19,5m. The most handsome building was the seven-storey NRB building on Pritchard Street. It formerly housed New Republic Bank and sold for R4,7m.

Retail shops and offices on Boom Street, Klerksdorp, with Truworths as main tenant and a gross lettable area of 3903m² and a gross income of R2,4m a year, attained R14,75m. An industrial complex on 32492m² in Spartan, Kempton Park, received a hammer price of R14,25m. Madden Cole

Business Day