A Winchester city centre bank building has exceeded its guide price at auction.

The Santander Bank at number 21 High Street went under the hammer for £1.87million in London last Wednesday, some £20,000 above the expected £1.8-1.85million range.

CBRE Auctions declined to reveal who had bought the property. The likely purchaser is likely to be a London or even internationally-based pension or investment fund.

The auction gives an insight into the relatively buoyant state of the Winchester property market.

The Santander building currently attracts an annual rent of £125,000, a yield of 6.9 per cent. It has 200 square metres of commercial space. Santander has a lease until June 2019.