Newport-based auctioneer Paul Fosh held an extremely successful first auction of 2017 which featured 92 lots.

The auction, filmed by BBC’s Homes Under the Hammer, set a high standard for future auctions in the year with the large amount of people packing the room at the Park Inn Hotel, Cardiff.

Paul Fosh Auctions, which has retained its position at the top of the national league for auction property sales and value in Wales in 2016 for the ninth year in a row, made a grand total of £3,257,450 at the February sale.

Among properties sold, was a former adult learning centre in Charles Street, Newport. The substantial building, listed with a guide price of £230,000, was eventually sold after strong interest in the room and on the telephone for £250,000.

Also sold, was a former WC which included an art instalment in Merthyr Tydfil. The disused toilet, being sold by Merthyr Tydfil Council, had a guide price of £6,000 but after sustained bidding it sold for more than six times that at £37,000.

A three-storey building, on the junction of Gold Tops and Pentonville, was another sale. This property, that has potential for conversion, had a guide price of £145,000 but ended up being sold, after a bidding war involving people in the room and on the telephone for £160,000.

Another interesting sale was a former police station in Ferndale that had a guide price of £8,000 and sold for £15,000.

Paul Fosh, owner of the Church Street auction house, said: “There was phenomenal interest prior to the sale in a number of the lots in the catalogue, which was reflected in a room that was completely packed with people eager to buy on the night.

“The interest in this the first sale for Paul Fosh Auctions of 2017 augurs well for the others we have planned for the rest of the year. We continue to strive to offer a wide range of properties, being commercial, industrial and domestic, which appear to spark the interest of a diverse range of sellers, buyers and investors.

“We are delighted at the solid results achieved at the sale and a confident that buyers and sellers were equally happy with their results.”

The next Paul Fosh Auctions sale which will be held at the Park Inn Hotel, Circle Way East, Llanedyrn, Cardiff, on Thursday, March16, starting at 5pm.