A Newport-based property auction firm has retained its position as the top selling property auction house in Wales for the 13th year in succession.

Paul Fosh Auctions, which conducted its sales totally online in 2020 after going into lockdown in March last year, has emerged as number one in the national league.

The business sold 371 properties at a total value of £33,315,351 at its Wales auctions in 2020 with an average lot value of £89,799. The number of properties sold by the firm was more than three times that of its nearest challenger in the chart, which sold 95 lots over the same period.

The total value of its sales for 2020 shows an increase of almost £5m on those achieved under 'normal' circumstances in 2019.

The annual auction sales chart, a highly-regarded guide within the industry, is compiled by UK industry experts Essential Information Group and published in association with industry ‘Bible’, Estates Gazette.

Paul Fosh Auctions managing director Paul Fosh said: "The past 12 months has been as challenging as any I have known in the 20 years since the business was established.

"Online auctions have proved to be a phenomenal success for us but it was a real baptism of fire at the start when we had just a couple of days to shift what would have been a normal terrestrial ballroom sale online when the country was plunged into lockdown in March last year.

"Online is most definitely the future for us, you only have to look at these figures to realise that this is the future. We were prepared for online sales as we had done the groundwork putting systems and procedures in place on a trial basis as, as a business, we're always looking to innovate and improve. This, as these results clearly show, has paid dividends."

The property expert, who lives near Monmouth, opened his first office in Gold Tops, Newport, in February 2001 before moving to Church Road. Its headquarters are now in Lower Dock Street.

Paul Fosh Auctions hosts virtual tours of properties for sale allowing potential buyers, wherever they are in the world, to a detailed and intimate view of what they want to buy.

The business launched a lettings business three years ago and now offers a complete package from buying to renovation and renting to sales.

The next Paul Fosh Auctions online sale, when some ninety lots will be offered for sale, starts at 12 noon on Tuesday, April 27 and ends from 5pm on Thursday, April 29.