Paul Fosh Auctions is doing its bit to help rejuvenate south Wales by selling properties throughout the region.

The Newport-based auction house sells a huge variety of properties at its regular auctions and last year, 2018, was no exception.

Some residential, properties are quickly turned around after refurbishment to be let or sold while others take longer to reach their potential.

One property which falls squarely into that bracket is the former Ebbw Bridge Club which, established in 1936, once played host to the likes of Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey but in recent years had fallen on hard times with the committee taking the decision to sell up.

Presented to Paul Fosh Auctions to sell the prominent property of Cardiff Road in the Maesglas area of the city of Newport the former social club created a huge amount of interest prior to the auction. On the night many vied to be the one to become the new owner of the former club with a Newport developer eventually winning out with a bid of£260,000 against the guide price of £128,000

Now three years down the road the totally transformed property is about to start a new life as ground floor retail and floors of apartments above.

Sean Roper, of Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions who handled the sale, said: "There was huge amount of interest in the former Ebbw Bridge Club building when it came up for auction back in February 2015 from developers from across the region which enabled us to secure a good price for the property.

“It's now great to see, three years down the road, the new apartments and retail that have emerged from the site providing much needed regeneration in the area."

Another property at the start of its journey, which sold last year, was the former Alexandra Inn in Pill, Newport.

It is likely to be turned into flats.

The historic, four-storey property, at 89 Commercial Road, sold for £146,500 after being listed with a guide of £95,000-plus.

Engineer and nurse husband and wife team Neil and Amanda Davies saw a lifelong dream come true after getting the keys to an Abergavenny countryside pub.

The Abergavenny couple bought the Cambrian Inn, at Clydach, near Abergavenny, at auction with a view to keeping the pub operating as a going concern. Locals had feared that the long-established pub could be turned into a home after being put up for sale.

Listed with a guide price of £95,000-plus the pub sold for £112,500 at Paul Fosh Auctions.

The implications for property prices loomed large once the decision to end the Severn tolls had been made by the Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns.

No more so than a nondescript plot of land in Newport came up for auction.

A bidding war erupted when the land in the desirable Beechwood area of the city came up for auction eventually selling for £122,000, three times its guide price of £36.000.

The rough scrubland site at Clevedon Road, is close to Woodland Park, Beechwood, described as a ‘sought after area’ in Newport.

Paul Fosh said: “The price achieved for this simple plot of land in Beechwood was amazing. There isn’t a building on the land or even planning permission. The plot was certainly a star attraction of the auction with bidders neck and neck in their efforts to secure the lot. At times I wondered where the bidding was going to end.

“The figure achieved, which is in excess of three times the guide price, may well indicate that the much commented on and predicted property price rise in Newport has finally arrived.

“There is no doubt that the city of Newport has become increasingly desirable over recent months and this is down to a number of factors. One of the key ones is the imminent removal of the tolls charged on the Severn Bridges. This, added to the historic affordability of property on this side of the Severn Estuary in particular in Newport and the south Wales valleys, makes buying property here even more attractive to those from the Bristol area looking at property.

“Another boost for those looking at Newport is the levels of regeneration going on in the city the main part of which is the Friars Walk shopping centre. The M4 is easily accessible offering easy access to both Cardiff and Bristol.

“We are increasingly getting calls from people from across the Severn and also them attending our regular auctions in Cardiff who are looking at the bargains that can be had on this side of the border."

A commercial property not for the squeamish in the area of the city didn’t deter bidders happy to take a walk on the wild side eventually being sold for £62,000 after being listed for £49,000-plus

The ground floor of the building on East Street, in the popular Baneswell area of Newport, is occupied by well-established niche business Wildside Reptiles.

The business, established for 35 years, deals in captive bred reptiles and snakes.

Matthew Jordan, of Paul Fosh Auctions, handled the sale.

Matthew said: “It’s not often you come face to face with a live python when showing prospective buyers around a property."

And the auction business itself also did its bit to help revitalise the city by opting to expand into a larger property in Lower Dock Street after moving from its previous offices at Church Street.

The new property needed a considerable amount of tlc but the firm is proud to be able to say it puts its money where its mouth is in terms of helping rejuvenate the city of Newport.

The next Paul Fosh Auction sale, the first of 2019, will be held at the Park Inn Hotel, Cardiff, on Thursday, February 7, starting at 5pm.