Historic building to be turned into flats after £2.5m raised online

Manchester property crowdfunding platform The House Crowd Group has acquired a 250-year leasehold interest in the upper floors of a historic building.

The 5-17 Chapel Walks building is one of the most distinctive buildings in the city centre.

Acting on behalf of a fund managed by nationwide industrial developer and asset manager Chancerygate, the sale was secured by the Manchester office of property agents Savills.

The deal will see 16 new apartments created within the building.

Chancerygate obtained planning consent and permitted development rights to convert former office, leisure and dental surgery space within the building into apartments.

Designed by Manchester-based Jeffery Bell Architects and spanning 12,700 sq ft, the scheme will comprise two studio, four one-bed and 10 two-bed apartments.

Funds totalling around £2.5m for the purchase and initial development were raised by The House Crowd Group through its property crowdfunding platform.

Work is expected to start in the spring.

Chancerygate will continue to manage the freeholds at Chapel Walks, which includes leisure, retail and telecoms tenants across the basement and ground floors.

Constructed in the late nineteenth century and located in a city-centre conservation area off Cross Street, the Chapel Walks buildings offer unique floor plates and period character.

The sale includes three individual properties all with direct access from Chapel Walks and featuring separate entrances to the upper floors.

Chancerygate asset manager Simon Barrs, said: “We are very pleased to secure the sale of a long leasehold interest of these three properties.

“We look forward to working with The House Crowd Group team as they bring this exciting development project to fruition. We will be reinvesting the proceeds of the sale into securing further opportunities to expand our fund’s portfolio.”
Chancerygate’s asset management business operates nationwide.

It oversees £220m of assets across more than 4.9m sq ft of commercial space in 355 units in the industrial, retail, office and leisure property sectors.

Associate in the development team at Savills Manchester Ned Brooks said: “The sale of 5-17 Chapel Walks will bring much needed new apartments to a highly desirable location in central Manchester, close to both the transport centres of Victoria and Piccadilly Stations and the retail heart of the city.

“The scheme will be a key driver in the future regeneration of this part of the city, which is becoming one of the most desirable residential locations in central Manchester. Providing high quality apartment accommodation and bringing more residents into the area, the scheme will be a further boost to the economy in the immediate vicinity.”

Chancerygate is the UK’s largest multi-unit industrial property development and asset management company. This year, the company will triple its completed developments compared with the previous year, delivering more than one million sq ft across 13 schemes compared to 340,000 sq ft in 2018.

The House Crowd Group was advised on the acquisition by Manchester-based Casabel Property Consultants.