Investor swoops for Manchester property portfolio in £16m deal

A TRIO of prime, Manchester city centre properties have been snapped up in a £16m deal.

Boultbee Brooks Real Estate (BBRE), the property investor and developer, has further strengthened its presence in Manchester City Centre’s booming commercial property market through the acquisition of a three-property portfolio from M20 Property Group.

The three properties, which have a combined total floor space of more than 90,000 sq ft are situated in prime locations. The portfolio includes 67-75 and 79 Moseley Street, near the soon to be regenerated St Peter’s Square, and The Chapel in the Deansgate business district.

BBRE will carry out a refurbishment of the two properties on Mosley Street and transform them into new work space.

The area will soon benefit from extensive regeneration and will become one of Manchester’s key locations, attracting an extra 4,500 professionals upon completion of No.1 and No.2 St Peter’s Square.

The Chapel, located in Castlefield’s Urban Heritage Park and less than 100 metres away from Deansgate Railway Station and Metrolink, is a Grade II listed building providing 12,132 sq ft of space over lower ground, ground, first and second floors.

The property was originally opened as a Congregational chapel in 1858 and was designed by the local architect, Edward Walters.

This acquisition is the latest in a string of recent purchases in Manchester by BBRE and takes the firm’s total investment in Manchester this year to £28m.

BBRE, which is a major landlord in the Shoreditch and Clerkenwell areas of London where many of its tenants are fast growing digital and creative firms, also recently purchased 30 Brown Street and Croxley House in Manchester, for £5.5m and £6.5m respectively.

James Whitcher, BBRE said: “We are delighted to have acquired some of the most exciting refurbishment opportunities available in Manchester and the portfolio fits perfectly with 30 Brown Street and Croxley House. We now have a critical mass of assets in the city to replicate our London model and become one of the city’s most successful providers of quality workspace. Manchester will be the engine room of the Chancellor’s Northern Powerhouse, and we are confident that we will benefit from the unrelenting demand and rising rents for prime commercial property in Manchester that we continue to see.”

BBRE was advised by Rob Cannock at Aurum Real Estate. Legal advice was provided by Darren Hamer of DWF who advised M20 and BBRE were represented by Michelmores.

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