Allied London moves for Clarence Dock

UNDERPERFORMING mixed-use scheme Clarence Dock in Leeds has been bought by Allied London which plans to turn around its fortunes.

The property company has bought the 150-year head lease on the 1.2m sq ft Clarence Dock scheme from Lend Lease.

Allied London plans to overhaul the commercial and public realm elements of the scheme, and hopes to create a “new place to work” that is a more natural extension of nearby Leeds city centre, according to Property Week.

It is understood Allied London, the company that developed Manchester’s Spinningfields and turned around the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury, has paid around £1.5m for the lease.

The scheme, which has experienced poor footfall and seen a number of tenants move out, officially opened in a blaze of glory in October 2008. However, a number of occupiers have been based at the scheme for longer.

It is believed that Allied London plans to turn up to 50% of the existing retail units at Clarence Dock into offices, and only convenience-type shops and new restaurants would remain.

Clarence Dock has around 100,000 sq ft of vacant restaurants and retail.

Of 35 retail and restaurant units, 28 stores are vacant. Tesco, Pizza Express, All Saints and Mumtaz Restaurants are among seven existing tenants.

Lend Lease inherited the scheme when it bought Crosby in 2005.

Allied London will pay a ground rent of around £250,000 a year to British Waterways, as well as £150,000 in empty rates and service charges.

A change of use consent would see potential retail units transformed into flexible office space.