Eatonfield on deals trail
NORTH West commercial property company Eatonfield, which this week revealed that a rights issue had raised £7.9m, has secured an option on a key site in Cumbria.
The Cheshire firm, which is listed on AIM, now has a 50% interest in an option to buy 265 acres of land situated immediately to the north of its 77-acre Corus Rail Site.
The two sites together create one of the largest brownfield regeneration schemes on the North West coast.
Allerdale Borough Council and Cumbria County Council, current owners of the site, have granted an option, exercisable by December 2010, to Eatonfields’s joint venture partner Port Derwent to acquire the site at its pre-planning valuation.
Eatonfield has now made the final payment under an agreement with Port Derwent, such that, following exercise of the option, the site will be acquired by Port Derwent Workington, a company in which Eatonfield and Port Derwent will be equal shareholders.
Knight Frank has been appointed as lead and planning consultant and, alongside Eatonfield’s in-house architects, is preparing a masterplan which will culminate in the lodging of two outline planning applications by Easter 2010.
The masterplan for the option land will include a marina, residential development, and the historic town quay. In addition, within the scheme, it is proposed that there will be restaurants, two hotels, associated conference and leisure facilities, together with retail, offices and a visitor centre.
It is expected that this development will commence in late 2013.
Rob Lloyd, Eatonfield’s chief executive, commented: “These development projects clearly underline our commitment to play an active role in large scale regeneration in the UK and fully endorse our strategy of realising land value via the planning process.
“Securing the option over 265 acres, alongside our existing 77-acre Corus Rail Site on which outline planning permission has already been granted, gives Eatonfield a very exciting opportunity to create significant value.
“We look forward to being part of the strategy to further enhance the area, through inward investment, job creation and the development of a thriving community.”
