Landmark building in Liverpool is sold for £46.8m

The former tax office in Liverpool has been bought in a deal worth £46.8m.

The landmark building, which is on the waterfront, was the offices of HMRC for many years but was redeveloped as an apartment scheme.

Barings Real Estate has acquired The Keel in a deal which is its first in the UK private rented sector.

The building is made up of 425 apartments across 170,500 sq ft of space.

The five-storey building was recently converted to mid-market residential apartments.

The building is on the edge of the River Mersey and includes an on-site gym and 207 car parking spaces.

Also included in the purchase from Moorfield Group is a neighbouring plot of land which has planning permission for PRS development.

Darren Hutchinson, head of UK real estate transactions at Barings, said: “This transaction presents a rare opportunity to acquire a well located operating PRS asset in an iconic building on Liverpool’s riverside.

“We believe there is an opportunity to add value through leasing up the vacant apartments and capturing rental reversion as a number of short-term leases in The Keel expire.

“Barings believes the UK PRS sector, and the regional mid-market sector in particular, is at the beginning of a period of sustained growth.”

Charles Ferguson-Davie, chief investment officer at Moorfield, said: “The Keel was one of the first PRS/BTR projects delivered in the UK and we are proud to have been at the forefront of this new and emerging sector.

“We will now be looking to identify new opportunities on behalf of our new fund, which achieved a first close in October 2017.”

Glenbrook has been retained as the developer for the remaining phase.

Glenbrook introduced the scheme to Barings and will partner with them on the asset management of The Keel and the development of Phase II at Queens Dock.