City centre office block changes hands in £11m deal

Cardinal House, a 55,749 sq ft office building in the heart of Manchester, has been sold in an £11m deal.

Acting on behalf of the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, the Altrincham-based Derwent Group sold the property to Sensible Properties Limited.

The 1960s eight-storey building occupies a prominent location in the heart of Manchester city centre overlooking Parsonage Gardens and fronting the River Irwell.

Barings occupies 24,752 sq ft, with the rest of the building being vacant.

Cardinal House forms part of the city council’s St Mary’s Parsonage Strategic Regeneration Framework, which supports the ongoing redevelopment and refurbishment of the buildings in this established quarter of the city.

Jonathan Black, property director at the Derwent Group, said: “Cardinal House has performed well for the charity since acquisition as an income producing asset.

“The office building has been positioned as a future redevelopment opportunity as part of the wider St Mary’s Parsonage Strategic Regeneration Framework, which no longer aligns with the trustees current investment criteria and appetite for risk, so the decision has been made to divest from this asset and redeploy the capital.”

Avison Young acted on behalf of the Derwent Group.

The Derwent Group manages the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation’s property portfolio, which funds the work of the charity. That portfolio comprises three million sq ft of office, industrial, retail and leisure space nationwide.