City centre office block acquired in £20m+ deal

The acquisition of a key Manchester city centre office block has been concluded, in a deal reportedly worth more than £20m.

Haydock-based specialist real estate investor, Seneca Property, completed the acquisition of the freehold of 55 Princess Street.

The six-storey, 57,000 sq ft office occupies a prime spot between Albert Square and St Peter’s Square and houses tenants including law firm Trowers Hamlin while offering a ground floor retail unit occupied by Tesco.

Scottish investment company, Abrdn, paid £21.8m for the building in 2015.

Seneca Property was advised on the purchase by Darren Hamer at Hill Dickinson (legals).

Jeff Morton, Seneca Property CEO, said: “This purchase demonstrates Seneca’s ability to identify potential within high quality, well located assets where we believe we can bring significant value through our active management strategy.

“We are actively evaluating other such investment opportunities where we can offer sellers transactional speed and execution certainty.”

Chris Bullough, Seneca Property MD, said: “There remains significant demand for high quality and well located Manchester offices such as 55 Princess Street, and we are looking forward to working with the occupiers to further enhance a top quality working environment.

“We also look forward to the completion of the ongoing works to Albert Square and Manchester Town Hall which will provide a stunning backdrop to the property for years to come.”