Seneca Property sells retail and trade site for £2.45m

Seneca Property, property investment arm of finance group Seneca, has sold the Tower Mill Estate in Openshaw, Manchester to BR Property Group for £2.45 million and is looking to reallocate capital to new opportunities.

Tower Mill is a freehold, mixed-use estate comprising 22,400 square feet of multi-let retail and trade counter space. The property is situated on a prominent 2-acre site on Ashton Old Road, Openshaw, close to the Etihad stadium.

Seneca acquired the estate in 2018 for less than £1.90 million and has since implemented a strategic plan to enhance its value. During its ownership, Seneca increased rental levels by 35%, improved income security, and successfully leased previously vacant land at the rear of the site to create a reserve power facility to support domestic energy production.

Jeff Morton, CEO of Seneca Property, said the sale will “allows us to reallocate capital” toward new opportunities offering high returns to investors.

Chris Bullough, MD of Seneca Property, said: “Our team’s efforts over the past few years have been instrumental in improving the income security and rental levels at Tower Mill, in order to deliver investor returns that are ahead of wider market performance during this period.” 

Fisher German advised Seneca on the sale, while PK3 represented BR Property Group.

Since Chris Bullough and Jeff Morton founded Seneca Property in 2017 they have built a commercial real estate portfolio exceeding £200 million.

Morton has over 35 years of real estate experience in UK and Europe which has seen him transact in excess of £3bn worth of property. Prior to founding Seneca Property, Jeff held a number of high-profile roles including time served as Managing Director and Head of Investment at BlackRock and Merrill Lynch respectively.

Chris Bullough, managing director of Seneca Property maintains responsibility for day-to-day operations. He began his career with PwC, working in the Leeds and London offices.