Wirral office development sold to housebuilder for £13m

A former office development in Bromborough, Wirral, has been sold to housing group, Persimmon Homes, in a £13m deal.

Watling Real Estate disposed of Riverside Park, an 18.28 acre former office park with outline planning consent for up to 217 residential units.

Chris Walker and Andrew Foster, of Watling Real Estate, were appointed as Fixed Charge Receivers over the site close to the River Mersey and next to Eastham Country Park.

Chris Walker, a director in the Manchester office of Watling, said: “Working with key stakeholders throughout the process, the property was successfully promoted as a strategic residential site in Wirral’s new Local Plan and secured several planning permissions, including consent to a change of use of the existing office buildings and, crucially, outline consent for comprehensive site redevelopment for residential use.

“Riverside Park is a very well located residential opportunity which attracted strong interest from a number of national and regional house builders.”

He added: “The availability of good quality deliverable housing sites remains a challenge in many areas across the North West.

“Riverside Park is an excellent brownfield opportunity which will deliver much needed family housing in the area.

“Coupled with the Wirral-owned former MoD site next door, which is also consented for residential development, this is the start of an exciting evolution of a former employment area on the peninsula.”

Law firm DLA Piper acted for the Fixed Charge Receivers with Kuits Solicitors in Manchester advising Persimmon.

Colliers’ Manchester office were joint selling agents with Watling Real Estate.

Mike Brassington, director of Residential Land at Colliers, said: “It was good to be invvolved assisting Watling Real Estate generate a high level of interest and secure a competitive capital receipt.”