Property round-up: National Grid buys Heysham site; Orbit lets 9,000 sq ft in Knutsford; and more
NATIONAL Grid has bought a 12-acre site at Heysham in Lancashire fronting the A683.
The site is a former railway sidings which has been sold by DTZ on behalf of joint LPA receivers.
DTZ said that it has also been instructed to sell two other plots of land totalling 18.44 acreas at the nearby Middleton Business Park. One of the plots already has planning in place for a biomass plant.
Director Tony O’Keefe said: “These two plots offer a rare opportunity to secure land less than half a mile from the Port of Heysham, which is suitable for traditional industrial uses or the environmental sector.”
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TWO lower floors of the former Grand Hotel building in Manchester city centre is set to be auctioned off later this month with a guide price of £350,000.
The vacant property consists of 31,495 sq ft in the lower ground/upper basement area of the building, which has apartments above that were converted into apartments that were sold in 2000. The space, which is just 100 yards from Piccadilly Gardens and is just two minutes from Piccadilly station, has planning consent for A3 space and could be used as a hotel, hostel or casino.
James Ashworth, director at Pugh & Co, said: “The Grand is an exciting opportunity of a type that hasn’t been seen in the auction room for some time. It’s unusual for such a city centre site to be offered and with a guide price of £350,000 to £375,000, we expect interest from developers and investors with the vision to realise the site’s obvious potential.”
The auction will be held on May 31 at Manchester United Football Club’s Old Trafford stadium.
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ORBIT Developments has secured the largest office letting in Wilmslow for years after agreeing a 10-year lease for 9,231 sq ft of space at its Sandfield House building with Roberts Jackson Solicitors. 
The firm, which is a personal injury and industrial disease specialist, was recently named Small Law Firm of the Year at the Manchester Legal Awards.
Director Oliver Jackson said: “When we out-grew our existing office space, we needed somewhere that could support our growing business.
“Sandfield House was the obvious choice. Our new inner town location is perfect for us, it’s minutes from the airport and train station and there is room for us to expand.”
Orbit Developments surveyor James Raspin said: “This letting demonstrates the continuing strong performance of the Wilmslow market where we have now let over 30,000 sq ft in the past 6 months.”
DTZ and Canning O’Neill acted on behalf of the landlord.
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LANGTREE Commercial Property has bought the 27,350 sq ft Unit B at Guinness Circle at Trafford Park in a deal worth over £1.6m.
The 27,350 sq ft self-contained modern industrial unit, which is situated close to the Guinness Circle Roundabout on Trafford Park, is tenanted to CCF (a subsidiary of Travis Perkins Group) until 2021.
CCF has 29 outlets throughout the UK and the Trafford Park outlet is regularly-ranked as one of its best performing.
Richard Ainscough, managing director at Langtree CP, said: “We are delighted to have acquired unit B Guinness Circle in a deal reflecting a yield approaching 9%.
“Langtree CP is an active investor in properties like this and we’re keen to acquire more. We have a number of other possible acquisitions under consideration and I expect we’ll be doing more deals in the coming months.”
