‘US buyer lined up for Royal Exchange’

THE owners of Manchester’s Royal Exchange building are understood to have accepted a bid for the building.

PRUPIM, the property investment arm of Prudential, put it on the market in January with an asking price of £45.8m and sources say it is now under offer to a US-based investment fund which has a presence in London.

The grade II-listed building in Cross Street covers 280,000 sq ft and is home to the Royal Exchange Theatre as well as offices, retail units and a shopping arcade.
 
Tenants include Molton Brown, Moss Bros, Starbucks, Accessorize, Whittard and Swarovski who contribute to an annual rent roll of £3m.

TheBusinessDesk understands the new owner may be interested in converting the 107,000 sq ft of office space into a hotel or serviced apartments.

The Royal Exchange was Manchester’s cotton exchange with a number of different buildings occupying the site since the it was founded in 1729. Much of the current building was built in the 1870s and modified by Bolton architect Bradshaw Gass & Hope in 1921. PRUPIM bought it from the exchange when trading ceased in 1968. GVA is handling the sale.

GVA senior director Mark Rawstron would not comment on talk of an offer but said: “There has been a huge amount of interest in the sale given its importance in Manchester and the historical context as well.

“It’s only the second time in its life that it has been brought to market. There has been interest from all sorts of people, and significant interest from overseas buyers.”

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