Property briefs: New Lloyds for Market Street; McAleer & Rushe picks up hotel brief; Stakehill unit sold

LLOYDS Bank is opening a new branch in Manchester’s Market Street after agreeing a lease on the former Shellys shoe shop.

It has agreed a 10-year lease with landlord Irish Life Investment Managers on 15,900 sq ft at the four-storey building.

Irish Life was advised by Savills while CBRE represented Lloyds.

Mike Knowles, associate director at Savills, said: “This is a substantial new letting on Manchester’s prime retail pitch.  Irish Life has undertaken an extensive redevelopment of the building to create an impressive flagship unit ideal for a high profile occupier such as Lloyds Banking Group.”

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MCALEER & Rushe has been appointed as the main contractor on a 306-bed hotel on the site of the old employment exchange in Manchester’s Aytoun Street.

The four-star, eight-storey hotel is being developed by London-based Dominvs Hospitality which secured planning permission in December.

Dominvs is backed by Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia, the entrepreneur who sold Euro Car Parts for £280m two years ago.

It has already built up a portfolio of residential, commercial and industrial property assets, mainly around London, and it moved into hospitality in April with the acquisition of the Hotelier Group which operates hotels in Sheffield, Darlington and Dumfries under the Aston brand.

Martin Magee, McAleer & Rushe’s construction director, said: “This site which was vacant for nearly 20 years and was in desperate need of regeneration. Work will begin on-site imminently as there already has been a lot of detailed early-stage design input which will ensure best practice and best value construction, which leads to optimum efficiency in operation thereafter.”

Dominvs bought the Employment Exchange from accountancy group Deloitte in its capacity as administrator of Liverpool-based Albany Estates which had plans to build a 44-storey tower with a mix of apartments and hotel rooms on the site.

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RECEIVERS have sold a 100,000 sq ft industrial unit at Stakehill Industrial Estate in Middleton, near Oldham.

The property, let to Shop Direct subsidiary Parcelpoint, fetched £4m but the identity of the buyer was not disclosed.

Receiver David Currie said: “There was significant interest in the investment from property funds and investors alike and the sale proved that there is excellent demand for quality industrial investments.”