Key new Blackburn building sold for £9.1m
PRESTON-based Maple Grove Developments, part of the Eric Wright Group, has pre sold its 32,000 sq ft office building at Blackburn Cathedral Quarter to Legal & General Property for £9.1m, reflecting a yield of 4.6%.
The office building, One Cathedral Square, is let to Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council on a 25-year lease.
The council will not take occupation directly, instead they will let the offices to businesses looking for Grade A Office space to meet their occupational requirements. Agents for the development are Knight Frank and Trevor Dawson and Co.
It forms part of a wider first phase at the Cathedral Quarter development comprising a Premier Inn, restaurants and cathedral accommodation arranged around a new public square and transport interchange.
Works on the project, which received assistance from Lancashire LEP, HCA, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and the European Regional Development Fund, are scheduled to complete in the autumn.
The asset has been acquired by Legal & General Property on behalf of its limited price inflation (LPI) Income Property Fund. Launched in 2010, the LPI Fund offers defined benefit pension schemes an innovative way to invest in property with secure, primarily government backed, inflation-linked sources of income.
With more than £600m of assets under management, the portfolio generates income yields well in excess of those from comparable asset classes such as index-linked gilts or social housing.
Director of Maple Grove Developments, Andrew Dewhurst, said: “One Cathedral Square will be the first Grade A office building completed in Blackburn town centre for 20 years.
“Designed by BDP, and sited between the cathedral and railway station, the building will give occupiers the chance to re-locate into modern, efficient office space with excellent sustainability credentials.
“The transformation of this part of the town centre is now becoming a reality as building works advance at a pace.”
Adam Kerr, head of long income transactions at Legal & General Property, said: “Forming a key element of the major regeneration of Blackburn town centre, sitting at the heart of the new interchange with the bus station, rail station and Cathedral, we believe that this Grade A office building will become an important hub for business in the region.”
Cllr Andy Kay, executive member for resources, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council added: “Legal and General’s first acquisition in Blackburn town centre demonstrates to us that the sustained investment in the town centre by ourselves and other partners is continuing to pay dividends.
“The location of this stunning, ‘city style’ office building, in the setting of Lancashire’s Cathedral will make it one of the most prestigious business addresses in the region”.
Maple Grove Developments was advised by the real estate team at national law firm Irwin Mitchell in Manchester. Anita Weightman, partner and head of real estate at Irwin Mitchell, led the team which also included real estate partner Claire Quinn and tax partner, Alex Barnes.
