Building Briefs: Business park snapped up; Historic site goes under hammer; Contractor drives ahead with £6m car showroom contract

INVESTOR appetite in the region remains strong, according to property experts involved in the sale of a Leeds business park.

Acting on behalf of Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate, the Capital Markets team at CBRE Leeds has sold two office parks in Leeds and Newcastle Upon Tyne for around £4.75m.

Pavilion Business Park in Leeds, which was acquired by M7 Real Estate, is an established business park fronting Leeds outer ring road, close to Junction 1 of the M621 motorway and Leeds City Centre.

The 16 detached, self-contained two and three storey modern buildings provide 53,645 sq ft of good quality office accommodation and are already home to a broad range of occupiers such as ADT Fire and Security, Banardo’s and Level 3 Communications UK, Pavilion Business Park also offers active asset management potential.

Vantage Point is located on Balliol Business Park and was acquired by Methnor Properties.  It is widely considered to be one of the best office parks in the Newcastle Upon Tyne area comprising two modern three storey office buildings, Victory House and Balliol House, totalling 40,712 sq ft over ground and two upper floors.

Robin Bullas, director of capital markets at CBRE Leeds, said: “We are delighted to announce the sale of Vantage Point and Pavilion Business Park, both situated in prominent and established locations within the North of England. The recent sales demonstrate the current investor appetite for well positioned office accommodation with asset management opportunities.”

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A CITY centre car park, fronted by the grade II listed Victorian façade of the former Fountain Hall Quaker meeting house in Bradford, is among more than 70 lots included at an auction which is set to generate more than £6.5m.

Located in Fountain Street, Bradford, the car park also neighbours the site where Branwell Bronte, brother to Charlotte, Emily and Anne, took lodgings between 1838 and 1839, and earned a living as a portrait artist, before he took to drink and drugs. The site, which has a guide price of £150,000-plus, includes the car park and opportunity to redevelop the derelict Fountain Hall building.

Other historic buildings due to go under the Eddisons hammer in Leeds on May 26 at Elland Road stadium include Phoenix House on Elland Road in Morley, Leeds. The 6,000 sq ft former Victorian Methodist chapel has been refurbished as office and retail accommodation and is currently vacant. The guide price is set at £150,000.  

Also up for auction is a five-storey, 23, 000 sq ft, Victorian woollen mill on Crown Street in Halifax town centre. The disused building has lapsed planning consent for redevelopment into ten residential units and has a guide price of £85,000.

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YORKSHIRE-based Clugston Construction has secured a contract to deliver a new car showroom for Martin Duckworth Jaguar Land Rover in Boston, Lincolnshire.

The £6m scheme will see construction and fit-out of a 4,345sq m facility, which will provide a showroom, sales and service desks, offices, meeting rooms, workshops, parts, valet and customer handover areas as well as a large car display area.

Work started on the project last month.