Sale of Leeds ‘skyscraper site’ falls through

LONDON-BASED property investors Ace Liberty & Stone said this morning that its sale of a Leeds office building, which could have made way for a new skyscraper to become the city’s tallest building, has fallen through.

In January 2016, the company announced it had exchanged contracts on Hume House near the Merrion Centre in the Arena Quarter, in a £3.55m deal with completion expected in December.

Proposals for a 40-storey tower on the site on Wade Lane emerged later last year, comprising primarily student accommodation with commercial space at ground-floor level.

However, Ace Liberty & Stone said today that the purchaser has been “unable to complete the purchase and therefore the company retains ownership of the property and receipt of the rental income of £188,000 p.a.”

Ace said it “remains convinced the current market will provide an opportunity to sell the property in the near future and a further announcement will be made at the appropriate time.”

Ace acquired the site £1.675m at auction in February 2014.

The deal, if it had gone through, would have represented a profit of £1.88m on the 18,716 sq ft property.