Buyer pays £310k for shopping centre

THE Postings shopping centre in Kirkcaldy has been sold at auction for £310,000.

A mystery bidder purchased the struggling town centre mall when it was auctioned by Allsop at the Berkeley Hotel in London’s Knightsbridge with a starting price of just £1.

Bids started at a meagre £10, with potential buyers, including telephone and online bidders, slow to get started.

The auctioneer even said: “If we can’t do any better, we’re going to sell it to the gentleman at £10.” But offers started to come in, and soon a telephone bidder was willing to pay £230,000, albeit to the surprise of the auctioneer, who said: “All that shopping centre for £230,000?”

Eventually the sale was settled at £310,000.

The Postings, which has suffered since the loss of its flagship tenant Tesco in 2015, is in need of investment.

Of its 21 shop units 14 are vacant and the crumbling stairs leading from the High Street to the centre are currently blocked off for safety reasons.

The site also includes a 299-space car park.

David Torrance, SNP MSP for Kirkcaldy, said the new owner now had the opportunity to help regenerate the town centre.

“The centre has become run-down in recent years and the sale is a great opportunity to provide badly needed refurbishment,” he said.