Fab Four million for city property
IT’S where The Beatles reputedly wrote She Loves You – and it’s just changed hands for £4million.
Property giant Hanro has snapped up Newcastle’s former Royal Turks Hotel as part of a £120m property spending spree.
Over the last two years the commercial property company has sold off a vast chunk of its portfolio after carrying out a strategic review.
Adam Serfontein, managing director, of Hanro, said the time was right to sell those properties, which included Sainsbury’s in Heaton in a £44.5m land deal.
Now the company is investing in new stock, with a focus on the growing leisure sector as well as offices.
Hanro plans to invest a total of £120m on properties across the North East, with £70m already ploughed into a range of schemes.
Over the last few months the firm has acquired the Waitrose supermarket in Jesmond, Noble Street industrial estate in Newcastle, Alnwick’s Aldi supermarket and Topps Tiles store, the Barclays call centre at Doxford Park, the Mill Volvo garage on Newcastle’s Scotswood Road and the Honda Car centre on Wessington Way, Sunderland and B&Q warehouse on Trimdon Street in Sunderland and the Royal Mail depot in Sunderland.
Mr Serfontein said: “In 2016 we carried out a review that led to us selling off £120m of property, prior to the referendum – and we started to acquire again last autumn.
“We had a significant portfolio that we’d owned for some time and through development of the stock we had added as much value as we could to it, so the time was right to sell.
“This time we have been looking at out-of-town retail, commercial retail and also city-centre retail, based where there are big markets for tourists and students – we are essentially targeting the leisure, industrial and offices markets.
“We are getting into real Brexit negotiations and there are more downsides than ups, but there are always opportunities to be had in property, so long as you have the right sector, in the right location.”
The firm’s key purchase in Newcastle city centre is Barclays House, a building that was subject to a controversial planning scheme under previous ownership three years ago.
Approval then was granted to convert the grand listed building on Grey Street, which had previously been the Royal Turks Head hotel, into student accommodation.
However, that scheme never proceeded, paving the way for Hanro to step in.
Mr Serfontein is adamant that no student accommodation will feature, condemning the amount already in existence in the city, and will instead oversee Hanro’s plans to convert it into swish new offices, with around 21,000sqft of available space.
The firm paid just over £4m for the building, and work is just beginning on a £2m refurbishment programme devised to entice scaleup firms into the city.
Mr Serfontein said: “We think Grey Street is heading for a new high and Barclays House is in a great location.
“As someone who cares about Newcastle I do not want to see anymore student accommodation in Newcastle city centre, where there is actually over supply.”