Interest is high as old bank sells for a million
THIS former bank has been sold for more than £1m.
The NatWest Bank building, in Withington village, closed its doors for good two years ago.
The building, which is just off busy Wilmslow Road in the heart of the village, sold for double the listed guide price of £500,000. It is not yet known who has bought the impres- sive Grade II listed building or what they plan to do with the huge site.
The 8,600 sq ft Grade II listed building was designed in 1890 by Scottish architects Mills and Murgatroyd - who were also responsible for the 1869 redesign of the Royal Exchange building.
New owners will take control of a large site which includes the former vault, basement, bank premises and an adjacent three-storey building with a rear car park. The bank closed back in the summer of 2015 as Natwest sold off a number of branches following a rise in online banking.
Auctioneers acting for the banking group say there was a huge amount of interest in the building.
Paul Thompson, managing director of Pugh auction house, which is owned by property consultant Eddisons, said the final agreed sale price was £1,050,000 at last week’s North West Pugh property auction in Manchester. He said: “The changing face of retail means that more and more high street bank branches are closing and being sold off.
“Bank properties themselves tend to be purpose built which can sometimes limit redevelopment opportunities but in the case of the former NatWest in Withington, a wellloved, historic building, in a busy and affluent area of South Manchester, there was a huge amount of interest.
He added: “We are seeing an increasing number of former bank buildings as well as a host of other unconventional properties coming to us for sale by auction.
“It’s a quick and effective route to market for properties that can be otherwise awkward to dispose of, for a good return.”