Member Article

St James Securities complete multi-million pound sale of Morrisons superstore

Award-winning Leeds-based property developers St James Securities have completed the sale of a new 64,500 sq ft Morrison superstore in Ilkeston to the British Steel Pension Fund in an undisclosed multi-million pound deal.

The supermarket, together with a petrol filling station, is now open.

This development has enabled Derby College to build a brand-new £10 million state-of-the-art campus on the site of the redundant magistrates’ court in the centre of Ilkeston. The sale of the Field Road campus site to St James Securities provided the funding for the new college, which caters for 800 students.

The sale also marks the return of St James Securities, one of the most high-profile and successful Yorkshire developers of the past three decades, to the commercial property market in the north of England.

Paul Morris, director of St James Securities, commented: “First, this successful deal is tremendous news for Ilkeston, which now has a brand-new supermarket and a college of further education, which is fit for the 21st century and provides a first-class education for students in the Ilkeston region.

“Secondly, following this deal and the successful development of a new 32,450 sq ft M&S Simply Food at Leeds Road in Harrogate, we are delighted to report that St James Securities are active and open for business.”

“These developments underline our reputation for high-profile quality schemes and add to our portfolio of food-store retail, office and mixed-use sectors. With further innovative developments planned in Yorkshire and beyond, we are continuing to successfully progress schemes in improving market conditions.

He added: “A large part of our achievement is down to our ability to work on sensitive projects and entering new markets. Our recent success in Ilkeston was the culmination of much hard work. We are proud of the strong team we have here at SJS.”

St James Securities masterminded some of the most impressive developments in Yorkshire during the past two decades, including The Round Foundry, Bridgewater Place, the Electric Press, Seacroft District Centre and The Light in Leeds; Wakefield Waterfront in Wakefield; Centenary Square in Bradford; St James Business Park in Knaresborough; and St Paul’s Place in Sheffield.

Paul Morris explained: “We are justifiably proud of our track record, but we are now looking to the future. The combination of a return of confidence to the market and our strong skillset means that we are well-positioned to take advantage of development opportunities.

“We have a good pipeline of work, including projects in Leeds, Wakefield and Derbyshire, and we are on the look-out for more projects,” he added.

David Watson of Leeds property consultancy WSB represented St James Securities, while Richard Walsh of Colliers International represented the British Steel Pension Fund.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .