Sale of Leeds city centre building ‘The Albions’ completed for £6.5m

The 50-54 Albion Street building in Leeds City Centre has been purchased for £6.5m.

Town Centre Securities PLC sold the landmark building to a client of Knight Frank Investment Management.

Harmer Ray Hoffbrand acted for TCS and Jones Lang LaSalle acted for the purchaser.

‘The Albions’ is a Grade-II listed building which was brought to market as a prime freehold retail and leisure investment opportunity following the securing of new occupiers, Oliver Bonas and Sainsbury’s, at headline rents.

Additional tenants within the building include Patisserie Valerie and The New Conservatory.

The property provides an unexpired term of over 10 years.

Planning consent has also been obtained to convert the second and third floors to provide eight residential apartments.

The property occupies a prominent corner location at the junction of Albion Street and Albion Place, just off Commercial Street within the heart of Leeds’ retail core.

Edward Ziff, chairman and chief executive of Town Centre Securities PLC, said: “This disposal reflects our strategy to recycle capital and dispose of investments where our asset management initiatives have been concluded, and places us in a cash positive position to invest further in our desired locations of Manchester and London suburbs where we see opportunities to add both rental and capital value.”

John Styles, head of Fund Management at Knight Frank Investment Management, added: “The investment provides the fund good length of income to very good covenants with potential for medium term exposure to occupier markets in one of the country’s largest cities and retail destinations.”