Grade II-listed bank property in Manchester sells for over £1m

A Grade II-listed former bank building in Manchester has sold for over £1m.

The property, previously occupied by NatWest, fetched £1,050,000 at last week’s North West Pugh property auction in Manchester – more than twice its guide price of £500k.

Located on Wilmslow Road in Withington, the 8,600 sq ft building was designed in 1890 by Scottish architects Mills and Murgatroyd, who also delivered a redesign of the city’s Royal Exchange building in 1869.

Auction house Pugh is owned by Leeds-based property consultants Eddisons.

Paul Thompson, managing director of Pugh, 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 well-loved, historic building, in a busy and affluent area of South Manchester, there was a huge amount of interest.”

He continued: “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.”

Pugh’s latest property auctions in Manchester and Leeds generated £8m in sales.

Eddisons acquired the business in 2016.