A prominent Leeds businessman has gone under offer to buy the former Yorkshire Post HQ for a student flats scheme.
David Newett has bought the 220,000 sq ft block, known as the Bunker, on Wellington Street, from Johnston Press for around £2m.
The investor is understood to be planning to secure a temporary consent for a car park to provide an income, before pursuing a student accommodation-led redevelopment.
Newett, from Wetherby in West Yorkshire, runs Stirling Investments, which bought the Thorpe Arch Grange portion of Leeds United Football Club’s training ground in 2004. He also co-founded Yorkshire-based turnaround investor Endless.
The 4.75-acre site, which was home to the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post for 42 years, was put up for sale last year through Fox Lloyd Jones and Rapleys after staff moved to offices at the nearby Number 1 Leeds.
The sale, which was delayed by title issues, is expected to exchange before the year end.
Meanwhile, a private Middle Eastern consortium has bought two prime Leeds office blocks to refurbish as 100 luxury flats.
Florian Investments’ 25 Queen Street and the Environment Agency’s River House, which total around 100,000 sq ft, have both been placed under offer for £4.5m and £4m respectively.
Saudi-based Florian Investments is disposing of several properties in Leeds, Slough in Berkshire, Poynton in Cheshire and Purley in Croydon. The Leeds deals are expected to complete next week.
One agent said: “It is a very surprising move, right in the traditional prime office core. We could do with losing office space like a hole in the head.”
Leeds office take-up totalled 829,000 sq ft to the end of Q3, leaving only around 200,000 sq ft of available space, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Andrew Dixon is acting for Florian; Carter Trowler is advising the consortium; Lambert Smith Hampton is representing the Environment Agency.
chris.berkin@estatesgazette.com
