A major city centre project in Bristol is set to be brought forward after almost two decades of disputes and delays, following the sale of the site to Goodman.
The developer has exchanged on the St Mary le Port site next to Castle Park on the north side of the River Avon. It is currently home to three buildings totalling 130,000 sq ft, two of which are ripe for redevelopment. The whole project could have an end value of £70m.
The 67,294 sq ft Prudential Building is the most valuable and modern building on the site. Valued at around £17m, it is multilet to tenants including Nokia and Reed and produces an annual income of £1.1m.
The deal also includes the 33,291 sq ft Bank House, which is let to Lloyds Bank for another 41 years at just £9.31 per sq ft. If a lease surrender can be agreed, the property has scope for redevelopment.
The final property is a 29,199 sq ft former Bank of England premises, which is largely vacant and has potential for a 60,000 sq ft office redevelopment.
Offers of more than £21.2m were invited for the site through Hartnell Taylor Cook, and Goodman is understood to have agreed a price close to £24m. It fought off competition from underbidder Ediston Properties.
The site was sold by Isle of Man-based Strand Street Properties, which was part of the now dissolved London & Paris Estates, which was in turn part of Max Davidson’s and Christopher Dymond’s Lucrum Holdings.
In the mid-1990s, London & Paris started working with adjoining landholders Bristol council and Morley Fund Management (now Aviva). Local developer Deeley Freed was brought in to develop the site in 2006 and law firm Burges Salmon was expected to take a prelet but went elsewhere.
In 2010, a legal wrangle began between Aviva (formerly Morley) and Strand Street over development management costs and the plan fell apart. The scheme then remained stalled during the financial crisis, with Aviva also involved as Strand Street’s lender.
GVA is advising Goodman.
