Aviva puts Manchester office up for sale

Aviva Investors has instructed Knight Frank to find a new owner for 55 Spring Gardens, which sits in Manchester’s central business district. Offers over £15.3m are sought. If the asking price is achieved, the transaction would reflect a net initial yield of 10% and capital value of £267 per sq ft. Aviva acquired the building from CBRE Global Investors’ fund back in 2017 for £20.5m. The building comprises 55,385 sq ft of workspace across ground and nine upper floors with basement car parking. It is occupied by firms, including lawyers Clarke Willmott, language services firm TransPerfect, and insurers Ageas, generating total income of £1.6m per annum, reflecting an average office rent of £28.86 per sq ft. A potential buyer is offered an opportunity to drive rental performance through leasing vacant space, re-gears, continued refurbishment and enhanced amenity provision. or consider alternative uses, including hotel and residential, subject to planning. See occupational sale comparables in Manchester >> Photo © Knight Frank