Royal Mail Group and Parcelforce Worldwide have withdrawn their freehold site at King’s Cross, N1, from the market after two phases of competitive bidding.
The vendors appointed CBRE to sell the 3.7-acre development site, at Royal College Place, in March this year.
CBRE secured more than 15 bids for the site in May, with offers reaching up to £160m, according to market sources. The opportunity was understood to be explored at the time by investors including Delancey, Stanhope and a joint venture between UBS and Reef.
However, volatile market conditions dented the sale process, causing CBRE to re-market the site in July.
Royal Mail Group is permanently relocating its Parcelforce operations to a new facility in Tottenham, N17.
The King’s Cross site represents one of the last major land parcels remaining in the heart of London’s knowledge quarter.
The scale and location of the site was expected to attract interest from the life sciences sector, alongside office and residential developers and investors.
Alastair Perks, head of London development at CBRE, confirmed to EG: “Following two phases of competitive bidding, CBRE has halted the marketing process for Royal College Place on behalf of the Royal Mail Group and Parcelforce after proposals failed to offer satisfactory value.
“Our foremost priority is to ensure our client achieves the optimal outcome from the sale of this strategically important asset.”
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