Nurton Developments has shelved the £105m sale of its biggest Birmingham asset owing to a combination of disappointing offers and the impact of Brexit.
The Birmingham-based property company sought a buyer for its 158,000 sq ft Two Colmore Square and Cannon House block via CBRE and approached a select group of potential buyers, thought to include CBRE Investors and M&G. However, it received offers of around £95m, well below the asking price.
Rupert Young, director at Nurton, said: “We didn’t get to a figure which CBRE could have recommended to us. Brexit did affect sentiment, but we didn’t think the timing of the sale was quite right anyway. We were testing the waters.”
The block is almost fully let, with recent deals to engineering company Jacobs, and a lease extension and expansion to Swedish bank Handelsbanken, which increased its offices at Two Colmore Square by 40% and signed a new seven-year lease on the space in April.
Young confirmed that a refinance package is likely to be put in place later this year, although the firm would consider selling again in Q4 2016. “We’re open to discussions. We’re not averse to selling, but not to discounters.”
The scheme is located on the Priory Queensway and Colmore Circus Queensway in the city’s Colmore Business District. Two Colmore Square was extensively refurbished in 2009. The building was formerly known as Priory House and is linked to Cannon House.
Nurton acquired the building in November 2007 for £43.25m.
• To send feedback, e-mail lisa.pilkington@estatesgazette.com or tweet @EGLisaP or @estatesgazette
