Receivers at Allsop have gone head-to-head with Ealing council and Land Securities in a battle to redevelop a cinema in west London.
Allsop has appointed DTZ to market the 1.1-acre former Empire cinema, W5, on Uxbridge Road.
The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation called in Allsop as receiver in February, in a bid to recoup a £27m loan on the property.
However, Ealing council is proposing to make a compulsory purchase order for the site, on which it appointed Land Securities in 2012 to develop a scheme called Ealing Filmworks.
Allsop urged the council to delay using a CPO by nine months to enable a sale of the site to recover costs.
But the council has vowed to press on and Land Securities expects to submit an outline planning application for a cinema, restaurants, bars and 150 homes later this summer.
Empire, which previously owned the site, operated the cinema until its closure in 2008. It had several planning applications for a replacement cinema; the first in 2004 and the most recent in 2011.
The proposed sale comes after a recent raft of investor activity in the area. Benson Elliot secured permission in June to convert the Arcadia shopping centre into three shops totalling 98,000 sq ft and, earlier this year, British Land bought Ealing Broadway shopping centre from Wereldhave for £142.5m.
DTZ head of retail development John Percy said: “The strength and demand of the location should lead to strong market appetite. It will appeal to a range of developers and investors.
“There will be plenty of UK development companies as well as foreign investors who are also looking to invest in London.”
Cushman & Wakefield advises Ealing council.
annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com
