Member Article

Iconic listed Chester building sold for £8.875m

The iconic Exchange building in Chester city centre has been sold for £8.875 million.

Opus North, a northern property developer and investor, backed by the Palmer Capital Development Fund I, has sold the Grade A, three-storey office building, situated in St John’s Street, opposite the Roman Amphitheatre.

The Exchange has been bought by Knight Frank Investment Management, on behalf of the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group.

Tenants at the 70,000 sq ft building, which was previously occupied by British Telecom, include Travelodge, Marstons, Pizza Express, Optical Express and civil engineers Rambol.

It is fully let apart from a 600 sq ft office suite, and it has been comprehensively refurbished by Opus North.

Andrew Duncan, director of West Yorkshire-based Opus North, said: “The Exchange is a superb mixed-use building, and its sale underlines this. We were delighted to restore the building to its former glory and then find a buyer in a challenging market for commercial property.

“The retail tenants include national names like Travelodge, Pizza Express and the Pitcher and Piano, making the Exchange a destination location in the heart of Chester.

“It has its own on-site car parking and is superbly located close to Chester’s main retail and leisure facilities. In addition, Chester’s main bus station is approximately half a mile away whilst Chester’s mainline railway station is nearby, with regular services to Manchester, Liverpool and London Euston.”

Chris Button, director at Palmer Capital, says: “This is a good example of an enlightened funder and a creative developer combining to revitalise an historic city centre”.

The agents for Opus North were GVA in Manchester, while Savills represented the purchaser.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .