Four investors in frame for Tesco Kirkby site

Tesco and Knowsley Council have released a joint statement to announce that four formal offers have been made to purchase Tesco’s land in Kirkby following its decision to withdraw from a proposed 300,000 sq ft development.

As part of its business restructuring Tesco decided not to proceed with several major developments around the country in January 2015, including a 140,000 sq ft foodstore and 90 retail units in the Knowsley town.

Tesco and the council said “all four bids are from experienced investors, and would result in significant multi-million pound development in the town centre. The bids come after months of behind the scenes work from Tesco and the council to attract investment.”

Cllr Andy Moorhead, leader of Knowsley Council, said: “We are naturally delighted that four high quality proposals have been submitted for Kirkby. We made it very clear when Tesco pulled out of the town that we would do whatever we could as a local authority to help to attract new investment. We are looking forward to the conclusion of the bidding process, so that we can then work with a new partner on the completion of our regeneration programme.”

Discussions with interested investors have been ongoing for a number of months and the deadline to submit formal bids passed on 9 July 2015.  Following an initial review of the proposals, Tesco is now in the process of carrying out due diligence before making a final decision on the sale of the company’s assets in Kirkby.

A Tesco spokesman added: “We are very pleased to have received bids for our site in Kirkby and are now evaluating these bids. We are treating this process as a priority and while we’re not currently able to provide definitive timescales, we look forward to making a positive announcement to the local community soon that will secure long term investment in Kirkby.”