Freehold of Barbour’s Manchester home up for auction

Allsop has given 6 St Anns Square a guide price of £3.5m ahead of opening it up for bidders on 10 June.

That guide price for the freehold puts the gross initial yield at 7.85% for the property, which generates £255,000 in annual rental income for its owners, Equity First Holdings.

Barbour occupies the ground floor and basement of the 9,800 sq ft Manchester building, while nine flats occupy its upper four floors.

Bringing it to auction is a full-circle move for 6 St Anns Square, which was acquired by Equity First Holdings at a similar auction in 2013. At that time, the upper floors of the building were offices. The family owned company changed that, transforming them into the nine flats that are there today.

Alex Neil, commercial auction partner at Allsop, hinted that the item would be a popular one on auction day.

“Buildings of this quality, located in one of Manchester’s top retail and leisure destinations with long-term leases to a brand such as Barbour, rarely come up for auction,” he said.

“Combined with its attractive apartments in a desirable location which commands strong rents, we expect strong interest from investors for this property.”