Landwood tasked with shifting 79th Group assets

As a fraud investigation into the collapsed asset manager continues, administrators from Quantuma have instructed Landwood to manage the sale of properties including a Birchwood office block, available for £1m.

Specialist operator Landwood was tasked with selling off three assets, and has already found a taker for a 16,380 sq ft former Gaumont cinema in Park Road East, Birkenhead.

Place understands that the asset was sold ahead of auction for significantly more than the guide price of £150,000. The building had been used for various purposes since its cinematic heyday, including for furniture sales.

Four people are still on bail as part of the City of London Police fraud probe into Southport-headquartered 79th Group. The company denies any wrongdoing.

Earlier this year, eight vehicles linked to the group were placed into administration – seven with Quantuma, one with Grant Thornton.

A buyer has been found for the Birkenhead asset. Credit: via Smoking Gun

Quantuma has now asked Landwood to realise a return from three of the failed asset manager’s properties. Two of the three properties are still available. Up for grabs are a former workhouse turned hospital administration building in Hexham, Northumberland, and a two-storey office building in Warrington.

Located at 930-932 Birchwood Boulevard, the office building is subdivided into 21 suites, and offers 51 car parking spaces. Excluding common areas, the net lettable space at the 12,900 sq ft building comes in at 9,469 sq ft.

The building was last sold in December 2022 for £1.23m. Offers are invited in the region of £1m+.

James Ashworth, partner and head of agency at Landwood Group, said: “These three very different properties all have their own unique characteristics and their own USPs.

“While we have already found a buyer for the Wirral site, we are confident that each of them will find buyers who will be able to take them forward, develop as appropriate and bring them back into occupation.

“We are specialists in this field and we offer a coordinated approach offering the administrators the expertise of our recovery, valuation and agency teams. We hope to secure the best prices we can in the current market and all three properties should generate plenty of interest.”

Landwood Group, a firm encompassing surveyors, auctioneers, project managers and asset managers, underwent a management buyout in 2023.