Ainscoughs pay £22.88m for Ship Canal House

Himor Group, controlled by Langtree founder Bill Ainscough and his son Will, has acquired one of Manchester's landmark office buildings from Catalyst Capital LLP at a net yield of 6.7%.

Will AinscoughWill Ainscough, managing director of Himor, based in Newton-le-Willows, said: "Ship Canal House will form part of our long term investment portfolio. We are on an active acquisition trail this year and plan to double our current £60m portfolio over the next five years."

Ship Canal House is a 71,527 sq ft Grade 2 listed building on King Street in the traditional core of Manchester business district. The building is multi-let to firms including Fortis Bank, CLB Coopers, Stripes Solicitors, Fidelity International, Liverpool Victoria and most recently, HBJ Gately Wareing, which relocated its 200 strong staff to the building last August following the acquisition of department from collapsed Halliwells.

WHR Property Consultants, acting on behalf of Himor, said it is only the fourth time the building has been sold in its 100 year history.

Mark Williams, partner at WHR Property Consultants, said: "This is one of the most high profile investment purchases that Manchester has seen in the last 12 months. We had to compete with several funds to secure this deal highlighting the healthy demand for quality office investments in the region and reinforces Manchester's position as a leading UK city for growth as a business destination."

In July 2010, Himor sold 40 Spring Gardens, originally developed by Langtree, its 100,000 sq ft office building in Manchester, for £47.5m to Climate Change Capital. Himor also owns St James's Court on Brown Street in Manchester.

Lockett Loveday McMahon provided legal advice to Himor. GVA represented Catalyst Capital LLP.

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