C&C bags Handelsbanken deal
Capital & Centric has let the vacant 4,000 sq ft floor of the recently acquired 15 Quay Street to Handelsbanken, which is to move its central branch from the neighbouring Sunlight House.
C&C acquired the 22,000 sq ft central Manchester asset, also known as Kabel House, off-market in May for £5.5m in a deal reflecting a net yield of 5.75%. The building’s other occupiers are insurance group Jelf and web domain provider Uniregistry.
Handelsbanken has agreed a 10-year lease, with the rent understood to be in the region of £22.50/sq ft, a significant uplift in the rental figure charged for the building previously, which is understood to be around £16/sq ft. The Swedish bank provides a full suite of banking services, but has always favoured a traditional branch model, with this branch run by Phil Basten, formerly of the Co-operative Bank.
Adam Higgins, director at Capital & Centric, said: “Handelsbanken are a relationship bank and we’ve been with them for a while, it seemed like a perfect fit and we were able to work quickly together to get the move lined up. It’s encouraging that the building is now fully let within two months of acquiring it.
“Whilst you may not associate Capital & Centric with this type of project, it’s a good example of our opportunistic approach to adding value across a variety of uses and scale.”
Basten said: “As part of Handelsbanken’s continued expansion in the UK, we are delighted to secure a new home so close to our Spinningfields base.
“The new office supports our continued growth as a branch. Over the coming weeks Neil McLoughlin is joining us from Yorkshire Bank to support our large corporate customers and Daniel Porteous from Coutts to further strengthen our individual banking team. We look forward to moving into 15 Quay Street later in the year.”
Both parties represented themselves.
