JLL to dispose of West Tower
The freehold of the entire 40-storey West Tower in Liverpool has been put up for sale in one lot with an asking price of £12.5m.
Administrators Les Ross and Martin Ellis of accountancy firm Grant Thornton have appointed Jones Lang LaSalle to oversee the disposal. The sale includes 106 flats for rent, ground rent on 17 owner-occupied apartments, and four commercial units, three of which have tenants.
West Tower Liverpool and Mapfield Properties, subsidiaries of the Beetham Organisation, were placed into administration in January 2011. Anglo Irish Bank is owed £25.6m from the development and stands to make a significant loss. The bank is currently in wind-down mode after nationalisation in 2009.
Grant Thornton said there was a delay in bringing West Tower to market as an issue with Liverpool City Council concerning land underneath an overhang of the tower needed to be resolved. An agreement has now been reached.
All 106 flats on the market are let to tenants. They consist of 104 two-bedroom apartments, valued between £120,000 and £150,000, plus two three-bedroom penthouses, valued at £400,000 apiece.
West Tower includes 12,500 sq ft of commercial space on the lower four floors and the Panoramic restaurant, on the 34th floor, which was not affected by the administration as it is run by a separate company. It has continued to trade normally throughout.
Martyn Green, director of Jones Lang LaSalle in Liverpool said: "West Tower is a landmark building and has attracted a great deal of interest from private investors and institutions. We already have firm enquiries, no doubt driven by the quality of the building, its unrivalled location and that fact it is almost fully occupied."
Joint administrator Les Ross said: "West Tower was hit by the fall in property prices since the building was completed in 2008, and that the companies behind it struggled to meet their bank borrowing requirements. We're pleased to have reached the point where it's available for sale and believe its quality and location will make it an attractive proposition for the market."
