Landmark buys Salford apartment block for £1.2m

Landmark Investments has purchased the freehold ground rent of the 212-apartment Fusion scheme next to Middlewood Locks from Taylor Wimpey in a deal completed in two days.

Advised by Shoosmiths’ team led by partner Vaqas Farooq, the deal is for the apartment block which sits opposite the first phase of Middlewood Locks, currently being delivered by Scarborough International Properties and FairBriar International. This will include 2,215 homes and 900,000 sq ft of commercial space once complete.

The apartment block on Middlewood Street was completed by Taylor Wimpey in 2010. Bolton-based Landmark’s portfolio includes a wide range of properties including 40 acres at the Strangeways Estate in Manchester; Chorlton Mill, a 150-unit apartment block in Manchester; and Parker Street Liverpool, a 91-unit apartment block.

Mark Hawthorn, chief executive of Landmark Investments Group, said: “We are investing into new assets on an almost a daily basis, but the Fusion acquisition was far from the norm.

“We received a call from Taylor Wimpey to say they had been let down by another buyer leaving them with only few days before the strict completion deadline they were relying upon. We pride ourselves on being both reliable and expedient in our dealings so threw ourselves into the challenge without a second thought.

“There are well over 200 apartments in the scheme and it was not without its obstacles. To compound matters it was also clear we would be unable to use bank debt so had to use our own resources for the entire purchase price.”