Manchester HMV building sold for £14.8m

A private investor has bought the HMV building on Market Street in Manchester for £14.8m.

Previously owned by Co-operative Insurance Society, the property, located at 90-100 Market Street, comprises 32,721 sq ft and is let to HMV until 3 February 2016. The passing rent totals £1,150,000 per annum, which equates to £300/sq ft.

Bruce Poizer, investment director at DTZ, which acted on behalf of Co-operative Insurance Society, said: "This disposal shows that there is still an appetite for prime retail property. There is certainly a resurgence of interest from private investors although this tends to be for lots of less than £5m. This made the sale quite challenging as normally only institutional investors can afford to fund such a large lot size with a relatively short unexpired lease term."

The deal reflects a net initial yield of 7.31%. Jones Lang LaSalle advised the purchaser.