Opus sells in Runcorn, buys in Birkenhead
Yorkshire-based investor-developer Opus North has completed two deals worth a combined £7.9m in the North West.
Opus has pre-sold a new Ford Motor dealership site in Runcorn for £2.72m and bought a Vue cinema in Birkenhead for £5.2m.
The Ilkley-based company has sold the 14,000 sq ft Ford site to Halcyon, a private investment company from the North East, for a yield of 6.25%. The site is let to Ford Retail UK on a 20-year unbroken lease at £12/sq ft.
The Birkenhead cinema, which is let to Vue on a 12-year lease at £21/sq ft, was bought out of receivership after the previous owner went bankrupt.
The seven-screen Vue Birkenhead is situated on Europa Boulevard in Conway Park, close to the Birkenhead Tunnel.
Andrew Duncan, managing director of Opus North, based in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, said: "These are two excellent deals in challenging times for the property market in the north of England."
GVA and Naylors advised Halcyon, while Opus North was unrepresented. Pudney Shuttleworth advised Opus North and CBRE advised the receivers in Birkenhead.
Andrew Duncan now heads up Opus Land's northern division, after it was decided that the company's operations in the Midlands and the North should be separated. Both divisions are backed by Palmer Capital Partners.
