Prupim sells Liverpool retail asset

Investor Prupim has sold 59 to 61 Lord Street with auctioneers at Jones Lang LaSalle in London.

The city centre premises currently house mobile phone retailer T-Mobile and have been sold for £2.1m to a private bidder.

Richard Auterac, auctioneer at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "It was an impressive investment opportunity, offering a superb space in a popular location with a good tenant. There were several interested bidders for this property on the day and the auction room witnessed the strongest buyer demand we've seen in two years, highlighting the growing attraction to commercial property investment.

"With a surge in demand for superior properties like this, coupled with a shortage in supply, prices in the auction room have now started a rapid recovery process and the era of picking up bargains at the prime end of the market may well be over."

The 10,000 sq ft property comprises retail on the ground floor, public house accommodation at basement level and self-contained accommodation on the first, second and third floors.

The current rent is £176,400/year. The majority of the property is let to Bell Street Estates until 2058. The ground floor has been sub-let to T-Mobile (UK) for 15 years until 2015 at a current rent of £156,000/year.

Jones Lang LaSalle's auction took place on Wednesday 21 October at the Cumberland Hotel on Great Cumberland Place in London.