Xpercity buys in Stockport for inaugural project
The newly-founded developer has bought a site in Cheadle with planning permission for a 106-apartment office-to-resi conversion.
Xpercity has bought Lambert House – a 60,000 sq ft building that was once home to the AA – off Stockport Road from Empire Property and is pushing ahead with plans to redevelop it into a residential building branded Weavers Yard.
Mike Lomas, founder and chief executive of Xpercity, said: “This is a project we’re really excited by. We’ve worked with some of the best names in the industry to bring together a development that will provide much-needed residential accommodation to this part of the city, whilst delivering something new, fresh and always of the highest quality.
“Since officially launching Xpercity, we have pushed on in terms of the level of deals we are doing. Our end-to-end offer means we’re motivated and able to act quickly to secure sites with high potential, and start creating better living environments quickly.”
Xpercity was set up earlier this year as a development spin-out of Big Red Construction. Lambert House is the firm’s first acquisition. So far, the firm has amassed sites totalling 175 units across Greater Manchester.
Damion Marcus Burrows Architects is working with Xpercity on the Weavers Yared project.
Empire Property Concepts secured planning approval for the conversion of Lambert House last year.
Since then, the company, headed up by Paul Rothwell, has changed its name to MCIOD Ltd and appointed administrators. The company collapsed with liabilities of £10m.
Prior to being bought by Xpercity, Lambert House was held by a separate Empire SPV set up in March 2022 called Featherfoot Lambert House. The vehicle acquired the building and adjoining surface car park for £6.275m in October 2022, according to Land Registry.
Great, yet more conversations to residential. Followed by most of the carpark under more residential I’ll bet.
By Dave
So It’s been empty since it was sold to someone wanting to convert it, rather than continue office use?
Is there really no demand for fairly modern office space in places like Cheadle – flexible stuff given the numbers of people working partially from home in this part of Cheshire/South GM or various sectors like property and construction where car use is still often required – or is it just more profitable to turn economically useful space into what are almost always far from ideal flat conversions while claiming to meeting a social need?
By Rotringer