Lodders Solicitors, the Warwickshire-based law firm, has acted on behalf of Central & Commercial Property Investments Limited (Cecom) to acquire one of the most distinctive office investments in Royal Leamington Spa.
The Cranford Estate occupies a prominent site on the Kenilworth Road extending to over seven acres and includes a former Victorian Manor house with a modern 12,000 sq ft extension and two smaller office buildings totalling over 20,000 sq ft..
Paul Mourton, real estate partner at Lodders, advised Cecom on the purchase.
Cranford House, the main building on the estate, has for many years been the head office of Focus Solutions Group Ltd which is now part of Standard Life Group. One of the other buildings is occupied by the Heartlands, a leading local commercial insurance broker.
Paul Mourton said that Cecom, who were represented by Knight Frank’s Birmingham office, had been able to purchase the property below the initial guide price of “offers over £2.75 million” quoted by the selling agents BNP Paribas and the initial rental income of £270,000 per annum (with 97 per cent of the available space let) represented a yield of over ten per cent on the purchase price inclusive of expenses.
Malvern-based Cecom is run by Paul Formby who has been a director of many property development and investment companies over the years including Capital & Income Trust plc, Smithfield Developments plc and Alfred Walker plc and was most recently chairman of a successful telecoms company before accepting an attractive takeover approach from Chess Telecom and establishing Cecom.
Mr Mourton said that he understood that Mr Formby was very pleased with the acquisition and that Cecom intended to retain The Cranford Estate as a long term investment in a location which it expected would benefit from major infrastructure development in the next decade.
