Knight Frank Newcastle has acquired a £19.3m landmark Newcastle office building and won a national contract to manage the property along with several others which are part of a newly-launched fund.
Dickon Wood, head of Knight Frank’s capital markets team, acquired the Grade II listed St Nicholas Building in Newcastle, off-market, on behalf of investment company Mayfair Capital.
The 65,000 sq. ft. property is one of the first two assets purchased for Mayfair Capital’s recently launched TG Thematic Growth Fund.
Following the purchase, Knight Frank’s property management team, headed by partner Peter Bowden, won a competitive pitch for the management mandate of the TG Thematic Growth Fund’s assets.
The St Nicholas Building purchase offers a 6.5% equivalent yield. Tenants include Frank Recruitment Group and Sir Robert McAlpine.
Peter Bowden, partner Knight Frank Newcastle, said: “The refurbishment of the property has lifted the quality significantly which has attracted a strong line-up of tenants as a result.
“There is still the opportunity for further rental growth which is where it will outperform IPD.
“We have the largest property management team in the North East and winning this national mandate is testament to the strength of our team which handles everything in-house, from the day-to-day management of properties, to accounting and tenant liaison.”
The imposing St Nicholas Building is situated opposite St Nicholas Cathedral in the Westgate area of the city.
Mayfair Capital’s TG Thematic Growth Fund’s first two acquisitions are both multi-let office investments – one in Birmingham and St Nicholas Building in Newcastle. Both are aligned with the ‘live/work’ trend where occupiers favour city centre offices which are close to amenities and transport hubs.
