Columbia Threadneedle Investments has put the Anglia Square development site in Norwich city centre on the market with a price tag of £8.5m+.
The 11.4-acre site has planning permission for a mixed-use scheme comprising up to 1,100 residential units and 8,000 sq m (circa 86,000 sq ft) of flexible commercial space.
The site currently consists of a covered 34-unit retail mall, former cinema, two office buildings, a multi-storey car park and two nightclubs and generates annual rental income of £698,000.
Weston Homes was originally going to redevelop the site, but it abandoned its plans earlier this year “due to a multitude of issues which have impacted on the viability of the scheme and made funding extremely difficult”.
Charlie Hart, head of development land at Knight Frank, which has been appointed by Columbia Threadneedle Investments to market the site, said: “We are pleased to be offering Anglia Square for sale on behalf of Columbia Threadneedle Investments. It has been a priority asset for Norwich for over two decades, and despite the well-publicised withdrawal by Weston Homes earlier this year, we are very excited about the prospects for the property looking forward.
“Viability challenges exist across the regional UK for high density development, but we know outstanding mixed-use development is deliverable today, subject of course to identifying the appropriate complimentary mix of uses and density thresholds. In this instance, Anglia Square has strong income potential from a range of tenant types, as well as ‘easy wins’ for early disposals and development. This gives an incoming purchaser real optionality on how to address the development outcome, whilst enjoying income from working the existing buildings and spaces in an entrepreneurial manner.”
