Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity

23 St James's Street | Brighton  | BN2 1RF

£500,000

subject to contract

SOLD

Summary

  • To be sold by clicktopurchase® best offers by 1pm 3rd April 2019

  • Freehold retail / residential investment / development opportunity

  • Prominent position on St James Street

  • Available with vacant possession

  • Planning permission granted for flats on upper floors

  • £500,000, subject to contract

Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity

Location

Brighton is located on the Sussex coastline approximately 56 miles (90 km) South of London, 22 miles (35 km) West of Eastbourne and 34 miles (53 km) East of Chichester. The city boasts a resident population of 288,200 people and a large proportion of them ages between the 20-44 age brackets.

Brighton benefits from excellent road communications with the A23 providing a direct link to Junction 11 of the M23 Motorway approximately 18 miles (29 km) to the North. In addition, the M25 Motorway is a further 12 miles (19 km) to the North. The city benefits from good connectivity to the National Railway network with the fastest journey time to London Victoria and London Bridge of approximately 51 minutes. Furthermore, Gatwick International Airport is only 18 miles (29 km) to the north which can be reached through the majority of the trains passing through Brighton.

Situation

The property holds a prominent position just north of the iconic Brighton Pier and is a short walk away from the main retail district of Brighton, The Lanes, whilst also being approximately 0.4 miles (0.7 km) from Churchill Square Shopping Centre. Churchill Square Shopping Centre has up to 85 retail units when fully let, in addition to several sites for ‘open-air’ style stalls in the corridors. The shopping centre retains tenants such as Topshop/Topman, Debenhams, Clarks, Zara and W.H. Smith. Nearby occupiers to 23 St James Street include Superdrug, Co-op, Morrisons and Starbucks.

The property is located on the northern side of St James Street which is busy retail pitch with nearby retailers such as Morrisons, Starbucks, Boots and Superdrug. St James Street is one of the main arterial roads leading to the Hospital and Kemp Town area of the city.

The property is 0.9 miles (0.56 km) from Brighton Train Station and 0.1 miles (0.06 km) from Pavilion Parade, which is the main road providing access to the A27 and A23.

Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity
Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity

Description

The property comprises a 4-storey mid-terraced mixed-use building currently arranged over basement, ground, and three upper floors.

The premises is currently vacant. The upper floors currently office accommodation although planning permission has been obtained to convert to residential accommodation.

Accommodation

In accordance with a Plowman Craven & Associates measured survey from April 2000, the property provides the following accommodation:

Gross Frontage 5.64 m 18ft 6 inches
Floor Sq M Sq Ft
Ground Floor Retail:    
Zone A 31.3 337
Zone B 32.5 350
Zone C 10.9 117
Total Retail 74.7 804
ITZA 50.3 541
Ground Floor Ancillary 7.1 76
Basement 57.6 620
First 43.1 464
Second 20.3 219
Third 35.7 384
Total Net Internal Area 238.5 2,567
Basement 62.8 676
Ground 92.1 991
1st Floor 52.0 560
2nd Floor 40.6 437
3rd Floor 44.3 477
Total Gross Internal Area 291.8 3,141


The measurements and plans are available to download.

Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity
Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity

Planning

Planning permission was obtained in December 2018 for change of use to retail (A1) at basement and ground floors, with two 2-bedroom flats on the upper floors. The permission and plans are available to download. 

Tenure

Freehold.

Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity
Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity

Tenancy

The property is offered for sale with vacant possession.

Market Commentary

The property is located in a busy retail pitch and an area which usually generates good demand, with a mix of national operators as well as independent cafes and shops. This is a reasonably robust area and we would anticipate the retail unit achieving a rent for circa £20,000 per annum (approx. £34 Zone A).

Brighton is a strong and popular residential location with an acute shortage of housing. The City Plan Part One (adopted March 2016) sets a target of 13,200 new residential units to 2030.

We suggest that the property has the potential to generate an income of £51,000 per annum, based upon £20,000 per annum for the retail area and £31,000 per annum from the residential accommodation.

We suggest that the newly created residential flats will have a value in the order of £550,000, thereby providing significant development potential.

Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity
Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity

VAT

The property has not been VAT elected, therefore the purchase will not be subject to VAT.

Proposal

We are instructed to seek offers in the region of £500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Pounds), subject to contract, for the freehold interest.

Allocating an investment yield of 6% to the retail accommodation equates to a value of only £175,000 in relation to the upper parts. This equates to approx. £120 per sq ft based upon the gross internal area compared to sale values anticipated in the region of £375 per sq ft.

Please note that a purchaser will be re-charged the costs of searches which are provided in the data room.

Please note that a purchaser will be charged a Transaction Fee of £2,500 + VAT.

Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity
Town Centre Investment / Redevelopment Opportunity

Investment Considerations

  1. An opportunity to acquire a town centre investment and residential development opportunity in Brighton

  2. The property occupies a prominent position in St James Street, close to new residential schemes;

  3. Attractive lot size

  4. A purchase at the asking price reflects a low capital value in comparison to residential sale values

 

27.2.19

Contact Us

Singer Vielle   +44 (0) 207 935 7200
Neil Singer neil@singervielle.co.uk +44 (0) 203 478 9120
Dale Henry dale@singervielle.co.uk +44 (0) 203 701 1356
Daniel Elia daniel@singervielle.co.uk +44 (0) 203 478 1353

Vendors Solicitor

Addleshaw Goddard LLP  
Rhiannon Brown Rhiannon.Brown@addleshawgoddard.com +44 161 934 6490
Paul Barnard Paul.Barnard@addleshawgoddard.com
+44 161 934 6557

Joint Agent

Andrew Halfacree  a.halfacree@flude.com
Will Thomas  w.thomas@flude.com
+44 (0) 127 374 0398