Newcastle’s tallest building, Hadrian’s Tower, has been put up for sale with an asking price of £14.6 million.
An advertisement for the building on Rutherford Street shows that more than a third of the apartments remain unsold. The 26-storey residential tower was the flagship project created by Olympius Developments – a subsidiary of bankrupt developer High Street Group – to dominate the city’s skyline and was finally completed in 2020.
The company commissioned Gateshead contractor Tolent to build the imposing building. But both Tolent and the High Street Group have collapsed, with the latter set to be liquidated after liquidators announced they would not be able to collect any of the debts for creditors. The £14.6 million price tag is a significant drop from the £40 million development cost announced when the project began in 2018.
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Now London property firm Allsop LLP has put Hadrian’s Tower on the market – on behalf of the administrators – with a price tag of £14.6 million, describing it as “a city centre landmark comprising 57 unsold luxury apartments, 102 of which have been sold on long-term leases, plus commercial space on the top floor”.
The building comprises 159 apartments, 57 of which are still unsold. Marketing materials show the investment opportunity includes ground rents of over £41,000 and leases on the unsold apartments of over £1m per year. The deal includes the top floor restaurant and bar, which is currently leased to 3Sixty Bar and brings in £170,000 per year.
Marketing materials state: “The building benefits from resident amenities operated by ‘One Residential Management’. 102 apartments have been sold on long leases of varying durations, generating a base rental income of £41,170 per annum. The 57 unsold apartments are let on fixed term leases, generating an income of £1,116,456 per annum. The total gross annual income is £1,327,626 per annum.”
The High Street Group filed for bankruptcy two years ago, owing more than £211 million. During the pandemic, the group has struggled with major financial difficulties and delays in construction projects. One of its subsidiaries was also placed into administration in 2019 after failing to repay debts to an overseas lender.
Last month it was revealed that the group was likely to be wound up after liquidators said they were unable to recover creditors’ money. New documents state: “As the liquidators are unable to achieve their objectives of disposing of the assets for distribution to one or more of the secured or preferred creditors, an application for winding up has been made to the High Court to place the company into compulsory liquidation.”
