UK Govt Completes £58 Million Sale Leaseback of Courts in Birmingham

Freemans News - March 9, 2004

The Department for Constitutional Affairs has sold the 115-year long lease in Priory Court, Birmingham, to a private investor for £58m. The current owner of the freehold on Priory Court, a private Israeli client of Blandford Goldsmith, has bought the long leasehold interest in the building. The DCA, formerly known as the Lord Chancellor's Department, will lease the building back for 30 years, at a rent of £25.50 per sq ft.

Priory Court comprises 130,000 sq ft of floorspace. The building houses Birmingham's main civil courtrooms, with 11 magistrates courts plus six floors of office space. The purchaser also owns the building next to Priory Court, the 265,000 sq ft Temple Court office block, for which it paid British Land £42m five years ago. Jed Wolfe of Knight Frank, which advised the DCA, said that the sale would enable the government to reinvest the proceeds in public services. Sphere: Related Content