On 18 Feb 2012 at 11:50am Ace reporter wrote:
Just seen on twitter that phoenix area has been sold for approx 6 million quid.
Check it out here »
On 18 Feb 2012 at 12:52pm ADT wrote:
Scoop!
On 18 Feb 2012 at 1:37pm Dave wrote:
Who's bought it?
On 18 Feb 2012 at 2:02pm Ace reporter wrote:
That's whats in the link Dave, a company called MAS plc
On 18 Feb 2012 at 2:33pm Dave wrote:
'Ultimately the planned gross development value of the project is expected to exceed eUR100 million'
Blimey!
On 18 Feb 2012 at 4:06pm Motters wrote:
So why haven't our wonderful local council developed it? If that's the profit that can be made from it!
On 18 Feb 2012 at 4:10pm Helper wrote:
Motters - perhaps because in the case of the TC they only like 'stealing' pre-existing businesses where the hard work and risk-taking has already been done?
On 18 Feb 2012 at 4:24pm On the Fence wrote:
"So why haven't our wonderful local council developed it?"
Because LTC is a Parish Council, with a budget in the thousands. Hardly able to stump £6 million to buy the land and then develop it. That's beyond LDC budgets as well.
You may not like the LTC decision to take over the cinema, I have doubts about it, but to use that decision as yardstick to everything else that happens in the town is silly.
On 18 Feb 2012 at 5:57pm bastian wrote:
I would love to look at your link but there is an annoying piece of flash art in the way..hate that stuff.
If what Mr stckdale told us about the value of that land being worth 80million to the Irish government is true that is quite a loss, are they that desperate?
On 18 Feb 2012 at 8:05pm citizen wrote:
Did you hear the news that the company is owned by Blackwater, which trains mercenaries all over the world. I hope it can be stopped. Lewes land should be kept for Lewes people, including people who need affordable housing. You can bet at that price he's going to argue he can only provide luxury housing for people moving from London.
On 18 Feb 2012 at 10:33pm the old mayor wrote:
So - Bottom line ...Are we getting a MacDonald's, Cinema, M & S, H & M, John Lewes etc or not ??
On 18 Feb 2012 at 10:47pm my town wrote:
no a refuee & migrant centre we need a few more in this green land call england !
On 18 Feb 2012 at 11:40pm Oh God here we go wrote:
Glad to hear that the "Lewes against the fracking Pheonix everything must be solar powered and paid for with the affordable Lewes pound" group are already forming. Good luck to them.
On 18 Feb 2012 at 11:45pm Fartington Greedbucket wrote:
Well I`m hoping to get permission to build the first of my superbrothels for the super rich.Should they be called FARTINGTON`S or GREEDDBUCKET`S d`ya think?My favourite name for `em was SCREWFIX but it seems it has already been taken by some bloody plumbers merchants or something .Still never mind Eh? What Ho!
On 19 Feb 2012 at 8:42am here-we-go-again wrote:
If only all the haters had let the last owners develop it, at least he wanted to live in Lewes and be part of the community, his plans had affordable housing and live/work studios for artists and craftspeople - well the haters made sure he couldn't develop it, they made sure he used all his money re-submitting plans after plans until he was exhausted by all the hate and gave up, lost his money and let people use the property for free! So I hope they are happy now that some faceless big business has bought it and will clearly want to develop it for the most profit possible, and it will probably end up being some horrid useless part of town! Well done everyone!
On 19 Feb 2012 at 9:46am Ace reporter wrote:
Interesting points here-we-go-again. I was thinking all yesterday what would I want to see in this new area of Lewes, given it's going to happen now. I suppose they'll have to put in a boutique hotel and some chain shops, but I wonder if there is any chance of an arts centre of some kind, with a small theatre that doubles as a cinema and some space for artists and local groups like the kids dancing classes and music groups. Like theAll saints but actually built to be an arts centre.
On 19 Feb 2012 at 11:11am here-we-go-again wrote:
Ace reporter - you just described the previous owners plans! Fingers crossed for something good and not just another Brighton Marina development that has no point!
On 19 Feb 2012 at 1:13pm bastian wrote:
to make back a million off 14.5 acres of land I don't hold out much hope of us getting anything other than yet more yuppy housing.This is quick return stuff..a token shop or two maybe but these people are not interested in piddling around with collecting rents.
On 19 Feb 2012 at 3:16pm captain wrote:
All - please do not worry I understand that the new development will have a biometric safe guard system to only let purebred Lewesian folk in and out.
This new biometric safe guard will also ensure that only people who earn under the nation average salary, are of liberal notion and have a fine understanding of aesthetics are let in.
Anyone trying to enter the development who is from London or has ever been to London will be vaporised if they attempt to gain access.
Yes - here we do indeed go again!
On 19 Feb 2012 at 9:22pm A normal man wrote:
bastian is clearly a loon! High retail rents are what attracts the buyers that developers sell on to. Buyers like most people's pension funds, and the like...
On 19 Feb 2012 at 11:47pm someone else wrote:
DFL - Oh, dear lordy. You go on most property portfolio type websites and there's usually at least some sort of half-arsed sop towards 'vision' or the like, but not on there. Just straight 'we make oodles of cash' shtick.
This isn't going to be good.
On 20 Feb 2012 at 12:28am Fartington Investments wrote:
Oodles of cash where?Let me have it!It`s mine by right, Eh?What ho!
On 20 Feb 2012 at 9:20am king cnut wrote:
Lets hope that any development doesn't shoe-horn national high street names in. To see how to get it badly wrong then visit Haverford West. They developed their riverfront and filled it with Boots, Subways etc and now the original High street is littered with empty shops. It has divided the town.
For one I would like to see a theatre/coffee lounge very similar to the one in Brecon (canal front).
Lets hope any design incorporates elements that make Lewes unique such as Priory and castle rather than a bland marina type design.
On 20 Feb 2012 at 10:11am Cliffite wrote:
The annoying "Flash Art" is called a PDF pre-loader for the PDF file that contains the details of the purchse...
On 20 Feb 2012 at 12:08pm Dave wrote:
Phoenix Estate Lewes sold for £5,800,000
MAS plc, an Isle of Man company which has a primary listing on the Luxembourg Stock exchange and a secondary listing on the Alternative exchange of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Santon North Street Limited, acquired a 14,5 acre, mixed-use, prime, redevelopment site in the town of Lewes in Sussex from the joint administrators to the 4 companies that previously owned the land. The site was formerly known as the Phoenix estate.
The purchase price was £5,800,000, before stamp duty and acquisition expenses. No debt has been used to fund the acquisition.
The acquisition was funded from the proceeds raised pursuant to the Company's capital raising undertaken in the second half of 2011.
MAS plc believes the size and central location of this property, in the heart of a thriving town in the South of England, offers value for investors and is an ideal opportunity to rejuvenate the area with a development incorporating retail, hospitality, commercial and residential components. Ultimately the planned gross development value of the project is expected to exceed £80 million.
The effective date of the acquisition was 10 February 2012. The current annual rent roll, paid quarterly in advance, is guaranteed by MAS plc's development partners, the Santon Group, at a minimum of £464,000.
All conditions precedent in respect of the acquisition have been fulfilled.
On 20 Feb 2012 at 1:48pm Old Cynic wrote:
So we can expect a mish mash of poorly built nasty looking 'executive' properties with a 'affordable' units and a couple few shop spaces thrown in for good measure - whoopi-do!
On 20 Feb 2012 at 3:31pm Mercian wrote:
It's a shame that the interesting uses to which the Phoenix has been put in the past few years will be lost to Lewes. I'm thinking the rep theatre, some of the childrens activities down there, Cafe de Artistes and Zu Studios - all of which have been a real credit to Lewes over the past few years. I hope some of these can continue in the town. Some of the best events, to say the least, of hte past few years have been in that estate.
On 20 Feb 2012 at 3:39pm Local wrote:
A damn impressive current rental yield of 8%!
On 20 Feb 2012 at 4:06pm bastian wrote:
I have heard today that the defences will be put in first so a respite of two years is possible..but that rent hike could drive out the arts facillities.
On 21 Feb 2012 at 9:45am Fairmeadow wrote:
Company based in the Isle of Man and registered in Luxembourg. That should help keep the costs down as, after the stamp duty, it doesn't look as if they plan to pay any other tax. Can we get flood protection for the Pells area too?
However, the site does need decent flood protection and redevelopment. Silly to have such a central site with Riverside frontage semi-derelict for so long. The marina idea above might not be a complete joke.
On 21 Feb 2012 at 9:48am sSelmaNohemiu wrote: