Historic building home to supermarket in Nottingham city centre sold at auction

A historic city centre building has been sold at auction with a guide price of more than £1 million. The unit on Upper Parliament Street offers a rare supermarket investment opportunity thanks to its undoubted covenant of Tesco with nine years unexpired.

The grade II listed building is part way through its 20 year lease with no breaks to the supermarket, which will expire in March 2034. The Tesco unit spans across 2,852 square ft and went to auction with Savills on Wednesday, December 11, with a guide price of £1.1 million.

However, the impressive unit was sold for more, with a hammer price of £1,220,000. The supermarket pays a rent of £103,493 each year, but the rear bin stores at the site are on three separate leases to Nottingham City Council which generates a further £5,536 annually.

The city centre building spans across a ground floor and three upper floors, with three retail units on the ground floor and upper parts. However, all of the areas outside of the Tesco demise are being sold off on a long-leasehold basis.

According to Historic England, the building was designed by the celebrated architect Watson Fothergill for the former Nottingham Daily Express. The exterior of the building features a number of columns, one of which was damaged by a lorry back in 2019.