BTR operator buys Manchester office from Palace Capital

Palace Capital has agreed to offload an office block in Manchester city centre to a build-to-rent operator. The REIT has exchanged on the sale of Boulton House, at 17-21 Chorlton Street, for £8.75m. The price reflects a net initial yield of 8.7% and is in line with the 31 March 2024 book value and 2.8% below the 30 September 2023 value. Palace bought the site from BMO for £10.6m in 2016, according to EG Radius records. The buyer is The James (M1 Living), a special purpose vehicle. Companies House documents show the vehicle is linked to The James, which operates BTR blocks in Liverpool and Manchester, with schemes under development in Sheffield and Birmingham. The James had not responded to a request for information on its plans for Boulton House by the time of publication. Palace Capital chairman Steven Owen said: “The disposal of Boulton House demonstrates continuing progress in our disposal strategy and on completion will provide additional cash for returning to shareholders in due course.” Photo courtesy of CBRE