Persimmon purchases Wirral resi site from receivership for £13m

Watling Real Estate has sold a residential site in the Wirral for £13m to Persimmon Homes. Riverside Park at Bromborough is an 18.3 acre former office park with outline planning consent for up to 217 homes. Chris Walker and Andrew Foster of Watling Real Estate were appointed as fixed charge receivers over the site, close to the River Mersey and next to Eastham Country Park, in 2019 when the site’s previous owners Riverside Park Ltd and Cheshire Office Park Ltd became insolvent. Walker, director in the Manchester office of Watling, said: “Working with key stakeholders throughout the process, the property was successfully promoted as a strategic residential site in Wirral’s new Local Plan and secured several planning permissions including consent to a change of use of the existing office buildings and, crucially, outline consent for comprehensive site redevelopment for residential use. “Riverside Park is a very well located residential opportunity which attracted strong interest from a number of national and regional house builders. The availability of good quality deliverable housing sites remains a challenge in many areas across the Noth West.” He added that the site was “an excellent brownfield opportunity which will deliver much needed family housing in the area”. Walker said: “Coupled with the Wirral-owned former MOD site next door, which is also consented for residential development, this is the start of an exciting evolution of a former employment area on the peninsula. We wish Persimmon well in its next chapter.” Law firm DLA Piper acted for Watling Real Estate; Kuits Solicitors advised Persimmon. Colliers was joint selling agent with Watling Real Estate. Image © Watling Real Estate