A key North East industrial yard has been sold to new owners less than a year after going up for sale with a £15m price tag.
Hadrian Yard in Wallsend has been sold to Belgian-Dutch steel firm Smulders Projects 海角视频 – the tenants of the site – in a deal believed to be close to the asking price, after the company saw off competition from two other interested parties.
The deal represents a further vote of confidence in the North East’s thriving offshore sector, coming less than two weeks after nearby Swan Hunter yard was also sold to new owners seeking growth, on the back of a huge global increase in renewable energy projects.
Property agents Avison Young secured the sale for owners Hadrian Industrial Holdings (HHIL) Ltd, which had been leasing the site to Smulders for use as a manufacturing and assembly yard for jacket foundations for use in offshore wind turbines.
The Hadrian Yard extends to 30 hectares (75 acres) on the North Bank of the River Tyne. It has 461,128 sq ft of industrial, warehouse and office accommodation, plus 1km of waterfront, a 25-acre reinforced concrete assembly pad and a yard power capacity of 5,000 KVA through 10 substations.
The deal was secured by Simon Beanland and Danny Cramman at Avison Young’s Newcastle office.
Mr Beanland said: “I am pleased to say after an initial lengthy marketing campaign this unique site attracted a good level of interest from 3 parties focusing on the growing off-shore and alternative energy sector.
“The Government’s recent announcement on the 海角视频’s Green energy plan and talk of a potential free port status in the region is thought to have focused buyer interest from both end user and investors.”
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Mr Cramman added: “The site is exceptionally well-placed to benefit from developments in the North Sea and within easy reach of key offshore energy locations such as Dogger Bank and Hornsea.”
Hadrian Yard has a long and distinguished history in the industrial heritage of the North East.
It was the site of the construction of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, home to leading oil and gas firm OGN and, decades before HHIL Ltd took possession, the yard was home to the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company, best known for building the engines of the Mauretania in the early years of the 20th Century.
The significant sale comes less than two weeks after North Tyneside Council agreed a deal to sell the 1.4m square feet of land at Swan Hunter shipyard to Shepherd Offshore.
The Walker based business plans to transform the site into an energy park, hoping its move to the site will act as a catalyst for other companies wanting to launch operations in the North East.