Tag Archives: 60 King Street

Graham + Sibbald together Williams Sillitoe have been appointed to offer for sale the iconic 60 King Street.

Martin Davis, Senior Director of Graham + Sibbald said:  “The property offers a rare opportunity to add value and reposition the property as a landmark heritage asset within one of Cheshire’s most sought after leisure destinations. The building’s historic character, prominent town centre location and existing hospitality configuration lend themselves particularly well to a high-quality hospitality-led redevelopment such as a full service bar, restaurant, boutique hotel and function venue which could attract both people from the local community as well as business and leisure visitors from outside the area.”

Simon Gardner, Director of Williams Sillitoe said: “It is likely that the property will prove to be of serious interest to a wide range of potential buyers including regional and national hotel and hospitality owners / operators, regional brewers, as well as local property speculators, investors and developers.”

Unconditional offers in the region of £1,250,000 are being invited for the freehold interest in the property by the joint agents and need to be received by no later than 12:00 noon on Friday the 12th June.

Mayor of Knutsford Cllr Bryan Hartley added “It is time for this Knutsford landmark to find a new owner who can breathe fresh life into what must be the iconic building of our Town Centre. This is the first time it has ever been put on the market, and we look forward to finding the best custodian for its future.”

For further information, please contact either:

Martin Davis – Graham + Sibbald
martin.davis@g-s.co.uk
07840 022259 

Simon Gardner – Williams Sillitoe
sg@willsill.co.uk
07557 853813

The Assets and Operations Committee of the Town Council has recommended to Full Council that the freehold of 60 King Street be sold.

Over the past year, the Town Council has been working with Bruntwood to explore options that enable the council to retain ownership of the building and secure third party investment for a commercial use of the building. In March 2025, it was agreed to explore an alternative option where the upper floors would
be converted to residential use with the ground floor restored to a commercial use. Following engagement with the Cheshire East Council Conservation Officer and a number of prospective partners, all interested parties except one withdrew interest. At the February Assets and Operations Committee meeting, the committee considered the output of this work and met with the company which had submitted a proposal. It was considered that the proposal was not sufficiently detailed such
that it could confidently be considered viable.

The committee concluded that during the last seven years all viable options for the council retaining
ownership of the building had been explored and that there was no alternative than to put the building on the market.

Chair of the Assets and Operations Committee, Cllr Peter Coan said “60 King Street is the town’s most iconic building and over the last seven years, we have sought to find a viable solution that enabled it to remain publicly owned. Whilst trying to secure investment to restore it we have suffered the covid lockdown and a subsequent downturn in investor interest. Regrettably, this option has not been possible.”

“Our Assets and Operations Committee has resolved to recommend to Full Council that it authorises the sale of the asset; this will be discussed at the council meeting on Monday 2nd March and subject to approval we will engage a commercial agent to market the property and invite tenders for its purchase.”

“We will continue to update the community as decisions are made.”

The recommendation to sell the building will be discussed at the Full Council meeting on Monday 2nd March. The agenda for the meeting is available here and the meeting will be livestreamed via Zoom and Facebook.

The Council’s Assets and Operations Committee met on Monday 22^nd September and received a further update from Bruntwood in relation to 60 King Street.

Bruntwood has been engaging with potential developers who would undertake works to repurpose the upper floors into a residential use, undertaking repair to the fabric of the building to create a lettable ground floor space which would deliver an ongoing rental to the Town Council.

At the meeting, it was agreed that more detailed information is required to be able to make a decision, specifically how the residential/commercial use would work from a noise/circulation perspective and more detailed proposals on potential partners and how the mechanics of the agreement would work.

It was agreed that Bruntwood be invited to provide this detailed information by 31^st October. This will then go directly to the next Full Council meeting (10^th November) for a final decision to be made on whether this option be pursued further.

The Council’s Assets and Operations Committee met on Monday 30^th June and received an update from Bruntwood in relation to 60 King Street.

As set out in the previous update (4^th June), Bruntwood had commissioned a detailed structural survey to inform discussions. The condition survey highlighted the scale of repair works required to the building; the majority of these works were known and identified in previous surveys for the building, these included major works to the rear courtyard and roof over the kitchen, and renewal of many of the different rooves. There were also further works highlighted which arise from the building being vacant for a long period.

Bruntwood remains of the view that it would be possible to find a residential use for the upper floors that could resolve the fabric issues and future proof the building, leaving a lettable asset on the ground floor for a more active public facing use, such as a bar/restaurant.

The Town Council has asked Bruntwood to develop this into a detailed proposal as to exactly how this could be taken forward. This will look at how the upper floors would be converted, how circulation in the building would work and developing interest from potential partners. It will also ascertain how the ground floor would be managed and future timescales.

The Town Council has asked for this to be submitted by 31^st August and it will then be discussed by the Assets and Operations Committee on 22^nd September when a decision on this option will be made. A further statement will be released after this meeting.

The Town Council continues to be in discussions with major property company Bruntwood to secure investment for the iconic 60 King Street and bring it back into use.

Following investigations over the past 24 months, Bruntwood has determined that a scheme where the council retains the freehold of the building and secures third party investment for a commercial use of the whole building is not financially viable due to the level of investment required balanced with the potential income it would generate.

In March, the Town Council and Bruntwood agreed to explore an alternative option where the upper floors would be converted to residential use with the ground floor restored to a commercial use. This would secure the future of the building and bring the ground floor back into active use in the town centre.

Bruntwood has commissioned a detailed structural survey to inform these discussions and has liaised with potential development partners. The survey will be completed by the end of June and the viability of this option should be determined over the summer.

We know this is not as detailed an update as many would like to see. 60 King Street is a complicated building. It requires significant investment and in increasingly challenging economic times, this greatly limits the opportunities for the building. The Town Council will issue a further update following the next meeting of its Assets and Operations Committee on 30th June.

At its January 9^th meeting, the Town Council will consider a recommendation from its Assets and Operations Committee that the freehold for 60 King Street be put on the market.

The property was tenanted until 2019 when, due to insolvency of the tenant the lease was forfeit. Attempts to secure a new commercial tenant were unsuccessful due to the scale of the building and the renovation works that are required to launch a new business from the premises. This has been compounded by the unprecedented economic climate the UK has faced since COVID and prospective tenants have stated that they would not be willing to invest the sums required in a building for which they only hold a lease.

Over the last 18 months, the Town Council has explored the option of seeking heritage lottery funding to renovate and re-imagine the building as a hybrid community/commercial space.  Consultation to support this was undertaken earlier this year and identified potential uses which would be supported by the community. However, moving this forward would now require significant expenditure to develop a comprehensive funding bid with no certainty that the funds would be secured. On balance, the committee felt continuing with this approach presented an unacceptable risk to public finances and that alternative means of providing the facilities and services the community needs would be more sustainable.

The Town Council has received a number of informal expressions of interest for acquiring the freehold over the past three years and local estate agents Savills have advised a guide price for a sale in the region of £1.1m. Should the council resolve to sell the building an agent will be appointed, and a competitive marketing process commenced to secure the best sale for Knutsford.

Town Mayor, Cllr Mike Houghton said “The recommendation from our Assets Committee will be debated by the whole council in January when a formal decision will be made. In the interim we welcome the views of our residents which can be submitted to the Town Clerk or to any councillors”

A firm of specialist consultant partners who are experts in reimagining historic buildings for sustainable future use have been engaged by Knutsford Town Council with the aim of securing a significant investment to renovate and breath fresh life into its property at 60 King Street.

The consultants, who have supported the regeneration of historic buildings across the UK, will be assisting the council in creating a costed business case and options for the building to operate sustainably. The council is looking to secure a significant Heritage Lottery Fund grant to regenerate the Grade II* listed building and bring it into operation as a mixed-use community, civic and commercial space.

This early consultancy phase of work, including the exploration of options and the development of funding sources is being completed by the consultants on the basis that compensation and future work is subject to funding success.

“We are looking at an exciting new approach to bring this iconic building back to life” said Town Mayor, Cllr Stewart Gardiner “Over the coming months we will be working with our consultants to develop proposals for the building and are optimistic about our prospects of securing funding to rejuvenate one of the town’s landmark buildings”

60 King Street was formerly home to La Belle Epoque but has been vacant since June 2019 when that company went into administration. Over the past two years the Council has sought to obtain a new tenant through national estate agents Savills and had been in negotiation with a prospective tenant. Negotiations folded in early 2021 with the business withdrawing due to the scale of investment required in the building which similarly deterred other potential tenants.

The Council was then faced with the tough decision of either selling the building or needing to borrow significant monies to fund upfront repairs. A report prepared by surveying firm Fisher German highlighted a likely expenditure in excess of £675,000 being required in the next 10 years as the 116-year-old building requires re-roofing, in addition to render and stonework repairs plus the renewal of a concrete deck amongst a range of other smaller works.  The building also needs a new heating system not to mention extensive redecoration owing to the building being left in a very poor internal condition by the former tenant.

“Our goal with 60 King Street has been for it to be in active use, good repair and to deliver a surplus for the council to reduce the precept. We were naturally disappointed that it was not possible to secure a tenant for the whole building due to its condition.” said Cllr Peter Coan, Chairman of the Assets and Operations Committee.

“We are hopeful that this new approach will secure a sustainable future for the building, and we have engaged the consultants on terms which ensure that if they are unable to win funding there will be no cost to the Council.”

If you have any questions about this article please email townclerk@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk