Sheffield Debenhams Store Up for Auction – Again! UPDATE: "Sold Prior"

[ECCOnoob]

5 minutes ago, alchresearch said:

There are huge buildings like this in every town across the land.  My current hometown of Southport has at least three and nobody wants them, and they're slowly rotting away. 

 

The stupid thing is that we have a Primark and an M&S, both of which are far too small and would benefit from larger premises.

 

Can you believe that I went into M&S Southport and couldn't buy a simple plain black suit (i.e matching jacket and trousers).  "Sorry, you'll have to buy online or go to Liverpool" was the reply.  

 

A lot of the smaller m&s stores did that because they were simply little  demand of people wearing a suit everyday, like  previous. With more and more homeworking and offices already following a trend of being far more casual dress for business use, they probably don't want the waste of floor space and put something more sellable there.

 

It's easy to say that those stores will benefit from a bigger floor plate, but it's not that simple. Are those empty units suitable for their needs. What sort of repairs and maintenance will they require just to get them to scratch.  Do they have all the relevant DDA and modern day compliances.  Do they even fit in the profile and image that the stores want to portray?  That's before we get onto the obvious point that bigger store equals more cost.  Just because a shop floor is more spacious doesn't necessarily automatically translate to bigger sales. 

[cressida]

Shoppers always want to stop and eat,  could the spaces be filled with different eateries.  foods from other countries.

World of food in London did this.

[HeHasRisen]

10 minutes ago, cressida said:

Shoppers always want to stop and eat,  could the spaces be filled with different eateries.  foods from other countries.

World of food in London did this.

There are numerous places like this within Sheffield already.

[SheffieldForum]

26 minutes ago, cressida said:

Shoppers always want to stop and eat,  could the spaces be filled with different eateries.  foods from other countries.

World of food in London did this.

 

We do have the largest food hall in Europe about 200 yards way.

 

 

[SheffieldForum]

A New Owner for Former Debenhams Department Store in Sheffield?

 

The former Debenhams department store on The Moor in Sheffield has reportedly been sold ahead of its scheduled auction on Wednesday, 11 December. The online auction listing was updated with a “Sold Prior” notice, indicating the vendor may have accepted an offer before the sale began.

 

This development comes after the property failed to sell at two previous auctions. The building, with just 40 years left on its leasehold and a fixed annual ground rent of £12,500, has been considered a challenging investment due to its short leasehold and redevelopment complexities.

 

A Troubled History

 

The Debenhams building, a four-storey site with over 211,000 sq ft of space, has been vacant since the retail chain’s collapse in 2021.

 

Initially purchased for £1.5 million by Lewisham MHA 5 Ltd, the property faced ongoing difficulties. Attempts to lease, sell, or repurpose the site – including proposals for a second-hand goods hub called the "People's Store" – failed to gain traction.

 

The site was placed under receivership by Moorfields Advisory after Lewisham MHA 5 Ltd went into liquidation in July 2023. Its auction history includes a guide price of £5 million in 2022, later reduced to £850,000 in September 2024, but both attempts failed to find a buyer.

 

Since then New River, owners of The Moor, added a further complication to the saga by serving Moorfields with a section 146 Notice - attempting to get them to surrender the lease on "disrepair" grounds.

 

Potential Future Uses

 

Details of the new owner and their plans for the site have not yet been disclosed. Previous pre-application advice from Sheffield City Council reportedly explored a number of potential uses, including:

• Demolishing the current building to develop mixed-use tower blocks with retail or leisure spaces on the lower floors and residential or office units above.
• Incorporating a hotel as part of redevelopment proposals.

The property’s location on The Moor, surrounded by popular retailers and leisure facilities like Primark and The Light cinema complex, makes it a prime city centre site. However, its redevelopment will likely require significant investment and cooperation with stakeholders, including lease and freehold holders.

 

A New Chapter for The Moor?

 

The sale could signal a fresh start for the site, which has remained a high-profile vacant space in Sheffield’s city centre. While the challenges of restoring or redeveloping the building are significant, its potential as part of The Moor’s regeneration remains an attractive prospect.

 

More details on the buyer and their intentions are expected to emerge in the coming weeks, as Sheffield awaits the next steps for this vacant landmark site.

[geared]

So I guess we have to wait to see if New River managed to acquire the site or did someone else sneak in a swipe it?

 

Surely both the new owner and the amount they paid will become public record soon enough?

Edited December 12, 2024 by geared

[SheffieldForum]

1 minute ago, geared said:

So I guess we have to wait to see if New River managed to acquire the site or did someone else sneak in a swipe it?

 

Surely both the new owner and the amount they paid will become public record soon enough?

 

Indeed.

 

All we know is that a sale was agreed prior to the auction. Both the amount and who bought it are not available to us currently.

 

 

[bassett one]

make a great witherspoons  and all them stairs to the toilets, but it would be great there as a gateway to the moor, food.drink fantastic , then flats or hotel above they have done it elsewhere as in hotel/pub ect

[longiesta]

On 02/12/2024 at 18:40, ECCOnoob said:

 

Because unfortunately, it was the only unit on the entire precinct that was not owned by the same company. When they undertook the redevelopments, I think someone like Standard Life owned Debenhams.

 

It meant it was excluded out of all the works and partly caused the problem now.    That's why New River were desperately trying to get it under their control citing disrepair because it's becoming I'm increasingly decaying eyesore on their precinct but they have no control of.

 

 

The old Burtons unit was owned by Burtons, which is why its still there.

Although with Burtons gone now, who knows who owns it.