Gupta Brothers Buy
Wolve’s
£3m Carillion House

Property investors the Gupta brothers have secured a multi-million pound deal to buy Wolverhampton’s landmark Carillion House..

The building has been up for sale since April, as a result of Carillion’s collapse into liquidation in January this year.

It had been on the market for around £3 million, but the final purchase price is not being disclosed, the Express and Star reported.

The building, overlooking the city centre ring road at Chapel Ash, has been bought by private real estate fund Gupta Group, which is run by brothers Ankush and Arjun Gupta.

Gupta Group, a London-based private family investment business, was originally founded over 30 years ago and focuses on prime assets across the UK, spanning residential, commercial and industrial sites.

“Our investment approach enables us to move quickly and we are delighted therefore to have been able to respond to the opportunity and secure this key asset,” said Ankush Gupta. “The acquisition of Carillion House is in line with our strategic investment initiatives.”

He added that Carillion House is a high yielding asset with an attractive capital value.

Gupta Group is now seeking to work with local contractors and regional agents to market the refurbished office space.

The building dates back to 1977, when it was built by Wolverhampton firm AM Griffiths & Sons as the new “Staffordshire House” headquarters for the Staffordshire Building Society.

The Staffs was later taken over by the Portman, which then became part of the Nationwide Building Society, which finally moved out and left the building empty. Carillion moved in during 2008 and the building became its official headquarters seven years later after the lease expired on its former Peal Stret home.

It borders the site of the leisure-led Westside scheme, which encompasses land between Penn Road Island and Salop Street, including the current School Street and Peel Street car parks and the area around Market Square. Phase one of the development will deliver a multiplex cinema, 50,000 square feet of additional leisure space, new restaurants covering 40,000 square feet, a 100-plus bed hotel and a multi-storey car park.

DMZ reckons Carillion House is a great deal for the Gupta brothers, who have an impressive portfolio of property projects.

Projects include a newly-built upscale mews development in Chelsea called Hobs Mews, which encompasses five properties, each with their own secure underground parking and cutting-edge technology.

The group is also developing a large retail and office block on Fenchurch Street, and a 2.1 acre residential development with 35 homes in Hertfordshire. Source: dealmakerz.co.uk