Laurence and Ben discuss investment in a long-running Leeds nightclub, properties which feature in Bridgerton and Four in a Bed hitting the market, and results for a cash and carry business.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Investment in a long-running Leeds nightclub, a pair of landmark properties
00:04coming to market, and results for a cash-and-carry business. That's all
00:08coming up in today's business briefing.
00:14My name is Lawrence Kilgannon. My name is Ben Butler. Well, morning Ben. One of the
00:21areas of real interest for our viewers is commercial properties coming to
00:25market. That can be all sorts of different offices or what have you, but you've got
00:31one of a country house in the southwest with a very interesting history, so
00:35perhaps you can tell me a bit about it. Yes, so it's on the edge of Bristol and it
00:38operates as a wedding, corporate and events venue. Right. And it's also as a
00:43filming location for hit Netflix drama Bridgerton. Right, are you a fan
00:48of Bridgerton, Ben? I've not seen it myself, but I know it's a very popular
00:52programme. It is, it is. I too haven't seen it. I've sort of heard it's like a
00:56period drama with a bit of a sort of racy edge to it, which was a shock when I
01:03found my 15-year-old daughter watching it. But apparently her mum said it's okay.
01:07Yes, and so it's up for sale and it's called Leigh Court in Abbots
01:12Leigh. It's only about three miles from Bristol city centre and it's set within
01:1622 acres of parkland and woodland and it's been brought to market by Alder
01:21King Property Consultants. So the firm had previously acquired the property for
01:25the current owners 21 years ago. Oh, so it's not often for sale then? No, so it's
01:30quite a rare opportunity and it's also served as a sought-after filming
01:34location for other high-profile productions. So you've got BBC's Doctor
01:37Who and also ITV's Sanditon and the estate's history also extends more than 200
01:44years. So it actually, its origins actually trace back to the Tudor era.
01:48Fascinating. And Leigh Court itself has been offered for sale freehold and
01:52offers are invited in excess of 5.5 million pounds if of interest. Well I
02:00think it's perhaps beyond my budget, Ben. Yes, same with me. And you've mentioned how it's
02:05used as a wedding venue, obviously as a production venue, but are there other
02:09things that can be done? Yeah, there's potential future uses for the site, so
02:12get to planning and other necessary consent. So that could include apartments,
02:17things like that. So, you know, there are other, you know, potential
02:23opportunities there. Excellent, well I really like the sound of that. I'd love to go to a
02:26wedding or something like that if I've seen the show. Because you'd be like, oh, X did this.
02:29No, it's a very grand looking building, so yeah. Okay, very interesting. And actually
02:34in the area of properties up for sale, this has also got a TV link. Are you
02:40aware of Four in a Bed? Yes, I've heard of it, yes. Okay, well this is a Skegness
02:45property, an Alice in Wonderland themed hotel in the seaside town. A bit of a tourist
02:51location. Yeah, yeah, and so the Hastas Hotel, it featured on Four in a Bed and
02:56it was bought by Gary and Dee Allen in 2021. Right, okay. And they sort of invested in
03:02creating like Alice in Wonderland themed bedrooms and so on throughout the
03:07property. That's interesting. Yeah, absolutely. And I actually don't watch Four in a Bed,
03:12but for some reason I saw this episode. Yeah. I remember thinking I'd love to go
03:16and stay there because it'd be interesting as a fan of the book. Yes, of course. I've not
03:20actually seen the film, but the book's really sort of poignant in my memory. And
03:25anyhow, the hotel it's being up for auction, it's auctioned by Pew, a part of
03:31Edison's. Not quite the numbers that you were talking about, but this one
03:36is available whilst asking price of £650,000. Right, okay. So two great
03:41opportunities for property investors there, Ben. But away from that, you've got
03:46news of a cash-and-carry again with an interesting history in Cardiff. Yes, so
03:51it's called Global Foods and its foundations were laid all the way back
03:56in 1964 and it started quite humble beginnings with the opening of a corner
04:01shop. Right. But since then it's branched out into catering supplies in the 1970s
04:06and then the shop was sold the following decade as this side of the business
04:10expanded, culminating in a move to a purpose-built 50,000 square foot
04:15warehouse in 1987. So they're based in Cardiff and as a business they sell
04:21ambient frozen and chilled products to the food trade from the warehouse as
04:26well as for delivery. And the company also serves approximately 5,000
04:30customers from the premises and the statement accompanying the results read
04:36the directors feel that the company is in a strong position to face any coming
04:40uncertainties that may arise and as well as that in its latest year it
04:44posted results featuring improved margins with steady turnover. So a
04:49positive set of results and the outlook going forward is also looking very good
04:55as well. Excellent, great stuff, interesting to hear. And almost a
05:01weekend, Ben, have you got your dancing shoes ready? I can do. Well the reason I
05:06say is because we've got a great story about one of Leeds longest
05:09running night spots, The Space. That's very near the Corn Exchange in the
05:15town, so right in the city centre. Anyhow it's investing £250,000
05:20into enhancing its offer in a move that's designed to celebrate its
05:2625th anniversary. Are you familiar with the building? Well I did go to Leeds
05:31University and I used to cover extensively Leeds here at Insider. So I
05:37recognised the building but I think it was one of the few places which I didn't
05:42attend. I did my best to attend most nightclubs. Will you be going back to this now?
05:47Well it sounds like it because this investment, Ben, it's going to be into
05:51lighting, decor, something that really caught my eye is an LED ceiling which
05:56sounded fantastic if you're out there dancing and also as you can
06:01imagine they're investing in an upgraded sound system and a new VIP area. So
06:05excellent to see because everyone knows how difficult the hospitality sector has
06:09been. It sounds like an exciting development. Yeah so for The Space to be
06:13celebrated 25 years, that is a superb achievement. Fantastic. Anyhow to find
06:18out more about the stories we've discussed today go to insidermedia.com.
06:21There you can subscribe to our newsletters, you can subscribe to our
06:25magazines and you can find out about upcoming events. That's everything from
06:29us, see you next time. Thank you.