BLACKBURN Cathedral Quarter’s Premier Inn Hotel building has been sold by the developer for almost £5million, it was announced last night.

It follows the sale of the flagship office block in March for £9.1million.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The two deals, totalling £13.9million, have cleared Maple Grove Developments, part of the Eric Wright Group, and its partners almost £1million in profit.

Last night the firm revealed it had sold its 60-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and 3,500 sq ft ground floor restaurant at Blackburn Cathedral Quarter to Knight Frank Investment Management on behalf of Lancashire County Pension Fund for £4.8million.

This represents a net profit of 5.79 per cent.

In March, Maple Grove sold the flagship 32,000 square foot six-storey office block ‘One Cathedral Square’ for £9.1million to global investment giant Legal and General with a similar profit margin.

That sale represented the highest price ever for commercial property in the town.

Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss Phil Riley hailed the sale of the hotel complex with its sitting tenant as a major step forward for the £34 million development.

He said: “This is a further vote of confidence in the Cathedral Quarter scheme and Blackburn “After the sale of the office block to Legal and General, it show that major financial investment companies have real trust in the redevelopment of our town centre.”

The project, pioneered by Blackburn and Darwen Borough Council and Maple Grove Developments, will create a new mixed-use commercial quarter around the Cathedral fronting the railway station and a new bus interchange.

The scheme, being built by Eric Wright Construction, is scheduled for completion at the end of September, with the Premier Inn due to open on November 9.

Graham Pilkington, senior development surveyor at Maple Grove Developments, said: “We’re delighted to have secured a deal with Lancashire County Council for the new Premier Inn and ground floor restaurant, which shows the local authority’s confidence in the scheme and its role in regenerating Blackburn town centre.

Ben Ward, investment manager at Knight Frank Investment Management, added: “We are very pleased to be able to add this asset to the Lancashire County Pension Fund’s property portfolio.”

George Graham, director of the Lancashire County Pension Fund, said: “This property has been acquired by the Lancashire County Pension Fund, as part of a £150m commercial property investment being made by the fund around Lancashire.”

The fund includes the county council, Blackburn with Darwen, the district councils, non-uniformed members of police and fire services, and others.