A REGENCY building at the heart of Tyneside’s most famous street is set to become fully occupied once again.
Leading North East hospitality and leisure business, Malhotra Group plc, is preparing to relocate to Newcastle’s Grey Street following the £4m purchase of number 50, which will now be known as Malhotra House.
And an agreement to let the 3,272sq ft first floor of the building to Lloyds Bank on a five-year lease means each of the listed building’s four storeys will be in full use.
Italian restaurant Zizzi will continue to operate from its current ground floor site and
Malhotra Group will relocate head office staff from its existing sites, at Groat Market and Scottish Provident House, into the office accommodation on the upper two floors.
The move is expected to take place in April, following a full refurbishment of all the three, upper office accommodation floors and of the ground floor entrance area.
The Group already owns several sites on the famous Regency street – hailed the most beautiful in Britain – including the boutique Grey Street Hotel.
And Group chairman, Meenu Malhotra, said the purchase of the site is proof “of our ongoing commitment to the city centre.
“Sadly, while the majority of buildings on Grey Street are occupied at ground level, many of their upper storeys have been sitting empty for years,” he said.
“By purchasing this site – and others – and occupying them in their entirety, we are breathing new life into them and we are very proud of that.”
Michael Downey, of property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton, which arranged the lease with Lloyds Bank on behalf of Malhotra Group plc, said: “We are thrilled to secure Lloyds Bank plc as a tenant for our client.
“The rent achieved matches the headline for Grey Street and, when combining this with the strength of covenant on offer, this is a truly remarkable result considering the offices have been vacant for a number of years.”
Malhotra Group PLC owns some of Tyneside’s most popular hotels, bars and restaurants, along with a portfolio of residential care homes under its Prestwick Care division.
Lambton Smith Hampton was joint letting agent with Sanderson Weatherall.
For more information about Malhotra Group plc contact www.malhotragroup.co.uk.