£6m deal kicks off sale of Chek Whyte's property portfolio

THE first major chunk of the remnants of Chek Whyte's failed property empire has been sold off in a £6m deal.

An investment management firm has snapped up prime sites on Long Row and Parliament Street, which were owned by the tycoon's collapsed business.

The sites at 62-64 Long Row and 77-79 Upper Parliament Street were sold on behalf of one of Mr Whyte's major creditors, the Yorkshire Bank.

Law of Property Act receiver Richard Saville acted for Yorkshire Bank in the disposal, securing £6.85m from clients of Invista Real Estate Management.

The properties comprise 5,000 sq ft of retail let to supermarket giant Tesco for an Express format store, a 25,000 sq ft medical centre let to NetCare and NEMS Limited, and an empty retail unit likely to become a pharmacy.

The sale was handled by David Hargreaves, partner at city surveyors Fisher Hargreaves proctor.

The £6.85m deal represents a net initial yield for the purchaser of 6.9% off an income of £500,000 rising to £525,000 in three-and-a-half years' time.

Mr Saville said: "Taking into account the current economic conditions, I am delighted with this particular outcome.

"A significant amount of work was put into achieving this sale.

"The fact that a national organisation purchased this property demonstrates belief that the local economy is still reasonably buoyant."

The Long Row and Upper Parliament Street sites form part of a portfolio of approximately £20m worth of property assets being sold off on behalf of Mr Whyte's secured creditors. The developer and property entrepreneur struck a separate IVA deal with unsecured creditors after his business collapsed in the wake of the market crash.

The unsecured creditors include tradesmen and HM Revenue & Customs, who were collectively owed around £7m.

As a sole trader, Mr Whyte could not seek protection from administration or receivership.

Yorkshire Bank had the biggest charge on his properties, and Mr Hargreaves says more disposals are imminent.

"We have a number of other buildings within the portfolio under offer and we are hoping to make more announcements in respect of sales in the coming weeks," he said.