Beatties sale moves closer as offer for Wolverhampton building accepted
A deal to sell Beatties has moved closer after an offer from a private investor was accepted.
Legal work is now ongoing and if all parties are happy the deal to bring the landmark retailer into new ownership could be completed over the next few weeks.
Property agents hope the sale will be finalised this time after the University of Wolverhampton pulled out of buying the building at a late stage due largely to the costs associated with refurbishing the site.
An offer of around £3 million from the investor has been accepted.
The bidder is believed to have held discussions with the city council over its intentions for Beatties.
Bosses have said they are keen to support whoever takes it over and want to avoid it sitting empty for a prolonged period. House of Fraser will move out early in the new year to switch to the Mander Centre.
A spokesman for Allsop, which is marketing Beatties, said: "We are under offer to a private investor. An offer has been accepted and we are currently undertaking legal work."
Meanwhile, it's thought to be unlikely that Mike Ashley's announcement on House of Fraser store closures will have any impact on the high street giant's Mander Centre move.
A new concept Frasers department store will launch in the space currently occupied by Debenhams.
The shopping centre's loss of its anchor tenant has been offset by an agreement for House of Fraser to replace it.
Sports Direct billionaire Mr Ashley has chosen Wolverhampton for one of a handful of new Frasers shops, which will feature several brands from his retail empire under one roof.
The tycoon warned that some stores were "unsustainable" but that officials were "doing as much as we can to realistically save as many jobs and stores as possible."
