Early in 2014, the directors of TGL were introduced to 1, 2 & 3 St James’ Terrace and 17 St James’ Street as properties that were being marketed for sale. These Grade 2 Listed, 4 storey buildings had in excess of 8,000 square feet of floorspace and sat adjacent to Newcastle University in the very popular Leazes Park area. As office accommodation (Planning Class B1), they presented a prime opportunity for a residential conversion project.

To facilitate this project, TGL’s directors formed St. James’ Central Limited (SJC 1), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), to allow for the involvement of multiple external investors in the project.

Tyneside obtained planning permission for a residential conversion scheme within the Leazes Conservation Area and successfully redeveloped the buildings to produce 9 residential flats with a total of 31 bedrooms.

Three of the flats are accessed via their own front doors on St James’ Terrace and the other 6 share a communal entrance through 17 St James’ Street. Being situated at the top of St James’ Street, just across from Leazes Park, it is in a highly desirable location for students at Newcastle University Business School, which is just a few minutes’ walk away. All the flats were furnished with good quality fixtures and fittings; all bedrooms have double beds, ample clothes storage, desks and desk chairs, as well as wall-mounted TVs. The living rooms all include large screen TVs and leather sofas. All the flats are provided with either a dining table and chairs, or a breakfast bar and stools.

At completion, the scheme was fully let and was subsequently sold later in the year at £2.05M, realising a very healthy investment return.

• Number of Beds: 31
• Complete Contract Value: £750,000
• Sale Price: £2,050,000