Unit 5B, 10-18 Queen Street, Barnsley

Description

The property comprises a high yielding, prime, retail investment occupying a high footfall pedestrianised pitch. Arranged as a ground floor retail unit with ancillary upper parts, the ground and first floors are fully let to Holland and Barrett, long-standing tenants of 10+ years, on a five year lease expiring 25.07.2029 and paying £46,750 per annum. The property includes vacant upper parts to the second floor which may benefit from asset management potential via letting or development potential subject to obtaining the requisite consents. The ground floor retail unit 5A (let to TUI), is sold off on a long leasehold basis.

Accommodation

Ground floor retail unit with ancillary upper parts; ground and first floors fully let to Holland and Barrett; vacant second-floor upper parts. Total area: 7,749 sq ft (719.88 sq m).

Location

Prime pitch fronting Queen Street, the principal pedestrianised retail pitch in Barnsley. The surrounding area includes national retailers such as TUI, Barclays and Costa.

Tenure / Property Information

Investment Analysis

The £290,000 guide equates to approximately 6.2 times the stated £46,750 annual rent, or a 16.1% gross yield before costs. The only supplied comparable is 19 Queen Street, Barnsley, sold freehold for £280,000 in February 2024; it is not sufficiently detailed to establish a reliable valuation range. An indicative base GDV of £280,000 is therefore adopted solely by reference to that same-street comparable, subject to the materially different accommodation, tenant covenant and lease terms. The property is elected for VAT, but no VAT amount or buyer/admin fees are supplied.

Investment Snapshot

Strategy Recommendation

Consider as a commercial income investment only if VAT, title extent, lease documentation and tenant covenant are verified. Treat the vacant second floor as upside rather than underwriting its letting or development potential.

Works Required

No physical refurbishment works are evidenced. The principal asset-management opportunity is letting or developing the vacant second-floor upper parts, subject to obtaining the requisite consents. Any associated costs cannot be estimated from the supplied evidence.

Rental & Market Context

Sold Comparables

The following completed sales were identified within approximately 5 miles:

Potential BRRR Position

Using the sole supplied same-street comparable as an indicative £280,000 base GDV, 75% loan-to-value refinancing would equate to £210,000. Cash left in cannot be calculated because refurbishment, VAT, acquisition costs and finance assumptions are unavailable. The vacant second floor may offer value enhancement, but letting or development is subject to consents and is not underwritten here.

Buy-to-Let Analysis

The ground and first floors provide stated passing rent of £46,750 per annum from Holland and Barrett Retail Ltd, equivalent to £3,895.83 per month. Against the £290,000 guide, this produces a 19.34% headline gross yield before VAT, acquisition costs, finance, management and other outgoings. The lease is stated to be effective full repairing and insuring through a service charge, but the lease expires on 25.07.2029. No external rental comparables or auctioneer rent estimate were supplied.

Flip Analysis

A flip appraisal is not supportable from the evidence. No refurbishment budget, resale allowance, VAT treatment, acquisition fees or reliable market-value range is supplied. The current investment income and vacant second-floor opportunity make this primarily an income and asset-management proposition rather than an evidenced flip.

Investor Risks & Due Diligence

• The property is elected for VAT, but the VAT amount and recoverability position are not supplied.

• The second-floor upper parts are vacant and any letting or development is subject to obtaining the requisite consents.

• The Holland and Barrett lease expires on 25.07.2029, creating renewal, re-letting and income-continuity risk.

• Income is concentrated in one stated tenant for the let accommodation.

• No sufficiently specific external rental comparable or auctioneer rent estimate is available.

• Buyer/admin fees, refurbishment costs, finance costs and other acquisition costs are unavailable, preventing a reliable total-cost and maximum-bid calculation.

• The ground-floor retail unit 5A is sold off on a long leasehold basis, so title and retained-property extent should be verified.

Recommendation

Consider as a commercial income investment only if VAT, title extent, lease documentation and tenant covenant are verified. Treat the vacant second floor as upside rather than underwriting its letting or development potential.

Strategy Rating

Analysis Confidence

Passing rent, lease terms, tenure, guide price and one same-street completed sale are supplied, but there is no reliable valuation range, condition report, EPC, rental evidence for the vacant upper parts, buyer/admin fee, VAT amount, acquisition-cost detail or refurbishment budget.