Property Route completes Grafton deal
Property investment company, Property Route, has completed the £16m purchase of Altrincham’s Grafton shopping centre with plans to transform the rundown site into one of the town’s most popular food and leisure destinations.
The fast-growing property company, owned by local entrepreneur, Nabeel Chowdery, will refurbish the 25,000 sq ft mall and seven-storey office block on Stamford New Road, Altrincham, in a makeover designed to reposition the Grafton as a key leisure destination in the town.
Property Route, which bought the Grafton centre from Threadneedle Property Investments, is now in talks with Travelodge to redevelop the office block into a 93-room hotel.
The centre’s nine retail units will be refurbished over the next two years to attract a selection of food and leisure retailers including delicatessens, restaurants, bars and coffee shops.
“We want to breathe new life into Altrincham and transform the Grafton into a destination rather than a walkway for shoppers,” says Chowdery, who was a pupil at Altrincham’s North Cestrian Grammar School. Property Route is now headquartered within view of the Grafton Centre at the 16,000 sq ft Ashley House, which the company acquired in February 2007 before refurbishing and renting three of its four floors out to professional tenants.
“As a sixth-form student in Altrincham, I watched the Grafton centre go up and have seen its fortunes change in recent years, particularly since the Trafford Centre opened, but things are changing. The plan is to transform the centre into one of the town’s focal points and a place to eat, relax and socialise.
“The Grafton already has great frontages and access onto Altrincham’s main shopping roads. What we need to do is make people want to stay and relax once they get inside.”
The Grafton Centre is Property Route’s second major deal this year after the company sold its £3.5m interest in St John’s Chambers, 2 St John Street, in Manchester.