A new owner for the landmark Howells building in the centre of Cardiff has been identified.
Avison Young have been marketing the Victorian built and listed building after the firm's Nathan Pask and Rosalind Goode were appointed joint fixed charged receivers in 2019.
Now the process is close to completion with a preferred new owner identified, subject to due diligence.
The property had been acquired by Naissance Capital Real Estate on behalf of investors in 2016 for £37m, financed by a combination of equity investment and bank debt.
The company that owned the property, Jersey-based Wallace Properties, went into administration.
The building extends to 275,000 sq ft, located on a prime 1.72 acre site. A new owner could look to redevelop the building to provide a new mixed-use scheme, with space for retail, office, residential, as well as potentially a new hotel too.
That would require an investment potentially of tens of millions of pounds. It is understood that property advisory firm Avison Young were seeking offers for the building in the region of £15m.
Mr Pask at Avison Young said: "We are currently at due diligence stage and expect to be able to provide an update shortly. We have received a considerable amount of interest ."
While expressing early interest, it is understood that Bristol- based property development firm Cubex, is not in the frame.
However, a project breathing new life into the building, could be one that property developer and investor Artisan Real Estate could look to take on, based on its strong track record of delivering mixed-used schemes across the UK.
Artisan were contacted to comment on whether it is seeking to acquire the Howells building.
House of Fraser, now part of Sports Direct International plc, remains a tenant of the building, but on a reduced footprint than in previous years.
