22 Dec 2022
National property consultancy, Carter Jonas is providing an exciting and rare investment opportunity to acquire a unique collection of freehold properties in historic Bath. Working alongside local charity St John's Foundation, Carter Jonas is marketing three freehold residential investments with stunning and iconic Georgian facades. The beauty and history of these have been recognised in several TV series. The largest investment block, an entire street of cottages, dating back to 1730 and developed for the current owner, was used as the backdrop for the Netflix drama, Bridgerton, and one of the houses became affectionately known as 'The Christmas Card House' after featuring in a Christmas card produced for the Bath Preservation Trust in 1965.
St John's Foundation is one of the largest landowners in Bath. The three lots available are: 6-20 Beauford Square and 11A Princes Street; Royston House, 5 Duke Street; and 1 – 9 Lark Place. The Bath-based charity has owned 6-20 Beauford Square since their construction in 1730, 11A Princes Street and Lark Place have been part of St John's for over 100 years, and Royston House, 5 Duke Street since the early 2000's. All three lots are close to being fully occupied and are within close proximity to Bath city centre, the furthest being just a 15-minute walk away.
Beauford Square and 11A Princes Street is perhaps the most recognisable, as it was featured in the hit Netflix series, Bridgerton. All these buildings were designed by architect John Strahan in 1730, who also built several churches, Combe Hay Manor, Frampton Court, Redland Court and Painswick Rococco Gardens, amongst others. The buildings are a fine example of Georgian architecture with the historic Theatre Royal frontage shaping the south side. Collectively, the buildings form a square around a communal lawn, enclosed by iconic railings dating back to 1805 and shaped to commemorate pikes used in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Within this iconic square, the buildings create two unbroken blocks, with 6-11 Beauford Square forming the western façade and 12-20 Beauford Square and 11A Princes Street forming the northern frontage of the square.
There are four apartments within 8 Beauford Square, with the remainder being houses offering attractive family living, and two commercial units which are due to be changed back into residential spaces. In total there are thirteen houses, with all properties on the square producing a rent of £337,659 per annum. The income is highly reversionary to £410,000 per annum.
To continue, Royston House, 5 Duke Street, is the second site available and it is a corner building comprising thirteen apartments and offering beautiful river views. The total passing rent is £142,440 per annum and the income is highly reversionary to £146,000 per annum. Lastly, Lark Place is an unbroken row of nine charming Victorian and Georgian townhouses, adjacent to Royal Victoria Park. Each beautiful property comprises three bedrooms and this lot produces a rolling rent of £128,940 per annum. The income is highly reversionary to £170,000 per annum.
Lee Richards, Head of BTR and PRS at Carter Jonas comments: “This is a truly rare opportunity to purchase a selection of historic buildings which present excellent investment potential. The buildings are near to 100% occupied and are highly desirable due to their picturesque facades and fantastic location.”
St John's Foundation was originally founded in 1174 and has served the Bath community for over 800 years. The charity will reinvest money from the sale of the buildings to help change the lives of the people they support. The charity focuses in three key areas: supporting children, supporting older adults and supporting people in crisis. David Hobdey, Chief Executive Officer at St John's Foundation commented: “These buildings have been in our possession for many years - Beauford Square in particular has been owned and tenanted by the Foundation since its construction in 1730. The sale of these buildings will enable us to inject the finances back into the Foundation to help those in need and we are delighted to be working with Carter Jonas to find the new proud investor for these properties.”
All properties achieve a current rental income of £609,039 per annum and a highly reversionary income of £724, 920 per annum. Offers are invited at £18,500,000, and consideration will also be given to the sale of individual lots.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact Elevate PR on:
Chanel Bailey chanel@elevatepr.co.uk 07791 852 530
Freya Martyniak freya@elevatepr.co.uk 07377 567 477
Notes to editors
Carter Jonas
Carter Jonas LLP is a leading UK property consultancy. It is renowned for the quality of its service and expertise of its people.
With a network of 33 offices across England and Wales, it employs more than 800 partners and staff, with 28 equity partners.
It helps its clients sell, let, manage, and add value to their properties, whether they be residential homes, farms and estates, development land, offices, industrial or retail buildings.
About St John's Foundation
One of the UK's oldest and most respected charities they provide almshouse accommodation and support people in need across Bath and North East Somerset, supporting children from birth to 12 years old, older people aged over 55, and people who have come to a point of crisis in their lives.
St John's works together with many stakeholders to ensure nobody gets left behind or forgotten, they take a holistic approach to their charitable work, choosing to work with local partner organisations for their specific knowledge and expertise, and their ability to help implement initiatives and programmes with the greatest efficiency to support positive social change.
Founded in Bath by Bishop Reginald Fitzjocelyn in 1174, St John's Foundation, is – and always has been – in many ways a thought-leader and a pioneer, often challenging the status quo, identifying where systems in society are broken or failing, and seeking solutions to fix them.