The iconic Grade II listed Trafford Park Hotel sold for three times the listed guide price
MORE than 250 bidders battled it out to buy the deserted Trafford Park Hotel at the end of last month, with the war-ction, held via online auctioneers John Pye Property, continuing for almost two hours after it was supposed to have officially closed.
In the end, the Renaissance style hotel - opened in 1902 on the corner of Third Way and Ashburton Road - was sold for just under £900,000, nearly three times the listed guide price of £350,000.
Built to house the workers of the newly created Trafford Park - the world's first purpose-built industrial estate - the building was listed by English Heritage in 1987 and is noted for its eye-catching red brick and terracotta frontage, parapets, pilasters, grand clock tower and stone sign with globe detail.
Despite the lack of attention over the years, the interior still retains many original features, including impressive wooden staircases, plaster cornices and timber panelling.
Sadly, the Trafford Park Hotel was closed by owners Enterprise Inns in 2009 and is currently in a poor state of repair, needing a considerable amount of renovation work before it can be inhabited again. Drainage problems have also resulted in water-damage, causing some ceilings on the top floor to partially collapse.
The hotel was even embroiled in the centre of a legal dispute after a number of squatters residing in the property formed a campaign group, The Freedom Project, to highlight the growing number of rough sleepers in the city.
The deserted hotel proved to be a record lot for the online auction house. Richard Reed MRICS, head of property at the John Pye online property auction said: “Given the building’s potential, it is easy to see why it was so popular with bidders.”
It is thought that the building could be renovated into a hotel or turned into apartments fetching £80,000 to £120,000 each.
Header image credit: Ed O'Keefe
