Funding has been secured for two office-to-residential schemes in Preston.

Amicus Property Finance has agreed a deal with property developers the Ladson Group to acquire two previously council-owned commercial buildings in the city centre.

The vacant Winckley House facility, a 43,000 sq ft four/part six-storey office building, has already gained planning permission to be converted into 76 apartments. Elsewhere, the five-storey Guild House building in the Winckley Square area is to be converted into 46 new apartments.

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Yasin Patel, Divisional Director at Amicus Property Finance, said: "We are delighted to have provided funding for these two sites which would have no doubt become more and more run-down without the vision of Guy Ladson at Ladson Group. We were really impressed with Guy and to complete within two weeks helped the site to secure more than 60% of pre-sales.

"We continue to look to fund works required to turnaround historical properties which bring buildings back to life and make the surrounding areas much more appealing."

Guy Ladson, Managing Director at Ladson Group, added: "Amicus was able to adapt to our needs, understanding our business model to the core and tailor the financing we required to fit around us. With this funding in place, we are excited about the future for these two buildings and hope we can maintain a sustained and successful relationship with Amicus."

Image: Winckley House, Preston

(LM/MH)