Harrison Drury advises on purchase of iconic Old Fives

Harrison Drury has advised on a property deal that secures the future of an iconic Preston building.

49-51 Guildhall Street, widely known as the ‘Old Fives building’, has been purchased by Edgar Wallace, owner of plastic waste recycling and compounding business Preston Plastics.

Mr Wallace, who owns a number of entertainment venues across the region, is now in discussions with a potential tenant to use the Grade 2 listed building as a new evening leisure venue.

Edgar was advised on the purchase by the property team at Preston commercial law firm Harrison Drury.

The three-storey building was built in 1878 as the original Preston Conservative Club. It became the well known Fives and 49s bar and restaurant until it closed in 2006. The basement reopened as the Cocktail Factory in 2007 with Vintage bar and restaurant opening upstairs in 2007, later joined by the Priory. These venues later closed and the building, now know as Old Fives, has been unoccupied since August 2011.

The interior of the leisure and entertainment venue is currently undergoing a makeover and discussions with a new tenant for the building are at an advanced stage.

Owen McKenna, property partner at Harrison Drury, said: “The Old Fives building is one of Preston’s best-known properties and is renowned for being a high-quality venue. Edgar’s outright purchase of the property is not only good news for the building itself, which is benefiting from significant new investment, but also for this part of the city centre.”

Edgar Wallace said: “The property is now owned outright and there is no mortgage or debts involved which gives the building a secure future. I will be leasing the building out and I’m in negotiations with a potential tenant who will run the building as an evening leisure and entertainment venue. We hope very soon to be able to bring this impressive and ornate building back into use and to boosting Preston’s night-time economy.”

Mark Whittle, marketing and events manager for Preston City Centre’s Business Improvement District (BID), said: “Such an iconic building as Old Fives should never lay dormant and it’s encouraging that Edgar has seen the value in buying and investing in it.

“Preston already has an attractive portfolio of night-time leisure businesses, but a genuine appetite from residents for something a little different still exists. Preston’s attainment of the Purple Flag Accreditation reinforces the point that Preston is alive after five and we look forward to working with the venue once the doors open again.”