Exeter's House of Fraser store which has sat empty for months is to be turned into a prestigious hotel and restaurant.
Plans for the building also include high street shops and cafes, and an unobstructed view of Exeter Cathedral from the rooftop bar.
Building work is about to start on the 65,000 sq ft House of Fraser redevelopment on the High Street, with the estate agents who are letting the units saying a 'high-end' hotel operator is already on board - but the name is not being made public at this stage.
Earlier this week it was announced that wealth performance management firm Prydis' purchase of the department store was complete.
Joe Priday, managing director of Exeter-based Prydis, told Devon Live: “Exeter has a rich culture which we wanted to highlight and help revitalise. The redevelopment has been thought out to make the most of the beauty of the nearby cathedral, the city centre and all it has to offer.”
The Exeter-based company say they are now set to move into the construction phase of the project, which marks the final stage in Exeter’s Princesshay development.
Prydis say the deal is forecasted to return around £2million to investors – a figure comparable to the result of Prydis’s £9.36million sale of Senate Court office building next to Exeter Crown Court in 2019.
National real estate consultancy, Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) advised Prydis on the deal. Hollie Ruddle, Associate Director of Capital Markets, said they were delighted to see the sale go through to completion: "This is just the start, as we are instructed to let the retail/leisure components of the development and we’ve already found an operator for the onsite hotel.
"We’re all looking forward to seeing this exciting project in the heart of Exeter flourish.”
