New owner for Castle Shopping Centre after three auctions

A shopping centre has finally been bought after it was auctioned for the third time in six months.

Castle Place Shopping Centre in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, had been sold at auction for £1.2m in May but that sale failed to proceed.

In September, the property was then withdrawn prior to auction.

Property investor Tahir Ali, 47, from West Yorkshire, has now announced he is the new owner after buying the centre for £534,000.

Mr Ali, who runs a company called Evergold Property Ltd of Wakefield, said that while there had been previous plans to redevelop the site, he wanted to work with others on the project.

"Our focus is firmly on working together with Wiltshire Council and other key stakeholders in Wiltshire and Trowbridge to seek to bring about the most positive result for the site and the local community," he said.

Castle Place, which is located in the town centre next to Trowbridge Town Hall arts centre, is undergoing a major £9m refurbishment.

The 1.75-acre Castle Place site will provide retail, leisure, and creative space as well as office accommodation, an indoor market and free car parking.

Mr Ali said that he keen to attract more retailers to the centre and to Trowbridge.

The shopping centre currently provides space for a number of shops and has a long running Market Hall, as well as the council-run leisure centre and some office accommodation on the first and second floors fronting onto Market Street.

Mr Ali said: "We have previously brought about positive change to other large retail and shopping centre sites effectively and successfully in Scotland and the North of England and are keen to work alongside our neighbours to deliver something positive that the whole community can benefit from and which should help draw in visitors from the surrounding region."

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