OUR director Ross Whiting has sold a former bank building on behalf of a US-based client to an expanding student travel company in Nottingham.
Blue Stamp Travel has bought the former Midland Bank premises – complete with the original bank vault – in Nottingham Road, Daybrook, in a deal that took Innes England just three months to complete from first launching the property.
The travel firm, led by husband-and-wife team and former teachers Steve and Vicky Manderson, organises overseas student trips to language schools and summer camps as well as work experience for A-level students abroad.
The deal had to be completed swiftly because of the deadline on an EU carbon reduction grant the firm was receiving with the help of the sustainability team at Nottingham Trent University.
Ross explained: “We had to work within a particular timeframe, so taking three months from receiving the instruction to getting it on to the market and completing the sale was very quick.
“It’s an iconic building with an impressive frontage, on the corner of Nottingham Road and Mansfield Road. The new owners were able to move in straight away and we’re really pleased to have helped them as they continue to develop the business.”
The 2,480 sq ft building, built in 1925, is being renovated and has had solar panels, LED lighting, and double glazing fitted. The firm’s eight staff, who have been based in Carrington, are due to work from there in September. Four office spaces upstairs will be rented out, said managing director Steve.
“We wanted to move to a building that would support our future plans for growth,” said Steve. “We really liked the look of the premises and got a good feel for the place.
“The building behind the facade goes into a triangle and is double height in places. We’re turning the bank vault, with its original 14 inch-thick concrete and steel door, into a social media studio.
“The tradesmen working on it have really enjoyed it and have been pulling out all the stops to get it ready. We’ll be adding our new signage to complete the external work.
“There’s been quite a lot of interest about it in the area as well – a local historian told us about the bank’s background and found an original job advert for it.”
Steve and Vicky, who had originally worked with another travel company after leaving their teaching careers, decided to go solo with their own firm in 2019 and now help more than 700 students a year to travel abroad.
Moving to a larger office space will help to develop their services, said Steve. “It’s the first commercial property building we’ve bought and so it’s been quite a steep learning curve.
“Ross was very helpful throughout the process and put us in touch with all the right people – we were consistently in contact throughout the process. We can’t wait to start this next stage of our business.”
The premises were owned by Connecticut-based businessmen Fernando and Manuel Pires, who sold their international security management company Morse Watchmans Inc in 2021. The company continued to trade from the premises until April 2023 when it relocated to Rugby. Handling the deal with Innes England on the Pires’ behalf was Nottingham-based accountant Jason Evans.
Jason, director at Atkinson Evans Chartered Certified Accountants, said: “Fernando and Manuel had run the business very successfully for several years, building up a network of international franchises, including in Europe and the UK. They owned the building in Nottingham and, since selling the company and taking a step back, they decided to sell the premises too.
“I have worked with them for more than 15 years and they asked me to oversee the sale in Daybrook on their behalf. It was completed very smoothly and quickly, and we wish the new owners the best of luck with their venture.”
