With Christmas just around the corner, it might not be the best time of the year to buy a new property. But what if you could get your hands on an entire shopping centre for around the same cost as a house in Cardiff?
That’s what one person has managed to pull off with the purchase of Cambrian Way in the centre of Carmarthen. The shopping arcade was built in 1989 and is located between John Street Car Park and St Catherine’s Walk Shopping Centre. You can keep up to date with the latest Carmarthenshire news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
It is still home to a number of small businesses despite the struggles faced by Carmarthen in recent years which has seen a number of its high street shops close down, with many units left empty. Betting firm Coral still has a shop within the arcade, but other large units have been empty for a considerable time.
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The shopping arcade was recently put up for sale with a guide price advertised as £300,000+. The average cost of a house in Cardiff earlier this year was £300,000. According to Allsop Property Auctions, which was due to oversee an auction of the site on Tuesday, the property boasts a current rental income of £93,500 per year, which is set to rise to almost £100,000 per year by the end of next year.
However, a day before the auction, the arcade was bought in a private sale. It’s understood that it was purchased for a little over £300,000 by a local businessman who has clear plans to transform the arcade and return it to its former glory in the very near future. In total, the successful bidder purchased eight retail units, five smaller kiosks and a snooker hall - long since closed - which is adjoined to one side of the arcade. The size of the property in its entirety is more than 2,600 square metres (more than 28,000 square feet).
On the listing guide, Allsop Property Auctions said: “Carmarthen is an attractive town and one of the oldest in Wales, located some 20 miles north-west of Swansea and 60 miles from Cardiff. The town is served by the A40 and A48, which in turn provides direct access to the M4 to the east. The town benefits from direct rail services to London Paddington which takes less than four hours. The property is situated on the west side of Cambrian Place, at its junction with John Street. Occupiers close by include Timpson’s, EE, Lush, Vodafone, M&S, Boots and Superdrug amongst others.”
If Cambrian Way can be returned to a bustling thoroughfare as it was in the 1990s and 2000s, it will provide a huge shot in the arm to Carmarthen town centre. The adjoining St Catherine’s Walk has been beset by setbacks in recent years, with the loss of retail giants Debenhams, Topshop, River Island, H&M and more.
