Deal ‘will transform’ former chocolate factory

An undisclosed offer has been accepted for the sprawling 27-acre site on the outskirts of the city and lawyers are now attempting to hammer out the final details of the sale.

The identity of the potential buyer has not been made public but agents from Leeds-based Savills, which has marketed the site since it went on the market last March, confirmed there has been interest from more than 50 different investors.

Agent Matthew Jones claimed the development, dubbed the Chocolate Works, presents an “iconic site” which will be transformed in one of the region’s 
highest profile regeneration projects.

He told the Yorkshire Post that the sale could be completed by the end of March, and added: “The purchaser has agreed to buy the site unconditionally at a price close to the guide.

“This proves that for the right asset in the right location there is still a strong appetite for investment, especially in a city like York where the residential and leisure markets have held up well in the past few years.”

York Council’s assistant director for city development and sustainability, Mike Slater, said: “We look forward to working with the new owners to facilitate redevelopment, re-use of the listed building and to secure investment in the site, creating new housing and new jobs.”

Speculation has been mounting over the future of the site after the world-famous chocolate factory closed in 2005 when US parent company Kraft transferred production to Europe.

GHT Developments LLP, which includes the York-based company Grantside Ltd behind the regeneration project, bought the site for £26m in April 2006.

Work began in March last year to prepare it for re-development but the decision was then taken to put the estate back on the market less than three weeks later.