THE NEW owners of Hudson House have revealed major refurbishment plans as they sign up their first tenants for the offices.

The building in Toft Green was acquired in October alongside 23 other UK properties by Palace Capital plc for a sum of £39.25 million.

Sitting next to City of York Council’s new offices, and Network Rail’s regional headquarters George Stephenson House, Hudson House has been home to Network Rail, Corus, BRB (Residuary) Ltd, and Olivers of York.

In a statement released yesterday, Palace Capital revealed it is in the early stages of planning what it describes as a “major refurbishment” of the property, which dates back to the 1960s.

However the property company said it will not be starting the work any earlier than the beginning of 2016.

In the meantime, Palace also announced it has let 10,380 sq ft on the first and fifth floors of Hudson House.

The £110,000 per year agreement has seen Instant Managed Offices Ltd take the space for occupation by Amey OWR Ltd for a five-year term.

The deal is expected to benefit Palace’s cash flow by £220,000 per year by reducing rates payable on unlet space.

Neil Sinclair, managing director at Palace Capital said: “It’s very early days in terms of the refurbishment plans.

“What we want to focus on at the moment is letting the space out short term and getting the space occupied.

“Too much money is being paid out on empty rates, so we are trying to get the building occupied in its entirety as soon as possible. The building is getting on for 60 years old, so we are looking at a big refurbishment project in between two to five years’ time, and we are just about to employ a planning consultant in relation to that.”

Hudson House was previously owned by Quintain Estates and Developments, which sold the 103,000 sq ft Hudson House as part of its 24-strong property portfolio to Capital Palace.

The acquisition was financed with a £20 million debt facility from the Nationwide Building Society and £23.5 million of new equity, raised from institutional and other investors at 200p per share.

Mr Sinclair added: “Since acquiring the portfolio in October, we have been focused on improving our cash flows by reducing the irrecoverable expenditure inherited with the portfolio.

“The lettings at Hudson House in York are the first of many such initiatives that we anticipate will improve the portfolio’s performance, leading to improved shareholder returns.”