PROPERTY company Bruntwood is ‘incredibly pleased’ that their £2 million rescue bid for 60 King Street has been accepted.

Knutsford Town Council decided to team up with the developer after receiving six proposals to develop the iconic building.

Four anonymous applicants offered to buy the property for sums ranging from £650,000 to £1.1 million.

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Knutsford dad Jonathan Farber assembled a team of local residents and led a charity bid that would have preserved the building for the community, offering hired venue space and hosting music and cultural events.

The grade II listed property was home of the former Belle Epoque restaurant for 46 years until the council took control in 2019.

Since then the dilapidated building has fallen into disrepair.

Family owned Bruntwood offered to form a partnership to ‘reinstate the original vision of Richard Harding Watt to welcome people into the building to socialise, relax and bring the local community together’.

Councillors chose their bid as the preferred option after discussing the issue at a meeting on Monday.

The council will still own the building.

The developer plans to reinstate the original coffee house concept or work with a local food and drink operator downstairs.

An enterprise hub is set to be created upstairs for local entrepreneurs, start ups and freelances whilst local makers and artists use space in the bedrooms.

The business has pledged to invest around £2 million as well as long term maintenance and reinvestment.

A spokesman for Bruntwood said: “We are incredibly pleased to have received confirmation that our proposals for 60 King Street have been positively received by Knutsford Town Council.

“We look forward to developing this exciting prospect with the town council members further.

“Bruntwood is proud to be a long term investor in Knutsford and we will continue to focus on providing spaces for local people and businesses to enjoy and get the most value from.”

Councillors welcomed the bid but expressed reservations about the lack of information submitted.

Cllr Stewart Gardiner said: “I prefer this because I think it probably has a greater chance of succeeding.

“But I’ve got two worries. Firstly, the detail that we have is pretty scant.

“I’m concerned that the person that is involved might have too many irons in the fire.

“I think this building requires whoever takes it on for it to be their number one priority, certainly for the next couple of years.

“What worries me when you have sub letting is what would we, as the freeholder do if there were any problems with non payment of rent or if users of the building are in conflict with each other.”

Jonathan Farber is hoping to work with Bruntwood.

The media and communications professional said: “I have spent many years looking closely at this site, asking questions, researching ideas, speaking with people in the town and capturing their thoughts and feelings.

“I’d hate for that knowledge, energy and understanding to be mothballed.

“I would be more than happy to propose a cohesive working partnership with Bruntwood on the public engagement, ideation and development side of the project.”

Councillors are now seeking more information from Bruntwood.

A spokesman for Knutsford Town Council said: “There is still a great deal of detail to be resolved but we hope to meet with our potential tenant to get this underway.”

Bruntwood is a family owned property company with more than 40 years of experience in creating office and retail space across the north of England.

The business offers a diverse choice of meeting rooms, offices for rent, coworking spaces, hot desks and virtual offices at Booths Estate in Knutsford, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.

The company’s portfolio includes more than 100 properties worth more than one billion pounds.