Blackpool Central Pier on sale for £4.8m
Blackpool Pier is facing an uncertain future after being put up for sale for £4.8 million.
The historic attraction is one of three piers which have been put on the market by owners Cuerden Leisure for a collective asking price of £12.6 million.
Blackpool Central Pier - home to the famous 33 metre high (108ft) Ferris wheel and the closest of three piers to Blackpool Tower - Blackpool South Pier and Llandudno Pier in Wales, were all constructed in the 19th century. WORDS: PA.
But Llandudno, which is 695 metres long (2,280ft), is the only pier which is grade two listed, meaning any future owners would require Listed Building Consent to make changes to the structure.
Blackpool Central Pier, which stands at 341 metres long (1,118ft), and Blackpool South Pier, which is 150 metres long (492ft), do not benefit from listed status, despite opening in 1864 and 1892 respectively.
But Richard Baldwin, a director at Bilfinger GVA, who are selling the piers for Cuerden Leisure, said it would be very unlikely that a new owner would make significant changes.
He said: "In order to sustain their value and ensure that value appreciated, they would not change dramatically under new ownership.
"In our opinion, the value is in the existing use and this is unlikely to change at either of the Blackpool piers."
The Victorian piers, which were constructed using cast iron piles, steel frames and wooden decking, all boast amusement arcades and rides and generate a collective income of around £1.6 million a year for Cuerden Leisure through annual concession agreements.
St John Stott, director at Cuerden Leisure - which also owns Eastbourne Pier - said the group was selling three of the four piers as it was "restructuring its assets".
He said: "These assets are jewels in the crown of the UK's coastline and we are delighted to offer them to the market either as separate lots or collectively."
Mr Baldwin added: "Each of these piers are truly iconic structures, having been popular visitor attractions in two of the UK's best known resorts for over a century.
"Each pier is being offered for sale freehold, subject to the various concession agreements in place.
"As profitable attractions, we're confident this sale will attract major interest."
A spokesman for the National Piers Society, which promotes the preservation and continued enjoyment of seaside piers in the UK, said: "These piers are all in good order and trading successfully, and, given that Easter is almost upon us, I have no doubt that they will quickly find a buyer or buyers."
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