Royal Armouries completes £11.7m land purchase

In neatly-timed news, the venue for this week’s UKREiiF has bought the waterfront site that it sits on from the Canal & River Trust, in a deal supported by Avison Young.

The purchase was made possible by a loan from the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport and The Royal Armouries was helped in the purchase process by legal advisors Burges-Salmon, land agent Newmark, and tax advisors Grant Thornton.

Situated in Leeds Dock, the museum now owns the land outright, including the waterfront buildings adjacent to the museum, and can progress with development opportunities.

Possibilities include new multi-use riverside arts, events and conferences spaces, with the aim of encouraging economic growth in the city.

Speaking at UKREiiF about how cultural institutions can underpin regeneration, Nat Edwards, director general and master of the Armouries said: “This £11.69m loan from UK Treasury for the Royal Armouries to purchase the land outright is an investment in the future.

“It gives the Royal Armouries full control over the museum site for the first time and puts the organisation in a better position to drive future development for the benefit of Leeds.

“The Royal Armouries’ track record of successfully hosting events like UKREiiF, which generate £20m for the local economy, shows what cultural venues can achieve with ambition and commercial acumen.

“With ownership of the land secured, the next step is to secure investment to substantially increase the capacity to grow conference, event and hotel capacity at Leeds Dock.

“Leeds United are marching on, and so are we!”

Museums minister Chris Bryant said: “I’m delighted that the Royal Armouries are moving ahead with this ambitious and exciting scheme. It will make much more long-term economic sense and enable one of our great museums which families love to visit to flourish long into the future.”