Wolverhampton Council 'to step aside' amid university interest in Beatties building

The council had been prepared to submit a bid after the landmark building went up for sale for £3 million.

But bosses say they have been impressed by the university’s plans.

University leaders revealed their vision for the Beatties building saying it would be “mixed-use” in its new guise.

It could feature shops, a cafe and restaurant but also act as a university building with classes for students.

Up for sale

The bid came after it emerged Beatties had been put up for sale with a price tag of £3 million.

The Wolverhampton building has been owned by a Danish consortium since it agreed a £47m deal in 2006.

House of Fraser bought Beatties for £69.4 million a year earlier.

Mike Ashley's Sport Direct carried out a takeover of House of Fraser last year in a £90m deal.

As part of the deal Sports Direct secured a nominal £1 rental agreement for the Wolverhampton site.

It is believed this could have contributed to the decision of the Danish consortium to sell up.

Why the battle for Beatties is now lost

For more than 140 years Beatties has been synonymous with Wolverhampton.

But now, while the name itself may continue live on, the store that was once the focal point of a bustling city looks set to disappear as we know it.

The University of Wolverhampton has promised fresh investment to take the famous old building into a new age and while many might view it as a positive step for the city, if it goes ahead it will be a takeover tinged with sadness.

The booming Beatties was part of the golden age of Wolverhampton.

Shining bright as it dominated Victoria Street, almost as if it could have been a store in New York or London, as Victorian shoppers scrambled for a place at the front of the queue.

Into the 20th century, as the city's football club swept all before it and tyre giant Goodyear shipped its products worldwide, it remained a must-visit location and, as so many have described it, much more than just a shop - a trip Beatties would be a day out.

But, just like Goodyear, it couldn't last forever and in truth, Beatties' glory days are a long way behind it.

Perhaps for the first time there is a generation in Wolverhampton who have not grown up going into the store as it entered into a steady decline, hastened by the advent of online shopping and the growth of discount chains such as Primark.

Where once Beatties was the only place in town, there was now much more competition, and it was unable to adapt to a changing world.

The House of Fraser takeover in 2005 signalled a change in direction and since then the retailer has struggled badly, itself rescued by Sports Direct last year.

If the university does takeover, Sports Direct will be moving out in the near future taking with it House of Fraser.

Last year's rescue led by Mike Ashley appears to have been merely a stay of execution for the famous old retailer.

Corin Crane, the chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said the decline of Beatties had been "heartbreaking" to witness.

He said: "It is good that such an iconic building in Wolverhampton would have some use. There is no doubt the university does a brilliant job. It has grown to a place where it has such a high population of local students.

"But overall it is really heartbreaking to see such a huge business, such a huge high street name, falling by the wayside.

"I don't think anyone expects the retail situation to get any better in a particularly short time. We really need to think about what we are doing with our town centres and city centres.

"Beatties was the reason people would get off the train and go into the town centre, as it was then. You couldn't talk to local people without talking about what a great shop it was."

Former Beatties general manager David Pardoe said: "Of course it is incredibly sad that the store will close and that the Beatties name will disappear from Wolverhampton as it has been a fixture there since 1877.

"I welcome the University of Wolverhampton's interest, it would be heartbreaking to see such a prominent building lie empty and go to rack and ruin, Wolverhampton has developed in to an excellent university city and if the university can breathe new life in to the building that could be just the legacy that Mr Beattie would have liked."

Mark Hodgkiss worked at the store between 1998 and 2005 and now runs Mode Meanswear in Tettenhall.

The 37-year-old said: "Beatties has got such a romance and history in the city. People remember taking their grandkids in there at Christmas, husbands and wives remember getting their wedding lists sorted in there.

"Those were its glory days, it is a different era now. It is a completely different shopping environment.

"It is sad but if the university did take it over at least someone could keep the actual spirit of the building."