Oxfordshire commercial property agency, Meeson Williams Phillips, has sold a listed office in the centre of Abingdon to Yellow House - the creators and publishers of English language guides and courses.
5 and 7 Stert Street has been bought by the owner of Yellow House, Claire Selby, a writer and composer who specialises in English as an additional language for children. Yellow House occupies the ground floor while the remaining space is rented to other business tenants.
“We were looking to buy rather than rent our office premises so that we could adapt them over time to suit the changing needs of the business – and we were also looking for a good investment,” explained Claire Selby. “Abingdon is an ideal base with its reputation for good educational establishments, its proximity to Oxford and transport links to London. It is also a quintessentially English town, full of character, charm and history which will be extremely appealing to our international partners and customers and encourage them to visit. “The building itself has a long and colourful history which we have started researching. I found a photograph of the cottages taken during the First World War which paints a fascinating picture and I look forward to uncovering more information about the people who used to live here.”
David Williams, a director at Meeson Williams Phillips who negotiated the sale, said: “It is wonderful to see this publishing company moving into Abingdon, adding to the diverse range of businesses in the town, and the character of the building suits them perfectly. There is a growing appetite amongst private investors for small commercial buildings, such as Stert Street, who are recognising the attractive return and long-term prospect underpinned by the Oxfordshire economy. The same is true for the medium to large investments, and we are seeing interest in properties on our books from £300,000 up to £15m.” Established in 1998, Yellow House has a strong international customer base and works closely with publishing partners based in Russia and China. The company is looking to expand into the UK market, extending beyond its existing products and services to offer specialist stories and fun learning support materials to help English-speaking children with the more challenging aspects of the language. These include rhymes to help teach irregular or unusual spellings.
