THRALL Europa, the York wagonmakers seeking crucial new orders to ensure its survival, has a new landlord.

The plant site on the 48 acre Holgate Park just been bought from Yorkshire Forward by Ashtenne Industrial Fund Ltd.

Ashtenne has also acquired the old Adtranz offices at Holgate Park which used to belong to the ill-fated ABB and was more recently used by CPP Card Protection Plan until it built its own £8 million HQ nearby.

The deal is part of what is believed to be a more than £50 million package of 48 business and industrial properties bought by the London-based company from the regional development agency involving a total of nearly 676,000 sq ft of properties and 61.62 acres of land.

Yorkshire Forward, which inherited Holgate Park from the now-defunct Government agency, English Partnerships, is keen to cast off its landlord status to concentrate more on generating new industry.

A spokesperson for Ashtenne, which was the preferred bidder among 35 serious expressions of interest in the portfolio, refused to discuss the future of the Thrall land on the grounds of confidentiality.

But she said: "Ashtenne is in the middle of reviewing all the sites in the portfolio. It tends to actively manage its properties in order to increase occupancy."

Millions of pounds of public money was spent on revitalising Holgate Park in the wake of the downfall there of ABB carriagemakers.

A York Regeneration Partnership, a consortium of local and regional organisations was dedicated to re-energising the track side tract of land, with a £14 million purchasing and levelling project in 1997.

It paved the way for the arrival of Thrall as well as the now major employer, Card Protection Plan. It also set the scene for numerous speculative office developments, a new housing estate and open space.

* Included in the mega-deal, on which contracts have just been exchanged, was also 14, 500 sq ft of buildings on the Carnaby Industrial estate, Lancaster Road, Bridlington; more than 5,200 sq ft of developments plus 1.43 acres at Bempton Lane Industrial Estate, Flamborough; 7,503 sq ft plus nearly an acre of land at Hunmanby Industrial Estate in Bridlington Road; more than 6,000 sq ft and 1.12 acres on the Skiff Lane estate, Holme on Spalding Moor; more than 16,000 sq ft of buildings on the Larpool Industrial Estate, Whitby; nearly 40,000 sq ft plus 9.52 acres at the Stainsacre Industrial Estate in Whitby; more than 23,000 sq ft of buildings at the Standard Way industrial estate in Northallerton and 14.06 acres of land at Becklands Park, Market Weighton

Updated: 08:38 Friday, March 08, 2002