Astle House fails to sell at auction again

The historic former home of a famous printing and publishing firm in West Bromwich has failed to sell for the third time. Bids fell over £100,000 short of the minimum price.

The Grade II-listed Astle House was included in an auction at Villa Park in Birmingham yesterday. It had a guide price of £500,000 but bids did not even reach £400,000.

Brian Hughes, from auctioneers Bigwood, said: "It is just the way it goes. The number of people in an auction room doesn't always reflect how much interest there is in something.

"A lot of people will be there just for the tea and biscuits - not to actually take part in the sale.

"The serious bidders often don't attend themselves.

"A decision will now have to be made about whether to reduce the price of Astle House or not sell it at all."

Covering 10,000 sq ft, Astle House dates back to 1883 and is the former home of the printing and publishing firm Kenrick & Jefferson.

The three-storey building It is constructed of red brick and red terracotta with a tiled roof.

It is situated in High Street next to the Astle Park retail complex.

This features stores such as Next, Marks & Spencer and Nike.

The building already has planning permission from Sandwell Council to be transformed into a leisure venture.

It was last at auction at Aston Villa's Holte Suite in April.

Then, interest failed to reach the £550,000 guide price.

This was four months after a sale fell through at the 11th hour.

In October last year, it was set to be sold for £525,000 - £50,000 below the original asking price but, despite a large deposit being put down, the sale once again failed.

No-one from Bond Wolfe, which owns the 127-year-old property, was available for comment.