Yahoo Finance Factory conversions: 8 fabulous properties
Boasting bags of character and features such as oversized windows, high ceilings, exposed bricks and steel beams, it’s no wonder that homes in former factories are highly prized. Whether you fancy living in a landmark Victorian building or prefer an Art Deco gem, all these apartments share an industrial heritage and are on the market right now.
1. The Silk Works, Coventry, £195,000
This contemporary flat forms part of the freshly-restored Courtaulds textiles factory, a couple of miles from Coventry city centre and convenient for the M6. Situated on the first floor, it has a double bedroom, an open plan kitchen/living area with fitted appliances, a tiled bathroom and neutral décor. First time buyers with a 5% deposit can utilise Help to Buy and borrow 20% of the cost. From Connells.
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2. Terry’s Clock Tower, York, from £264,950
Anyone with a sweet tooth will find this development hard to resist as it’s within the Grade II listed clock tower at the heart of the Terry’s chocolate estate in York, where chocolate oranges and other treats were produced until 2005. It comprises 21 one, two and three-bed apartments and penthouses with generously-sized open plan living areas and parking, and is adjacent to York Racecourse and minutes from the historic city centre. For sale through Savills.
3. Horlicks Quarter, Slough, Berkshire, from £300,000
For over a century, Horlicks was made here then shipped around the world, but production of the malted milk drink ceased after the brand was sold in 2018. Now the site is being turned into a residential quarter of one, two and three-bedroom homes, only five minutes’ walk from the forthcoming Crossrail station. Facilities inside the red brick factory building include a games room, fitness centre, cinema and a large space for co-working or relaxing. An on-site café and day nursery are planned, with a central piazza for open-air community activities. By Berkeley Homes.
4. The Hoover Building, Greenford, London UB6, £325,000
A one-bedroom flat on the second floor of one of the capital’s finest Art Deco buildings, incorporating triple-height Crittall windows, original staircases with wrought iron balustrades, terrazzo floors and period light fittings. It opened in 1933 as the Hoover Corporation’s UK headquarters and manufacturing plant and once employed 1,600 people, but shut soon after the last vacuum cleaners rolled off the line in 1982, and was transformed into 66 flats of various sizes in 2018. This home has a large open plan kitchen/living room, allocated parking and no onward chain. For sale through Purplebricks.
Read more: 10 remarkable properties with a wartime past
5. Templeton Court, Glasgow, £375,000
Inspired by the Doge’s Palace in Venice, the elaborate gothic façade of Templeton and Son’s former carpet factory is adorned with decorative brick, glass mosaic and terracotta, masking its industrial nature. Today the Victorian building is a mix of workshops, bars, office spaces and apartments, including this first-floor one-bedder, which features banks of steel-framed windows, oak herringbone flooring throughout, and a circular staircase rising from the L-shaped kitchen/living room up to a mezzanine, used as an office, library and entertaining area. Available from The Modern House.
6. Hayes Village, Hayes, Middlesex, from £444,000 for a two-bedroom apartment
Wake up and smell the coffee as the Nestle factory – where Nescafe and the Milky Bar were produced until 2015 – is being transformed into a new residential village of more than 1,300 homes, next to the Grand Union canal. Some of these are loft-style apartments with double-height ceilings and steel-framed windows, within the original Art Deco buildings. Residents will have access to a gym, café, running track, outdoor exercise equipment, play areas and landscaped gardens and previously closed-off canal frontage, and Hayes & Harlington’s Crossrail station is under half a mile away. For more information see Barratt London.
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7. The Pickle Factory, London Square Bermondsey, London SE1, from £675,000
The cheese sandwich’s favourite condiment, Branston Pickle, celebrates its 100th birthday this year, so why not mark the occasion by snapping up an apartment in the factory where it was once made? Part of an emerging neighbourhood of restored industrial buildings alongside new blocks, the Pickle Factory is close to Bermondsey Street’s galleries, cafes, restaurants and bars and London Bridge station, Borough Market and the City are in walking distance. One and two-bedroom warehouse-style homes are currently available. See London Square for more details.
8. Chappell Lofts, Camden, London NW1, £3.5 million
If you have a big budget and are looking for a pad with all the bells and whistles, this apartment should fit the bill perfectly. On the second floor of the converted Chappell Piano Factory, which was built in the 1860s, it’s almost 2,000 square feet in size and consists of a double reception room, a kitchen, study and two bedrooms – one with an ensuite bathroom – an additional shower room and separate WC, plus a large private balcony. Exposed brickwork, beams, wood panelled walls and sash windows are among the many industrial features. From Carter Jonas.
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