GREENOCK'S Oak Mall is up for sale for £14 million - less than half the sum the shopping centre was bought for just five years ago.
The Tele can exclusively reveal that the town centre retail complex is back on the market.
Its Luxembourg-based parent company, Lunar Greenock Sarl, took over in March 2014 four months after it went into administration and subsequently went bust with debts of nearly £80m.
The shopping centre and its associated assets were then sold for £35.7m.
Five years later, the Mall is now up for sale for a fraction of the price.
It is being marketed by top UK estate agents Savills for £14.1m.
The owners of the Mall declined to comment 'at this time' when approached by the Tele.
The timing of the sale comes just four months after plans to demolish the eastern wing to create a more compact centre were knocked back for a second time.
An original application from the owners was rejected in November last year - a decision upheld by councillors on the local review body in March following an appeal.
It is unclear whether the planning knock-back is a factor in Lunar Greenock's decision to try and offload the site.
A source said: "It was decided a couple of months ago it would be put on the open market and see what's what.
"It's quite a normal thing to do."
It continues to be a turbulent time for the Mall and the retail sector in general as traditional high street businesses struggle with difficult trading conditions and the continuing rise of online shopping.
Yesterday, the Tele revealed how two of the longest-established Mall shops will close next month.
The shutters will come down at newsagent's RS McColl on August 16 with jewellers H Samuel shutting the following day.
A total of nine jobs are under threat between both shops.
According to the Mall's latest set of accounts - submitted to the Luxembourg equivalent of the UK's Companies House - its owners made a loss of nearly £660,000 in the 12 months up to December 31, 2017.
That figure was an improvement on the near £1.2m deficit the previous year.
The report says the land and buildings are worth just under £36.5m - a drop of £650,000 on the 2016 valuation.
* See Page 6
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