New owner of The Postings in Kirkcaldy reveals change of name

The retail outlet was sold at auction for £310,000 to Tahir Ali of Wakefield based, Evergold Property.

He plans to rebrand it as the Kirkcaldy Centre, and has engaged the Dunfermline office of Shepherd Chartered Surveyors to offer 14 of the empty units for lease.

Mr Ali was in town last week where he met with Bill Harvey at Kirkcaldy4All, and there are plans for him to also meet all the key players in the re-development of the town centre, including Kirkcaldy area committee, and Kirkcaldy’s Ambitions.

You may also be interested in:

Man arrested after attempted murder in Fife

appeal after tractors stolen from Fife farm

Hunt for man after indecency and assault on Fife train

He has a 20-year background in the commercial and residential property sectors, and bought the near empty centre at auction as former owners, Columbia Threadneedle offered it for sale with a £1 price tag in a bid to get it off its books.

The give-away price attracted national media interest and caught the eye of a number of property investors.

Mr Ali believes the Postings – opened at a cost of over £4m in 1981 – has a good future.

He said: “Our aim is to reposition and revitalise this centre to the benefit of the local community.

“There are some attractive units here with an existing footfall averaging 15,000 people per week and we are already in advanced discussions with various operators for the large unit formerly occupied by Tesco as well as entering into discussion with prospective tenants offering a range of goods and services that serve the local community.”

Mr Ali has had an initial meeting with Bill Harvey, BID manager at Kirkcaldy4All, and moves are now being made to offer the empty units for lease with the carrot that the majority would be rates-free as they benefit from the Business Rates Bonus Scheme.

Talks are also planned to tackle the crumbling steps which lead from the High Street up Bell Inn Wynd.

The closure of Tesco in 2015 saw councillors scrap plans to sink some £100,000 into a repair project as footfall dwindled, and the steps remain covered in safety barriers.

Bilal Ashraf, commercial surveyor in the Dunfermline office of Shepherd Chartered Surveyors, said: “The new owner understands the challenges ahead and, with his vision and our expertise in the local and national markets, I am certain we can work together to make the Kirkcaldy Centre a great success.”