Bath College’s landmark Ralph Allen Building is to be converted into much-needed office space after being acquired by a London-based property investment group.
The five-storey 40,000 sq ft building on James Street West has been bought by Dominvs Group, a real-estate investment, development and asset-management company, for an undisclosed amount.
Dominvs said the acquisition was part of a wider strategy of acquiring buildings in what it called key gateway cities such as Oxford, Cambridge and York. 
The firm, which also owns showpiece commercial and residential properties in London and around the UK, said it the building had “real potential”.
Dominvs Group legal manager Lee Saywack said: “This is an exciting investment for Dominvs Group, complementing our growing national portfolio of properties dedicated to a range of uses.
“The building is in an excellent location at the heart of one of the UK’s key gateway cities and offers real potential for creative asset management. This deal is also a testament to the experience and agility of our team who were able to simultaneously exchange and complete to secure this ideal acquisition for Dominvs.”
Dominvs Group currently has an active development pipeline of projects in key cities across the residential, hospitality and industrial sectors. Its hospitality team is experienced in developing hotel sites at landmark locations that are sensitive to their historic surroundings.
The firm is converting the former Tower Bridge Magistrates Court in London into a luxury 200-bedroom hotel and has recently secured planning on two further site – one for a 140-room hotel scheme in central Oxford and a hotel in the City of London
