February 13, 2001 13:15: A SHORTLIST of companies wanting to acquire the former Evans Halshaw Vauxhall and Nissan dealership site is being drawn up following intense interest from developers.

Andrew Cobden, associate director of commercial property consultants NAI Gooch Webster of London, has confirmed that around 20 offers have been received, mainly from developers who want to build on the brownfield site for office use.

"We have a shortlist of interested parties. We have had discussions on some of their scheme designs with the planning officers at Wycombe District Council who are broadly in agreement with the proposals," said Mr Cobden.

He said that any proposals were unlikely to be processed as planning applications for another two months.

A spokesman for the planning department at the district council said it was happy in principle for an office redevelopment.

The 3.72 acre site on the London Road, High Wycombe, is owned by Pendragon plc and is being sold jointly through NIA Gooch Webster and Rapleys.

The site is expected to sell for substantially over £1 million an acre.

NAI Gooch Webster, which is letting 450,000 sq ft of warehousing on short-term lets, at the former Glory Mill site, has also received a number of inquiries from companies interested in the proposals for an office park to be built on the 12-acre site.

NAI Gooch Webster and Mutton & Co are joint agents agents for the office project.

Charlie McClean, director in charge of leasing at NAI Gooch Webster, said: "We have had good interest in a proposed office park, which is expected to be a series of three or four storey-pavilions, providing accommodation of 250,000 sq ft in a landscaped setting.

"The Western corridor between the M40 and A3 is very active at the moment."

Hanbury Securities, which owns the site, had originally wanted to build a single eight-storey office building but this was dropped after the potential client pulled out.

Now the company, a wholly-owned UK subsidiary of international real estate investment company New Federal Incorporated, is hoping to submit a detailed planning application to Wycombe District Council for an office park within the next two months.