Liverpool toilet block sold for £90,000

Feb 23 2008


lodge lane toilets

A TURKISH businessman splashed out a staggering £90,000 on a Liverpool loo.

Retired construction company director Ilhami Yumak bought the rundown Toxteth toilet block as a present for his daughter.

The Lodge Lane lavatories sparked an intense bidding war when they went under the hammer.



Stunned onlookers watched as the tiny building, which still boasts its traditional Ladies and Gentlemen signs, sold for nine times the asking price.

The Turkish property owner, who worked for French company Lafarge, bought the one-storey block for his student daughter Tugba Yumak.

Tugba, 26, hopes to eventually transform the property and neighbouring land – which her family already own – into 18 luxury apartments and eight shops.

The University of Liverpool graduate said: “The bidding nearly stopped at £30,000 and then somebody else increased it.

“I was shocked when my father phoned me and said he bought it for £90,000.

“He was ringing people in Turkey to see if we could sell our property there and maybe his car.

“My father wanted to buy it as an investment for my future. When I realised the property was going to be auctioned I thought I have to have it.

“I don’t want to be dependant on my father while I’m studying for my PHD so that’s why he bought this for me.”

Tugba added: “Financially I’m not in the position to start a long-term project as I am going to start my PHD.

“So, for the short term, I would like to restore it and divide it into shops to rent.

“I hope it will be a good thing for Liverpool and will increase the value of other properties in the area.”

Competition for the public lavatories stunned staff at the city’s Sutton Kersh auction house.

Director James Kersh said it was some of the most frenzied bidding he had ever seen.

He said: “It certainly raised a few smiles and the gags were flying around the room before the serious bidding started.

“But it was the ideal auction scenario. The only true way to measure a property like this is to put it on the free market.”

Liverpool City Council said it no longer needed the toilet block.

The local authority also sold loos in nearby Aigburth Road last December for a whopping £92,000.

A spokesman said: “We sold some of our public toilets to make savings.

“Some were surplus to requirements and obviously they cost money to maintain.

“Toilets can also be a target for anti-social behaviour.

“The price for this one certainly exceeded what we hoped,” he added.

But British Toilet Association director Richard Chisnell said: “We’re not against selling toilets.

“But Liverpool, particularly in Capital of Culture year, needs to ensure it has enough of them.

“More tourists might be visiting the city this year.

“But where are all those people going to relieve themselves?”