Bradford's booming market for luxury city apartments has helped boost fortunes at a new property firm based in the city.

Bosses at Newmason Prop-erties, the firm behind a £7.5 million transformation of historic Byron Street School in Barkerend, today revealed that 70 per cent of the luxury apartments have already been snapped up.

And the company is already looking forward to other developments in the city on the back of its success.

Newmason was set-up last November by Shipley-born Andrew Mason and property restorer Alec Newsham and the development at the old school is their first venture.

The pair had hoped to sell 50 of the apartments, which range in price from £64,500 to £200,000, by February, 2004, but have already exceeded that target by ten, leaving just 18 still up for grabs.

Today Mr Mason, who has worked in the construction industry all his life, said the business had been an "unmitigated success" to date.

He said the huge interest in the development reflected Bradford's growing market for high quality properties.

"For many years provincial towns and cities, and Bradford in particular, were overlooked by developers for whatever reason," he said. "A couple of years ago no-one was doing anything in the sector in Bradford but that is beginning to change and we are a part of that process.

"Bradford has such a fabulous amount of attractions to offer in a relatively small area. There are also a large number of big businesses here employing a lot of people, many in high positions. These people don't want to have to travel from Leeds or Manchester every day to work."

Mr Mason said Newmason now employed more than 20 staff and predicted further expansion as it looks to secure deals for future developments.

"We are all loving every minute of it so far," he said. "We have put a serious amount of money into the project and everybody has been fantastic throughout. It has been a real team effort and we have involved a lot of local businesses.

"At the start of the project, I got a copy of the Bradford Yellow Pages and decided that we were going to do the whole of the development using that book. I don't even have a copy of the Leeds Yellow Pages!"

The development at the Grade II listed Victorian school boasts secure parking, a gymnasium and landscaped gardens.

A team of carpenters, glaziers, polishers and other craftsman are on site to restore the original building, repair cast iron gutters and fall pipes, and replace the windows in hardwood to the original specification.

The finished apartments will have exposed original timber beams, oak flooring, glazed balconies and spiral staircases. The school's original air-duct heating system is also to be restored and used to provide additional ventilation.