Derelict since the 1990s, proposals to convert the buildings into office, retail and residential space were put on hold in early 2015 after lengthy delays over planning permission and the withdrawal of a major investor.

[1] Drilling in 1892 revealed suitable artesian water sources under Sleaford; plans were submitted nine years later and over 13 acres of land off Mareham Lane was purchased; work started in 1901 and was complete by 1907.

[14] After a lengthy stalemate, the District Council served a compulsory purchase order on the site in 2014,[15] but Tesco announced early the following year that it would no longer be investing in the maltings complex following a series of financial setbacks to the company.

[13] Although Gladedale (by then known as Avant Homes)[16] announced its commitment to converting parts of the site to residential use, the leader of North Kesteven District Council, Marion Brighton, stated that the plans were "effectively on hold" following the withdrawal of Tesco.

[1] Built in red brick with Welsh slate roofing, the complex follows a rectangular plan along an east–west orientation: a central four-storey water tower is flanked by four malthouses.

The malthouses are identical in design and layout; barley was fed into a granary section, before being moved onto the germination floors and eventually transported to one of the twin kilns, where malting took place.

[18] In 1974, it was recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building in recognition of its importance as an example of a large-scale industrial malting complex in which "considerations of form, massing, symmetry and scale have produced a design of high aesthetic quality combined with clear functional expression"; it also represents the importance of the English brewing industry in the late-19th and early 20th centuries and large-scale malting at its peak.