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British Land sells Soho office building to Amazon Property

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BRITISH Land has announced the sale of a 20,500 sq ft building in Soho to Amazon Property for £26 million.

The multi let property at 52 Poland Street, known as Swan House, has a restaurant and bar at ground level with seven storeys of office space above.

Tim Roberts, Head of Offices, British Land said: “The expiry profile at 52 Poland Street means there is potential for vacant possession of upper parts in June 2015. The site attracted very strong interest, reflecting the strength and depth of the WE investment market. It is an opportune time to sell and focus on projects elsewhere in our portfolio.”

Chris Lanitis, Partner, Amazon Property said: “This is a strategic acquisition to add to our growing portfolio in an area where we see considerable growth prospects.”

Amazon Property’s portfolio now features properties from across central London including locations such as City of London, Soho, Maryelebone, Mayfair, Notting Hill

Elsewhere on offices.org.uk: find office space in Soho

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Joint venture to establish new serviced offices in London

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A SERVICED office provider and a property investment firm have announced a joint venture to acquire properties in London and turn them in to serviced offices.

It’s the second joint venture between Office Space in Town and Forum Partners following an earlier deal in 2012 which saw property acquired in Liverpool St, St Paul’s and Waterloo.

£30million has been raised for the first round of equity and the duo are interested in London properties in zone one, in excess of 25,000 square feet and within a four minute walk of a tube station or rail links.

Giles Fuchs, Co-founder and CEO of Office Space in Town, commented:

“We are actively looking to buy office buildings; we have the funding in place to quickly build a strong portfolio as well as a strong track record as both operators and investors in the serviced office sector.”

Andrew Walker, Managing Partner and co-founder of Forum Partners, added:

“We had a fantastic experience working with Office Space in Town on our first joint venture and we are very pleased to back this second initiative. The serviced office market has been performing well and provides excellent investment opportunities.”

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Bath’s first major office build for two decades proposed

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A PLANNING application for the first major office development in the city of Bath for twenty years has been submitted to the local council.

Four storey number 1 Pinesgate would create 113,000 sq ft of flexible Grade A office space close to Bath railway station.

Architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios have come up with the designs for the new office block has basement parking for 84 cars.

Richard Kidd, Director of Office Agency at property adviser GVA, appointed as joint agents with Hartnell Taylor Cook LLP for the Pinesgate development, commented:.

“Bath has had no significant office development for over two decades and the resultant lack of Grade A space led to a number of Bath companies relocating to Bristol and beyond in order to secure suitable office premises as they grow their businesses. In the meantime, occupiers from further afield, attracted by Bath’s unrivalled lifestyle and its highly educated labour pool, have nevertheless had to look elsewhere.

“That is about to change. Number 1 Pinesgate offers a unique opportunity for occupiers to take a fresh look at Bath and to take advantage of the city’s phenomenal cultural, sporting and professional facilities. The city is currently only 90 minutes from central London, with that journey time set to be reduced further once the electrification of the main South West railway line in 2018.”

A decision on the proposal is expected to be made by Bath & North East Somerset Council in September.

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Leadenhall Building to join Open House weekend

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THE LEADENHALL Building is to throw open its doors for this year’s Open House weekend.

Nicknamed the Cheesegrater, British Land’s 225-metre tall building will join other buildings from around the capital in welcoming visitors across the weekend which celebrates architecture.

It will be a chance for visitors to see inside the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners-designed building before its even populated by tenants.

British Land and Oxford Properties, said: “We are immensely proud of The Leadenhall Building,
which is why, having unveiled the building to the real estate industry, we are throwing it open to
members of the public for the first time at this year’s Open House. The building’s nickname, ‘The
Cheesegrater’ is testament to the affection in which it is already held, and we look forward to
welcoming thousands of Londoners to the building in September and telling them the fascinating story
behind it.”

The Cheesegrater is sure to be a popular choice for visitors with other City of London office buildings such as the Gherkin and Lloyds Building always attracting big queues. Open House takes place this year on the 20th and 21st of September.

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Brighton cinema to be demolished for eco offices

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A 1930s cinema in Brighton looks set to be demolished so that a new development can take its place.

The mixed use scheme comprised of offices, flats and restaurants has been approved by local planners at Brighton & Hove Council.

The Conran and Partners-designed plans promise to deliver Brighton’s greenest offices on the site of the old Astoria cinema in Gloucester Place.

Phelim Mac Caffery, chair of the planning committee, told the BBC it was “sad” that no plans had been proposed to retain the building as a cinema or entertainment venue.

He said it was “a real shame” to remove the historic art deco building but “there is an outstanding condition to record and retain features of importance appropriately.”

A redevelopment of the site was originally approved in 2012 but planners have now given the green light to an revised scheme.

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Shard announces three new tenants

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THE TALLEST building in the country has announced a handful of new office tenants.

The three businesses are taking almost 28,000 sq ft between them in the Shard, next to London Bridge.

The companies that have leased space are Arma Partners, Warwick Business School and an undisclosed global drinks brand.

Irvine Sellar, Vice Chairman of the Shard’s Management firm, REM, and James Goldsmith, Leasing Director for REM commented: “We are delighted with these latest signings. This is further evidence of The Shard’s ability to attract global businesses and brands to London Bridge Quarter.

“We continue to realise the vision of creating a vertical city comprising a vibrant community of occupiers from across multiple sectors. There are now eight property classes represented in the building – offices, retail, hotel, restaurants and bars, apartments, a tourist attraction, health and now education in the form of Warwick Business School.”

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Regus to open business hubs in three shopping centres

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BUSINESS centre provider Regus has announced a tie up with retail landlord British Land which will see three business hubs open up in UK shopping malls.

The Regus Express sites will be in Meadowhall in Sheffield, Broughton Shopping Park in Chester and Fort Kinnaird Shopping Park in Edinburgh.

Based in what were offices used by the centre management, the hubs will offer co-working space, private workstations, complementary refreshments, secure wi-fi and meeting rooms.

Charles Maudsley, Head of Retail for British Land, said: “This is an exciting partnership that will enable us to continue to broaden the landlord services we provide. Our retail portfolio encompasses locally preferred, accessible, high quality locations making us the natural partner of choice for Regus. The format will bring high-specification workspace and business services to our consumers and visitors.”

Phil Kemp from Regus commented: “Although a shopping centre might seem like an unconventional work environment, it is precisely this type of location where we see strongest demand for flexible workspace. With the rise of mobility, work and leisure time is blurring, and people want to work wherever it suits them.”

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Galliford Try wins Pall Mall office build contract

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CONSTRUCTION firm Galliford Try has won the £13.5million contract for constructing a new office building in central London.

The office build on behalf of Vesta PC Limited will see the existing facade retained 49 Pall Mall while creating 4,129 sqm of Category A office space. Neighbouring property 48 Pall Mall will be completely demolished for the new office build.

Planning permission for the scheme, designed by Trehearne Architects, was granted by Westminster Council in 2013.

The contract was one of four, worth a total of £82million, announced by the FTSE250 listed company.

Galliford Try Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald said: “We are delighted to have secured these major contracts that demonstrate the strength of our building business throughout the United Kingdom and across a significant variety of sectors. We look forward to delivering on these projects and continuing on our strategy to grow our construction business as the economy improves.”

Elsewhere on Offices.org.uk: Search for office space in London

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New autonomous security robot patrols G4S offices

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A NEW autonomous robot called Bob has started work at the offices of security firm G4S.

Bob is able to map and navigate the offices he has been employed to patrol. His tasks include monitoring the environment, checking doors are closed and gathering information.

The clever robot has been developed by the University of Birmingham as part of the £7.2 million STRANDS project where robots will learn how to act intelligently and independently in real-world environments.

Dr Nick Hawes, from the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham, who leads the STRANDS project, said: “We wanted to build an autonomous intelligent robot that can be put into a real world scenario like a place of work.”

David Ella, G4S Technology VP Technology Marketing, commented: “G4S are involved in various security solutions which combine people and technology, and in this case we wanted to make sure that the security robot of the future carries out useful tasks and really adds value.”

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Revamp complete of Manchester’s Hit Factory chapel

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A REVAMP has been completed of a 19th century chapel which was famously turned into recording studios in the 1980s before becoming office space.

The Castlefield Congressional Chapel in Manchester’s Deansgate was converted into a recording studio in the 80s and was where many of Stock Aitken & Waterman’s biggest hits were recorded.

Artists such as Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and Bananarama all laid down tracks in the Grade-II listed chapel which was designed by local architect Edward Walters.

The building was converted in to offices after Pete Waterman sold the freehold in 2006 but after a period of being empty, the premises have been revamped by local developers M20 property who are now marking it as prime office space.

Peter Quinn, of M20, said: “The Chapel is one of the most recognisable buildings in Manchester and we’re very pleased to bring it back into use.”

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