Posted on September 14, 2011 by John Cronin
A letting on behalf of an insurance company has been secured at one of the most striking office schemes in Manchester.
Commercial agent WHR Property Consultants has acquired in excess of 5,000 sq ft of floor space at the imposing 82 King Street building in city-centre Manchester on behalf of insurance broker Caunce O’Hara.
The incoming tenant has agreed to a 10-year lease at a rental price of £25 / sq ft. Caunce O’Hara are to relocate from smaller offices at City Wharf in New Bailey Street.
82 King Street is an imposing, Grade I Listed former banking hall coupled with a 14-storey office tower to the rear. The former home of the Bank of England, the scheme is arguably the most iconic office redevelopment in Manchester. The tower, which is connected to the banking hall, was constructed in 1996 and refurbished in 2009.
Suites within the building are available from 2,830 sq ft to over 6,100 sq ft. Serviced office facilities within the building are also available from providers including Regus. In total the scheme offers approximately 85,000 sq ft of floor space. The building is owned by property investment fund managers F&C REIT.
Caunce O’Hara had a requirement for city-centre Manchester office space. Alex Russell, Associate Partner at WHR commented: “We worked closely with Caunce O’Hara to understand its requirements and after identifying a shortlist of possible buildings, 82 King Street was deemed the ideal solution for the expanding company.”
Joint marketing agents for 82 King Street are GVA and Jones Lang LaSalle.
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Posted on September 13, 2011 by Nell Frizzell
Evan Davis’ must be a strange life. By morning he’s interviewing prime ministers, grilling politicians and heckling journalists. By night he staring uncertainly down a video camera in an abandoned warehouse, surrounded by empty lockers and bits of chain. Oh well, I suppose those moleskin suits don’t buy themselves. Talking of buying, let’s see what investable delights get dragged up those stainless steel stairs this week.
First up we have Nick, Richard and Sebastian with their self-pouring pint. The trio are looking for £50,000 in exchange for 15% ownership of their business. Well, I say business: I mean a prosthetic limb for a beer pump that allows a glass to fill itself with all the mechanical joy of an old man’s old chap. Perhaps they should call it The Brewers Droop Scoop?
The invention will, apparently, speed up the time it takes to get served at the bar by stopping all those lazy bar staff from holding each drink as it pours. Maybe we could get rid of locals, televised sport and chatting while we’re at it? In fact, perhaps we should just get rid of pubs altogether and just get ourselves wheeled along under a row of optics and barrels, like a conveyor belt of alcofun. Or ask Wallace and Gromit to design the entire pub, with steam-powered fruit machines, pulley-powered cigarettes and a huge plasticine barmaid called Brenda.
Theo Paphitis seems interested in the half-time potential of self-pouring pints while Hilary Duvet admits to pouring her first pint at the age of six. Mind you, judging by her cherubic voice, Hilary had already been smoking for a good three years by then. Anyway, it was experience enough to convince Hilary that what you need to get served in double time is twice the staff with double the training.
Duncan Bannatyne won’t be interested until they invent the self-pouring Irn Bru and Deborah is worried about speed pouring. Whatever the heck that is. However, both Deborah and Theo put together an offer of £50,000 for 30%. That, my friends, deserves a drink.
Next up, Jackie Thompson from Lincolnshire dresses all four dragons up in white jumpsuits and masks. Now, I hate to get biological here but Peter Jones’ jumpsuit isn’t quite long enough in the body, turning his CSI outfit into more of a wash’n’wear self-dividing cheese wire. Yum.
Our third presentation comes from ex-city trader Bola who has a dream of cashing in on snotty-nosed toffs. Quite literally. Bola wants to eliminate bogies, boogers and nose goblins with his natty new nasal tweezers (try saying that with a face full of mucus). In fact, the Cleebo tweezers are just a small part of Bola’s range. One can only imagine what products lie beneath that black cloth – snot plungers? Bogie swords? Phlegm thimbles?
Now, according to Evan Davis, “The dragons have got 17 children between them”. Imagine their house – Ma Dragon up in the attic, while the little Dragon Chidluns run out in the yard; like an episode of The Waltons, except they’re all ruthless capitalists and only four are allowed to sit down at any one time. Most worrying is who’s looking after these 17 children tonight if they’re all at work? Perhaps they’ve been locked in a childproof Dragon’s Pen.
“I’ve never failed at anything I’ve done.” Says Bola just seconds before failing to win any investment. Ouch.
We are then treated to a ‘canine safety accessory’ that I imagine could prove very popular with lesbian and divorced female dog walkers, if you know what I mean.
Next, Wendy Thompson from the Isle of Wight is looking for £50,000 in exchange for a 40% share in her enormous wooden mousetrap. Oh no, sorry, it’s a health swing. In explaining the benefits of the Health Swing, Wendy goes in to quite a formidable back story, including a passing reference to some cattle. Well, if you can’t blind them with science you can always give historical evasiveness a try.
According to Wendy you can even “watch television while swinging”. No wonder she’s such a “likeable entrepreneur,” if that’s what she gets back to on the island.
When asked if she’s ever started her own business before, Wendy launches in to one of her trademark historical answers: “I was born on a farm. Before I went to school I milked a cow.” When asked if she has taken any orders for her health swing, Wendy replies: “Well, I went on a cruise… “That’s the way Wendy – don’t let them tie you down.
Although none of the Dragons choose to invest, Hilary does offer to put Wendy in touch with the Stroke Association and put her time in to helping the septuagenarian entrepreneur. How nice.
Gareth and Brian Smith come along next with their own range of low fat snacks called Crips. Wow. They sound Tatsy. Sadly, the father and son team are hardly – how can I put this – a winning advert for low fat snacking, and neither is their track record of three years of enormous losses in a row.
Finally we come to former milkman Simon Booth from Somerset. Simon is one of those “lucky entrepreneurs to have turned personal passion in to a money-making venture.” Like a concubine then, or a gigolo.
Simon is willing to give up 10% of his business in exchange for £75,000 investment. His business, Kiddimoto, produces pedal-less wooden bikes for kids that look like motorbikes. Luckily, Simon’s daughter manages to demonstrate all the fun of a Kiddimoto without freewheeling head first down the steel steps of the studio’s artful gloom.
Now, despite turning over £490,000 last year, our milkless man only actually managed £30,000 profit. Which means that, somewhere along the line, he’s lost £460,000 – a figure that is unlikely to endear him to a panel of investors.
Despite being the show’s premium petrolhead Peter Jones doesn’t have the time to invest in Kiddimoto. I suppose being a “Telecomms Giant” must be rather time-consuming, what with all those telecoms children you have to terrify and telecoms bridges you have to lurk under waiting for passing telecoms goats.
Luckily, MC Bannatime and Hilary are on hand to offer the £75,000 for a 15% stake each.
So there we have it: snot, snacks, swings, “sticks” and one very happy Simon. See you next week!
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Posted on September 12, 2011 by John Cronin
Head office staff at DIY giant B&Q have moved into new headquarters following the completion of the fit-out project.
Contractor Sir Robert McAlpine has announced the completion of a multi-million pound office fit-out at the new B&Q headquarter office complex in Eastleigh, Hampshire.
McAlpine was awarded the fit-out contract having also completed the main phased redevelopment of the B&Q corporate hub earlier this year.
The large scale development at Chandlers Ford, comprising over 300,000 sq ft, consists of headquarters accommodation, retail store support offices and a merchandising centre known as the “smart lab” where prototype store layouts are trialled. In order to support lorry deliveries to the smart lab a staff car park has been built above the office and lab space.
The three-storey building is built around an outward facing atrium (pictured) and has been constructed using a range of energy-efficient measures such as natural lighting and ventilation and recycled water usage. The building has achieved a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. The offices have been designed to accommodate up to 1,500 staff and existing staff have now relocated from three separate buidings.
The existing office buildings were demolished and approximately 90% of the materials were recycled. The local authority reused items such as door frames and light fittings and floor panels and carpet tiles were relaid in the new building.
The headquarters are to be officially opened this month by B&Q ambassador and television presenter George Clarke and yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur who has a long-standing sponsorship deal with the company.
Architects for the scheme are BDP.
Posted in Hampshire |
Tagged Demolitions, Renovations |
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Posted on September 9, 2011 by John Cronin
A first letting has been secured for a speculative office redevelopment in Macclesfield, Cheshire.
Commercial property developers Quorum Property have let the 1,734 sq ft fourth floor of their Macclesfield Exchange building (pictured) in the centre of the town. Claims management company CollectaCase has agreed to take the space and is to relocate from nearby offices.
The Macclesfield Exchange building is adjacent to Quorum’s Castle House, a converted warehouse that is now used as a 68-bedroom Travelodge. Macclesfield Exchange is a converted mill building that offers 10,000 sq ft of office space over five floors. Suites are available to let from 900 sq ft and largest floor plates are 2,050 sq ft. The first, second and third floors are available to let. The speculative scheme was completed in September, 2010. The quoted rental price is £15 / sq ft.
Macclesfield Exchange is not the only significant town-centre building currently available in the Macclesfield office market. Agents Colliers International have been instructed to market the former headquarters of the Cheshire Building Society. The 42,000 sq ft building on Castle Street has been put up for sale although a letting might be considered. The building has existing planning consent for use as offices. A guide price has not been disclosed.
Commenting on the building, Rupert Barron, the director of offices at Colliers Manchester said: “We’re very confident that this impressive building will be of great interest to businesses seeking a purpose-built head office or a centrally-located building property of prominence that can be adapted to meet their particular requirements.”
Agents Greenham Commercial are acting on behalf of Quorum Property.
Posted in Cheshire |
Tagged Renovations, Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on September 7, 2011 by John Cronin
A London-based commercial property company has received planning permission for a new office scheme on the site of an historic building in Farringdon.
Derwent London (Derwent) has secured planning consent for a new office development on the site of the Turnmill building in the Farringdon and Clerkenwell area of London. Derwent plans to demolish the existing building and replace it with a 70,000 sq ft, six-storey office block (pictured).
Originally constructed in 1887, the Turnmill building was used as stables by the Great Northern Railway company until around 1930. The building has subsequently been used as a wine warehouse, a popular night club and following refurbishment in the 1980’s as serviced offices for small businesses.
The Turnmill has been the subject of several redevelopment schemes in recent years. Derwent had previously failed to gain approval for a redevelopment of the site but finally succeeded with a revised, smaller office scheme last week. The decision to award planning consent has been met with criticism by several conservation groups including English Heritage, Save Britain’s Heritage and the Victorian Society. Attempts to attain Listed status for the Turnmill have been rejected on the grounds that the building has had too many alterations.
Islington Council planning committee, commenting on their decision said: “The new building is considered to be of exceptional design. Officers are of the view that the proposal would maintain character and appearance of the Clerkenwell Green Conservation Area.”
Construction of the speculative scheme is expected to start in 2012. Architects for the scheme are Piercy Conner.
Posted in London |
Tagged Demolitions, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on September 6, 2011 by Rob Powell
The TUC has warned that dangerous levels of dust in the workplace are leading to thousands of deaths every year.
The TUC is sending new guidance to its union safety reps following studies into the hazards of dust exposure.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: ‘Because disease and death caused by the various types of dust can take many years to develop, both employers and regulators take them far less seriously than deaths caused by injury, yet they are just as tragic for both the workers and their families.
‘Each and every one of these thousands of deaths caused by dusts is avoidable. Given the scale of the problem we need an urgent examination of both the current standards and their enforcement.’
The TUC’s annual Congress meeting takes place next week in central London.
Posted in Misc |
Tagged Health and Safety |
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Posted on September 5, 2011 by John Cronin
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) has confirmed that it is to relocate to new offices, having agreed to a pre-let at a new build scheme in Aberdeen.
AGCC is to relocate to new office accommodation at Aberdeen Energy and Innovations Parks. AGCC has agreed a pre-let on 4,780 sq ft of floor space at The Hub (artists impression pictured) which is scheduled for completion in summer 2012. AGCC is to relocate from slightly large offices nearby and expects to see only a marginal rise in accommodation costs.
The Hub is a low-carbon, 13,500 sq ft building that is expected to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’. The two-storey building will offer Grade A office space along with approximately 2,000 sq ft of ground floor space suitable for exhibitions. The speculative scheme is being constructed at the Aberdeen Energy Park, which is the sister site to the Aberdeen Innovation Park.
The Hub is part of a joint venture between Scottish Enterprise and Buccleuch Property. Formed in July, 2010 the joint venture aims to invest £10m in the business parks, with several of the nine multi-let buildings being targeted for refurbishment. The two parks are a key component of the ambitious Energetica project which aims to create a world-class, mixed-use development zone north of Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Energy and Innovation Parks offers a range of accommodation with office suites available from 250 sq ft and serviced office facilities are available. Quoted rental prices are in the range £12.75 per sq ft to £20 per sq ft. Marketing agents are CB Richard Ellis.
Posted in Aberdeenshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Rental Prices, Serviced Offices |
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Posted on September 5, 2011 by Nell Frizzell
“Will any of these budding entrepreneurs walk away with their money?” asks Evan Davis in this week’s Dragons’ Den introduction. Why do you ask Evan? Is Hilary going to mug them? Is Peter Jones a notorious pick pocket? I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.
First up we have the husband and wife team of To Chan and Karen Ho who have brought with them a tank of whitebait. Ah, no. It’s a fish pedicure. You know – the places where you can get habitat-starved fish to eat your dead skin. Like a David Attenborough deep sea documentary, only you can find them at every festival, train station and high street. To and Karen want £150,000 for 30% equity so they can open two more shops.
Peter Jones the Brave volunteers to give the fish a testmunch. “It feels very odd and it’s likely to make me sweat,” says the communications millionaire. Some people pay a lot for that in Soho, Peter.
“I do feel very different to when I went in,” Peter continues. Probably because you’ve just taken part in the most undramatic Jaws sequel known to man, beast or fish. To and Karen are more than just amateur Aquarians: both did science at Oxford and then went on to work as consultants, in Karen’s case at Lehman Brothers. So, at least they’ll have a good reading list while the fish are digesting.
Hilary explains that when she goes to nail bars she sits there and calculates their profit. You can just imagine how much fun she is at hen dos. Sadly, To and Karen’s reticence about quick, mass market growth puts Hilary’s talons out of joint and she’s out.
“Tanks and cages make me feel sad,” says part-Greenpeace-hero-part-Rainbow-presenter Deborah Meaden, so she’s also out. MC Bannatyne points out that “Everybody can copy it,” while Theo Paphitis responds with a characteristically odd “You get a tick in the box, but I don’t quite get to a yes.” He’s such a poet.
Next up is Scott and Lee (wait, weren’t they in Steps? With come girl called Lisa?) with their new fitness craze Ski-Hop. Well, skipping certainly seemed to work out for Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. However, the Dragons seem underwhelmed. “You’ve got a long way to go to convince me to invest £100,000 in a skipping rope,” says Theo, apparently much summing up the mood in the warehouse.
The most awkward pitch of the evening (possibly the entire year) comes courtesy of the Teeside sign maker Alan Pearson. Alan just about manages to stutter, sigh and wince that he sells street name plates and some sort of plastic container – a “maintenance-friendly accessory” whatever the hell that is – before his pitch grinds to a uncomfortable, but undeniably peaceful stop. He had wanted £100,000 for 10% but as his mind goes blanker than Paris Hilton’s CV, the chances of a decent offer seem unlikely. He doesn’t know his gross from his net, 50% from 100% or margin from mark-up. He also paid himself somewhere between £40,000 and £4,000 over last year.
“You would make my foot itch” says Hilary. Oh well, at least he delivered the entire pitch like someone on the penalty line. Actually, make that the firing line.
The next pitch is a hand-held joystick for playing online poker. Duncan puts his hand in for a quick (not to mention losing) round before the grilling commences. Things go about as well as a pair of twos squaring up to a royal flush played by a psychic Mafioso.“Your previous track a record makes it likely that I will lose my money,” says Theo. Ouch.
Next up we have the fashionable East London twins Polly and Charlotte Vickery who seem to have come ready for a quick jumble sale – their clothing rail bulging with tops. Imagine Lily and Sarah Allen, but if one of them was blonde and neither of them had ever made any money. Polly and Charlotte’s label, Brat and Suzie, makes t-shirts and tops featuring the original designs of professional illustrators. These garments have then featured in Closer and Cosmopolitan (which are magazines, for those of you reading this in a pair of John Deere dungarees or a hessian sack.) The girls finish off each others’ sentences, want to start making dresses and named the label after their childhood pets. So far, so cute. Until they reveal that for each illustration – basically the entire selling point for the garment – they only pay the illustrator £20. That’s actually less than the cost of a single t-shirt. Which, from a business point of view is fantastic. Just not quite so fantastic for the penniless illustrators and possibly not their best PR move. Hilary “I’m really in to fashion” Devey sadly thinks the business is too risky for her investment and Polly and Charlotte leave empty handed.
After a quick bronco-bucking demonstration of a motorbike seatbelt fails to win the entrepreneur a single buck, we come on to the last pitch of the show.
Andy Bates’ career as a fire fighter came to an end a few years ago when he was involved in a high speed motor collision. So, consequently, he’s designed a really, really fast car. Well, of course. According to Evan Davis, this is “a compelling story from the passionate entrepreneur.” Y ou could also argue that this is a compelling story of a moth taking up a light bulb-engineering business, but what the hey. Andy is looking for £50,000 for 10% in his Sabre motorbike-powered car which can, apparently, be driven on actual roads too.
Despite the potential for expansion in to the American and Swiss market, most of the dragons scatter from Andy’s pitch like pigeons in front of a moped. Unsurprisingly, the petrolhead Peter Jones makes an offer of £50,000 for 35%. Duncan Bananatime then offers all the money for 50% but dropping that share to just 25% after a couple of successful years. Poor old Andy starts sweating like a pig in a Danepak factory under the strain of the decision. But, in the end, he very sensibly opts for Captain Carburettor aka Peter Jones.
So, from flesh-eating fish to bike-powered cars – it’s been a funny old show. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a brand new maintenance-friendly accessory I just can’t wait to play with. Whatever it is.
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Tagged Dragons' Den Blog |
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Posted on September 2, 2011 by John Cronin
A well-known night club and rock venue in Blackpool has been purchased by the local council who plan to build new offices on the site.
The Tache club (pictured – source) on Cookson Street has been purchased by Blackpool Council for £400,000 and is set to be demolished by early 2012. The site was included in a compulsory purchase order issued in January.
The night club is on land targeted for a £250m mixed-use development known as The Talbot Gateway. The proposed scheme, amounting to 1.1m sq ft of floor space, is to include a supermarket, retail outlets, offices and a new transport interchange. Developers for the scheme are regeneration specialists Muse Developments.
As part of the Talbot Gateway scheme (masterplan), Blackpool Council is to spend £28m on new civic offices. The building will offer approximately 80,000 sq ft of floor space and will accommodate staff relocating from existing offices in the town. Talbot Gateway will offer in the region of 330,000 sq ft of office space with the aim of creating a new business district in the town.
The cost of the new council offices is being met through the sale of other council buildings including Westgate House in South Shore which is currently being demolished. The 240 staff have relocated to council-owned Progress House in Marton, which will be subsequently sold, and to serviced offices at Blackpool Football Club.
The Tache club is to remain open until the end of the year. Manager Ronald Blunden told the Blackpool Gazette that he is planning a final encore: “We are thinking of having a mini festival near the end, with the bands that have played here over the years.”
Construction work is scheduled to start in early 2012.
Posted in Lancashire |
Tagged Demolitions, Public Sector, Talbot Gateway |
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Posted on September 1, 2011 by Rob Powell
A serviced office provider has opened its second business centre in the City of London.
The newly refurbished offices from i2 Office are in Aldersgate, a short walk from the company’s existing City offices in Lloyds Avenue.
Philip Grace, CEO of i2 Office, commented; “We had an excellent response to our first City location and we are delighted to have been able to secure space in such a prestigious building. This will enable us to meet the demand, which undoubtedly exists, for flexible but high quality office space in this thriving business area.”
The Grade-A offices have a capacity of 250 workstations and are on the doorstep of the largest swimming pool in the City at Virgin Active.
The company also operates serviced offices in London’s Marylebone, Glasgow, Leeds and Milton Keynes.
Posted in London |
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