Posted on May 10, 2011 by John Cronin
Commercial agents King Sturge have been instructed to market a refurbished office building in Edinburgh.
The property investment arm of insurance giants Aviva has instructed King Sturge to market the Hayweight House office building (pictured – website) in central Edinburgh.
Constructed in the early 1990’s the 19,378 sq ft building has recently undergone a £1.3m refurbishment programme managed by King Sturge’s Building Consultancy. The building has achieved a revised and improved energy rating of ‘C’.
The building offers 6 floors of open plan office space with floor plates ranging in size from 2,033 sq ft up to 3,580 sq ft. Each floor provides fully self-contained offices with lift access. Â Suites are being marketed on a floor by floor basis. Letting of the whole building for headquarters office occupation is also available.
Hayweight House was previously purchased by Morley Property Investment Fund, which was subsequently acquired by Norwich Union. The building was purchased in 2006 for £5.85m and was let to the Scottish Courts at an approximate rental price of £16.60 / sq ft. Last year the Scottish Courts were in dispute with the landlord over the cost of building repairs (.pdf link).
The agents anticipate strong interest in the centrally located Edinburgh office. John Clement, Partner at King Sturge comments: “Hayweight House has been refurbished to a very high standard and we are offering flexible open plan floor by floor lettings with competitive terms”.
Headline rental prices are available on request. Lease terms of 5 to 10 years are available.
Posted in Edinburgh |
Tagged Renovations, Rental Prices, Transactions |
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Posted on May 9, 2011 by John Cronin
A significant pre-let agreement has been secured on a landmark office building in Great Portland Street, London.
Great Portland Estates plc (GPE) has secured a pre-let agreement with visual effects company Double Negative for offices at 160 Great Portland Street (pictured – website).
The headquarters offices are currently undergoing a complete refurbishment programme and are scheduled to be ready for occupation by May 2012.
Oscar and BAFTA award-winning Double Negative have agreed to a 20-year lease for the whole 85,000 sq ft offices. The 8-storey building was substantially redeveloped during the 1990’s with only the exterior facades retained. The building offers column-free floor plates up to a maximum size of 14,400 sq ft, arranged around a full-height, glazed atrium.
There are both rent-free periods and capital contributions involved in an agreement that equates to a quoted rental price of £59.60 / sq ft on the 1st to 5th floors of the building. In addition, GPE have accepted to surrender the existing lease that Double Negative have on their existing offices at 45 Mortimer Street W1, a 108,000 sq ft office building also owned by GPE.
160 Great Portland Street was up until last April solely occupied by Telewest UK (now part of Virgin Media) who paid £30m to buy out a lease that was due to expire in 2018. The lease termination was agreed in December, 2010 and equated to 6.3 years of the 7.5 years remaining rent.
Commenting on the pre-let agreement Neil Thompson, Portfolio Director of GPE said: “160 Great Portland Street is part of GPE’s 1.9 million square feet development programme, timed to coincide with a shortage of good quality space in central London over the next few years”.
Posted in London |
Tagged Renovations, Rental Prices, Transactions |
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Posted on May 6, 2011 by John Cronin
Commercial property developers Land Securities have announced plans for a mixed-use redevelopment in Westminster, London.
Land Securities is seeking planning consent for the redevelopment of their Kingsgate House office block at 66 to 74 Victoria Street. The company plans to replace the existing building with two new buildings offering commercial and residential accommodation.
Kingsgate House is a 1960’s office block containing 155,500 sq ft of office space along with approximately 31,000 sq ft of retail space. The offices are predominately occupied by a range of Government departments. The existing building is expected to be vacant by March 2012.
Subject to planning consent, two new buildings (pictured) are to be constructed on the site. Total Grade A office floor space will amount to 203,000 sq ft.
The West Building will provide the office accommodation and the East Building provides the residential accommodation. Both buildings will offer ground-floor retail units. The office block steps up in height from 8 storeys up to 13 storeys and will be slightly taller than Kingsgate House.
Land Securities owns several buildings in Victoria Street and other current projects include the £150m refurbishment of 123 Victoria Street and the speculative 253,000 sq ft office development at 62 Buckingham Gate.
Colette O’Shea, Head of Development, London Portfolio, Land Securities, commented: “Our plans for Kingsgate House will play a vital part in continuing to transform Victoria into a distinct and vibrant destination, responding to the modern requirements of those who live, work and visit the area.”
Architects for the scheme are Lynch Architects. Market reports suggest the proposals have a development cost in the region of £150m.
Posted in London |
Tagged Demolitions, Planning, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on May 5, 2011 by John Cronin
The first tenant has been signed-up for office space at a multi-million pound development in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Leading pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond plc has agreed to a 15-year lease for 10,000 sq ft of floor space at Number 2 Burgage Square, Merchant Gate.
Merchant Gate is a speculative development by English Cities Fund (ECF) offering a mix of commercial and civic office space, alongside residential property and retail units. It was announced last October that Morgan Sindall had been awarded a £14.8m contract to construct new offices for Wakefield District Council.
Numbers 1 and 2 Burgage Square are 3-storey office buildings offering Grade A rated floor space of 17,300 sq ft and 19,600 sq ft respectively. Quoted headline rental prices are £16.50 / sq ft. Albemarle & Bond have taken the top floor of 2 Burgage Square and are to centralise their administration functions from existing offices in Leeds and Wakefield.
Emma Cordingley, development director for ECF, said: “Having Albemarle and Bond as the first commercial tenant at Merchant Gate is a really significant development for the scheme.”
Situated opposite Westgate railway station on a 17-acre site, the mixed-use scheme will provide over 700,000 sq ft of development, including 300,000 sq ft of office accommodation. The first phase of offices offer just over 48,000 sq ft of space within 3 buildings. The buildings include leisure accommodation at ground floor level with 2 floors of offices above.
Richard Thornton, partner at marketing agent King Sturge, said: “This substantial letting is a major office deal for the city and is a significant milestone for the Merchant Gate development”.
When completed the scheme is estimated to have a development cost of approximately £140m.
Posted in West Yorkshire |
Tagged Rental Prices, Speculative Developments, Transactions |
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Posted on May 4, 2011 by John Cronin
Refurbishment works are underway at a listed office building in Manchester city centre.
The imposing building at 41 Spring Gardens, originally constructed in 1890, is to undergo a complete refurbishment programme. To honour the original architect, the building is to be renamed as Waterhouse. Alfred Waterhouse was a noted architect who designed several Manchester landmark buildings including the Grade I Listed Manchester Town Hall.
The works are being funded by the property freeholders, Birkenhead-based Associated Property Owners. It is suggested that the scheme is the first entirely office-led redevelopment in central Manchester for nearly 3 years. The work is being undertaken by office fit-out specialists Claremont Group.
Construction work on the 17,000 sq ft building is scheduled to be completed by July and the speculative scheme will be marketed from September. The offices will be available to let on either a whole building basis or as flexible office suites starting at 650 sq ft. Whole floors at approximately 3,700 sq ft are also available. The quoted rental price is from £23.50 / sq ft.
The building is located at the top of King Street in the heart of the commercial district of Manchester city centre. This popular area of the Manchester offices market has seen several multi-million pounds deals over the last 12-18 months. In February, the nearby Ship Canal House building was sold in a £23m deal. Headline rents at the offices are around £28 / sq ft.
Peter Gallagher, partner at marketing agent p3 property consultants comments: “City centre offices in Manchester combining an elegantly contemporary feel with a real touch of classic character, really don’t get much better than this.”
The other joint marketing agent for the Waterhouse scheme is BNPÂ Paribas.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Renovations, Rental Prices |
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Posted on May 3, 2011 by John Cronin
A contentious development of flats and an office block in Ayr has been rejected by local councillors.
The plans submitted by R & R Investments for 30 flats and a 4-storey office block on a site known as Plot 9, The Citadel Esplanade, Ayr were previously backed by South Ayrshire Council officials. However, the plans were thrown out by councillors at the recent planning meeting.
The proposed apartments and office block (pictured) have been proposed for a site of historical importance. The sea front location was once home to a Citadel Fort.
Having been invited to comment on the proposals, Historic Scotland indicated that they were “not minded to object” to the development.
The site, which has been put up for sale by South Ayrshire Council, has seen other unsuccessful development proposals. Proposals for a 65,000 sq ft, 2-storey leisure facility including an arcade and a cinema were not considered to be viable. R & R Investments were subsequently chosen as preferred developer.
The planned 4-storey office block offers approximately 38,300 sq ft of open-plan floor space. Each floor of the office block can be subdivided to create 3Â separate office suites per floor. A central services “core” would provide each office floor with toilets and service facilities.
Local residents association Fort Residents Association objected to the proposals. They were joined by Ayr parliamentary candidate John Scott who commented upon the unanimous decision to reject the plans: “This is a very welcome decision by the regulatory panel which reflects the strong view of local people that the building of more flats and office space would be wholly the wrong type of development in this area.”
It is not known if the developers or their agents Graham & Sibbald will appeal against the decision.
Posted in South Ayrshire |
Tagged Planning, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on April 28, 2011 by John Cronin
Developers are pressing ahead with an approved development of offices in Chalfont St Peter despite concerns from residents.
Barwood Developments are scheduled to start construction works in June on new office blocks at their Chiltern Park scheme (pictured) in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire. Despite being granted full planning permission for the revised scheme at the end of March, local residents are still voicing concern about the development.
Local resident Phillipa Yates has expressed concern about increased traffic in the vicinity and also says:Â “There’s also no guarantee that it will benefit the economy of Chalfont St Peter. It feels like the views of residents haven’t been considered.”
A local action group called Sense 4 CSP had previously organised an unsuccessful campaign to attempt to block the development by encouraging residents to write letters of objection.
A 31,500 sq ft office block, known as Europa House, has already been completed and has been occupied by RWS Group since January 2011. The firm relocated over 250 staff from other offices in Gerrards Cross and London.
A further 3 office buildings are set to built on the Chiltern Park site. Pre-let agreements have been secured for 2 buildings with light manufacturer Zumbotel and imports company Rhone Products.
The 3 new buildings will offer total floor space amounting to just under 43,000 sq ft. This figure is approximately 700 sq ft less than the original plans for 2 new buildings. Two of the new buildings are expected to achieve BREEAM ratings of “Excellent” and the other a rating of “Very Good”.
The new offices are expected to be completed by June, 2012.
Barwood Developments have been advised by planning consultants PRC Group.
Posted in Buckinghamshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on April 27, 2011 by John Cronin
A listed property investment company has purchased a City of London office scheme in a multi-million pound deal announced this morning.
London & Stamford plc has announced to the stock market it has purchased the long leasehold of One Carter Lane for £75m.
The building (pictured) is located in the heart of the City, immediately to the south of of St Paul’s Cathedral. As part of the transaction, London & Stamford have also purchased the adjacent bar and restaurant building 2 Old Change Court.
The offices offer a total of 125,844 sq ft of floor space and there is approximately 6,800 sq ft of retail space. The principal tenant is Goldman Sachs International whose lease expires in 2018, with a break clause due in March 2013.
The current rental income amounts to £5.814m per year of which 97% is received from Goldman Sachs. The buildings, previously owned by UBS Triton Property Fund were marketed at £72m following an inspection report by survey specialists Trident.
Raymond Mould, Chairman of London & Stamford Property, said: “..we are delighted to have acquired this prime, City of London property producing a relatively high net initial yield reflective of the nature of the investment.”
Following the demolition of existing buildings, One Carter Lane was completed in December 1997 by developers MEPC. Goldman Sachs International agreed to a 20-year lease in March 1998 at a rental price of £47 / sq ft following an initial 15-month rent free period.
London & Stamford have purchased the leasehold that has 136 years unexpired and the transaction reflects a net initial yield of 7.33%.
Posted in London |
Tagged Renovations, Rental Prices, Transactions |
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Posted on April 26, 2011 by John Cronin
A large, multi-let office scheme in Derby city centre has been put up for sale with an asking price of £11m.
The Heritage Gate scheme (pictured) is a 3-building development used as multi-let office accommodation. Total floor space amounts to approximately 140,000 sq ft and the development is considered to be the largest, city centre Derby office scheme. The development also includes 7 retail units and generous car-parking space.
Originally constructed in the 1970s for the city council, the offices are now multi-let. The 3 buildings that make up Heritage Gate are called Celtic House, Norman House and Saxon House. Derby Council is the principal tenant, occupying some 70% of Heritage Gate on a lease that expires in December, 2013. The other significant tenant is law firm Smith Partnership, occupying approximately 10% of the floor space.
Typical agreed rental prices for office suites are in the range £8 / sq ft to £10 / sq ft. At the asking price of £11m the rental income would give a yield of 12.30%. The scheme is being marketed on the assumption that new owners will undertake a refurbishment programme and develop an empty piece of land included in the sale.
Nick Hosking, director of joint marketing agent Innes England said: “For the last two decades Heritage Gate has been without question the most successful multi-let office complex within the city. The scheme has performed well because it offers good-quality flexible accommodation in a range of sizes and crucially benefits from a very high on-site car parking ratio complemented by secure basement parking.”
Heritage Gate is currently owned by Aviva Life and Pensions. Aviva had previously proposed to demolish Celtic House and Saxon House and replace the buildings with 2 new commercial developments (.pdf link).
The other joint agent for the scheme is GVA.
Posted in Derbyshire |
Tagged Renovations, Rental Prices, Serviced Offices |
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Posted on April 22, 2011 by John Cronin
The former headquarters of music publishers EMI have been acquired by developers who plan to rejuvenate the site.
The 18-acre site known as the London Gate Business Park, in Hayes, Middlesex has been purchased by Cathedral Group and Development Securities. The firms have a created a joint venture called Purplexed LLP that has purchased the site from The Blackstone Group in an undisclosed cash deal. Plans for a £250m redevelopment programme are expected to be published in the near future.
The sprawling development was once home to record label EMI who had various manufacturing facilities alongside their head offices. During the 1960s, 14,000 people worked for EMI at the site.
The site (pictured – source) offers approximately 700,000 sq ft of floor space across a mix of new and old buildings, many of which are unoccupied.
John Robertson Architects have previously produced a master plan for the site. Number 1 London Gate was one of the first buildings to be developed in to speculative office accommodation. Rental prices at the building and at new buildings 2 and 3 are quoted at between £25.50 / sq ft and £27.50 /sq ft. The 7-storey Building 2 was completed in 2000 and offers approximately 286,000 sq ft of floor space.
The new owners are planning a complete renovation of the site. Richard Upton, Chief Executive, Cathedral Group plc said: “It’s time for a new approach to the bland and tired business parks West of London.”
Matthew Weiner, Executive Director, Development Securities plc commented: “The site in Hayes has enormous potential for growth and we look forward to seeing this project through to completion.”
Posted in Middlesex |
Tagged Business Parks, Renovations, Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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