Posted on April 7, 2011 by John Cronin
Following the agreement of the latest letting, a large office scheme in Bristol is now approaching full occupancy.
The Paragon, a 76,000 sq ft, Grade A speculative office scheme in Bristol, is now running at an occupancy rate of 90% after the latest letting has been agreed. Investment company Mercer and Marsh has agreed to take 18,500 sq ft of floor space on the ground and 1st floors. The headline rental price for the office building is £28 / sq ft. In September the accountancy firm Ernst & Young agreed to a 20-year lease for just over 20,000 sq ft of floor space at The Paragon, paying a reported rental price of £27.50 /sq ft.
The Paragon (pictured – website), is a £35m, energy efficient office building that was completed in 2009 by Bristol-based developer Cubex Land. Typical floor plates within the 6-floor building are approximately 14,000 sq ft. The offices have achieved a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. Architects for the scheme were Stride Treglown, who were also appointed by Ernst & Young to undertake a £1m fit-out at the building.
Gareth Waite, Head of Office from Marsh, commented: “Our Bristol office has expanded its operations significantly in recent years and the move is well-timed to coincide with our continued growth plans.” He goes on to say: “…the new offices will serve to consolidate our position as the leading risk and insurance adviser in the region.”
Following this latest letting, agents King Sturge are to market the remaining 8,500 sq ft of floor space.
Posted in Bristol |
Tagged Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on April 6, 2011 by John Cronin
New lettings have been secured at a Leeds office building that was last year under threat from partial demolition.
Commercial property developers Highcross have announced the letting of 5,807 sq ft at their Toronto Square offices scheme (pictured) in the financial district of Leeds.
Highcross have secured a 10-year lease on 3,317 sq ft of floor space on the second floor of Toronto Square to Franklin Templeton Global Investors Limited. A further 2,490 sq ft of floor space on the fourth floor has been let to The Bridge IT Limited, also on a 10-year lease. Rental prices of up to £24 / sq ft have been achieved.
The Toronto Square development was subject to a rights of light case after an additional 2 floors were added to the building. A potential outcome was a partial demolition of the building. However, a court hearing due to start last week was cancelled after a settlement was reached between the parties concerned.
The 90,000 sq ft office development makes use of a range of energy efficient technologies and has achieved a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. The speculative scheme is a past winner of the ‘Office Development of the Year’ category of the national Estates Gazette Green Awards.
Highcross Senior Asset Manager, Iain Taylor comments: “These are significant lettings, which give both occupiers a prestigious location in the centre of Leeds business district. Interest levels continue to be strong and we have recently agreed terms on a further 4,400 sq ft on the third floor of the building”.
Joint marketing agents for the scheme are CB Richard Ellis and Knight Frank.
Posted in West Yorkshire |
Tagged Demolitions, Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on April 5, 2011 by John Cronin
Central London is set to face its worst shortage of prime office space since 1980 according to a research report just published.
In a review of the commercial property market covering the first quarter of 2011, Capita Symonds is predicting a severe shortage of Grade A office space in central London over the next 12-24 months. Their central London office review suggests that despite a fall-off in demand, the London office market continues to buck the national trend. A limited supply of prime, vacant floor space and “a dearth” of new developments are reasons why the London market remains strong the report suggests.
The lack of supply of vacant floor space is also deemed to be a significant reason for rising rental prices. The report indicates that average rental prices are now £70 / sq ft in the West End and £55 / sq ft in the City. Over the next 24 months those rents are predicted to rise to £100 / sq ft and £65 / sq ft respectively. Over the previous 12 months rents for City offices have risen by 16%.
Rental prices for the Midtown area (Bloomsbury, Holborn and St Giles) have also risen by about 18%. Such increases will be reassuring confirmation for commercial property developers like Hines, who last month announced a 70,000 sq ft speculative office scheme to be constructed in Holburn (pictured). Hines own research had also concluded that “Midtown will have very low levels of Class A supply” in 2012.
James Gillett, Capita Symonds says: “Those who took the plunge and invested in the central London office market over the last eighteen months have good cause to celebrate. The dearth of high quality office space which has been so key to driving up values and rental levels in central London is set to remain.”
The report concludes that availability is unlikely to improve in the near future, with only 1.7 million sq ft in total of new office space due for completion in 2011 and a limited pipeline of new, speculative schemes scheduled for 2012.
Posted in London |
Tagged Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on April 4, 2011 by John Cronin
An under-construction office scheme in Edinburgh is advancing 3metres in height each day as developers use a building technique normally used for skyscrapers.
The new-build, 8-storey office scheme next to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is being constructed using a technique called slipforming which involves wet concrete being poured in to slowly moving shuttering. The system is typically used to construct tall skyscrapers such as the Shard development in London. The technique works on the principle that the concrete has sufficiently dried by the time the shuttering is moved up.
The office building (pictured) adjacent to the EICC is a speculative scheme that will offer 7 floors of office space along with ground floor retail units.
The Grade A offices are being constructed alongside the EICC’s Expansion Space development and comprise in excess of 180,000 sq ft of of floor space. The development is considered to be the only speculative city centre office building in the UK, outside London and the South East, of more than 100,000 sq ft that will be ready for occupation in early 2013.
Planning permission for the scheme, designed by BDP Architects, was granted in February, 2010. The architect of the original EICC building was reportedly unhappy with the design of the new buildings. Architect Sir Terry Farrell said of the scheme: “They are removing its distinctiveness. It is a round shape but they are sticking a big square bit on the side.”
Surrounding buildings are predominately used as offices in an area known as the Exchange District. Nearby office schemes include Edinburgh One, the headquarters of Scottish Widows and Exchange Crescent, a multi let office building. The 3-building Exchange Place scheme is also close by and is a flagship, speculative Edinburgh office scheme, achieving rental prices of around £22 / sq ft.
Joint marketing agents for the EICC office scheme are Jones Lang Lasalle and Montagu Evans.
Posted in Edinburgh |
Tagged Rental Prices, Skyscrapers, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on April 1, 2011 by John Cronin
A first letting has been secured at a large, speculative office scheme in Maidenhead.
Product bar-coding and ID specialists Zetes have agreed to lease 13,300 sq ft on the ground floor of the Horizon office scheme in Hurley, Maidenhead. The Grade A rated, 3-storey building offers total floor space of 82,500 sq ft with large floor plates of 28,000 sq ft. The building also includes a cafe/breakout area and shared gym facilities.
Following the letting, 10,995 sq ft of floor space remains unoccupied on the ground floor along with 26,626 sq ft available on each of the upper 2 floors. The building is one of several offices owned by Commercial Estates Group who manage a combined total of 3.5m sq ft of floor space.
The Horizon building has been unoccupied since completion in 2008 and underwent a rebranding and marketing relaunch last November. Although at the time quoted rental prices were £20 / sq ft this first letting has been secured at a rental price of £18 / sq ft. The length of the lease has not been disclosed.
Zetes plan to relocate from offices in Ascot in September after a design and fit-out programme by Maris International is completed. Zetes was granted planning permission for an additional ground floor entrance by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in March.
James Hannay, Senior VP for Northern Europe at Zetes said: “…the company is growing very fast and the office premises and well placed location we have chosen perfectly suits our expanding business requirements.”
Lambert Smith Hampton and Hanover Green are jointly marketing the scheme.
Posted in Berkshire |
Tagged Rental Prices, Speculative Developments, Transactions |
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Posted on March 31, 2011 by John Cronin
A former mill workers hostel in Ancoats, east Manchester is to be converted into an incubation hub for small and medium sized businesses.
The North West Development Agency (NWDA) has accepted a bid from construction company northerngroup to redevelop Jactin House (pictured). NWDA had previously instructed agents Lambert Smith Hambert to market the property as part of an £8m portfolio of commercial assets.
The 40,000 sq ft, 4-storey empty building is to be converted into a mixed-use scheme that will include quality office accommodation, residential apartments, a nursery, cafe and a gym with a swimming pool in the basement. Phase 1 will see the redevelopment of the existing building to create collaborative office accommodation, to be marketed as “incubation units” for start-up and medium sized businesses. Serviced office facilities will be available from single person workstations upwards.
Phase 2 of the development is a proposed new-build office and residential building. The speculative development will include Grade A offices with large floor plates. While the central Manchester office market offers plenty of Grade A rated floor space, the scheme will be the first in Ancoats to offer high-grade space.
Nathan Ezair, northerngroup director, said: “[Ancoats] is generally cheaper and we offer plentiful car parking provision too. The problem lies where businesses outgrow their offices and want larger provision – we don’t want to see Ancoats lose them so we came up with a solution”.
According to the New East Manchester regeneration company, the Ancoats area of east Manchester is “fast developing” as a commercial hub for start-up and expanding businesses. Many of the former mill buildings are being converted into commercial premises offering both retail and office space. It is estimated that Ancoats could offer approximately 550,000 sq ft of commercial floor space.
Construction work at Jactin House is scheduled to start in January 2012.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Renovations, Serviced Offices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on March 30, 2011 by John Cronin
An agreement to develop a mixed-use scheme in Wandsworth that will include speculative office space has been announced.
Property developer Mount Anvil has entered into an agreement with office space provider Workspace Group to develop the £80m Wandsworth Business Village scheme (pictured).
The proposed development on a 2-acre site on Broomhill Road will include 80,000 sq ft of office space along with 209 new apartments, of which 53 will be managed by Octavia Housing Association.
Workspace Group received planning permission for the scheme in 2010 after initially submitting the plans in 2007. Described as a “high-density” development, the scheme will consist of 7 buildings, the tallest being no higher than 16-storeys. Existing buildings on the site that was once a gas mantle factory are to be demolished.
A public consultation was held in advance of the planning decision. Objections were raised relating to the height of the main tower and the imbalance between residential accommodation compared to the smaller area of commercial floor space. The new development gives an increase of approximately 10,000 sq ft of retail and commercial floor space compared to the existing buildings.
Mount Anvil is to fund and manage the redevelopment that is expected to start in April. A target completion date of summer 2014 is scheduled. Workspace will take responsibility of the new business centre and will offer serviced office facilities. Workspace will also retain the overall freehold of the site.
Architects for the scheme are Rolfe Judd. A BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’ is expected.
Posted in London |
Tagged Demolitions, Serviced Offices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on March 29, 2011 by John Cronin
A unique, eco-friendly office and residential scheme in Leeds is seeing healthy growth in the occupancy rate after opening late last year.
The landmark, multi-award winning Greenhouse scheme in Beeston, Leeds is a mixed-use development of 172 residential apartments and 15,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation.
Within 12 months of completion the speculative office development is now running at an occupancy rate of approximately 70%, reports indicate.
The conversion of a former art-deco hotel by sustainable property developers Citu began in 2004. Constructed using a variety of eco-friendly technologies the Greenhouse office space is claimed to offer reductions in energy consumption of up to 65%, along with a reduced carbon footprint.
The office space is spread over 4 floors within the building and space from a single workstation up to suites of 4,900 sq ft is available to let. Quoted rental prices are in the range £15 / sq ft – £16 / sq ft. The building is multi-let to tenants from a variety of industries such as architecture practices and digital media companies. A conferencing suite is also available to hire.
Despite winning several awards, the scheme which is located in a neglected area of Leeds, has not been without its critics. The development has been called a “gated community” and “..an attractive, rather alien, self-referentially superior, lump of architecture”. In response, Fraser Stride, Director of Citu said: “Greenhouse provides a home and offices for hundreds of people, and as with any commercial or residential development we must offer residents the security that they’d expect from any other building they’d choose to live or work in”.
Architects for the scheme are West and Machell.
Posted in West Yorkshire |
Tagged Renovations, Rental Prices, Serviced Offices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on March 28, 2011 by Rob Powell
Local planners have given permission for a major office refurbishment in Richmond upon Thames.
The redevelopment of 48,000 sq ft Thames Link House, adjacent to Richmond railway station, will create modern, air conditioned offices with a new lift, ceilings, carpeting, larger reception and cleaned brick work.
AXA REIM on behalf of Friends Life Assurance Society Limited are behind the scheme which will start this summer and is expected to take a year to complete.
The proposal was backed by Richmond Council’s Planning Committee on 17th February. Councillors felt that the refurbishment of the building, including the cleaning of the brickwork and replacement of windows, would improve the appearance of the building.
Kevin Mersh of Capita Symonds, joint agents with Martin Campbell, comments: “Thameslink House will be the first major HQ office building to come to the market for many years offering prime space adjacent to one of the busiest transport interchanges outside Central London. Given the extent of the works we are confident the building will appeal the major occupiers in the area”
Once completed, the scheme is expected to achieve a BREAAM rating of “Excellent”
Find serviced offices in Richmond.
Posted in London |
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Posted on March 28, 2011 by John Cronin
A large business park in Cambridge has been sold in a multi-million pound deal according to market reports.
Commercial property developers and investors SEGRO have sold the IQ Cambridge business park to real estate investors Mountgrange. Rumours of a pending deal were first reported in February and it now seems that a transaction in excess of £10m has been agreed for the speculative scheme that is located 5 miles away from the city centre.
The IQ Cambridge business park (formerly Cambridge Research Park) was one of a portfolio of office-based schemes owned by SEGRO. The company also owns the Foster and Partners-designed, 90,000 sq ft IQ Farnborough office complex.
IQ Cambridge is a 112-acre parkland site that is partially developed and offers Grade A office space in low-level buildings. There is also planning consent for a hotel and further office space that if developed could increase floor space to approximately 400,000 sq ft. With the potential addition of new laboratory buildings the whole business park could amount to 600,000 sq ft.
Predominately occupied by technology companies, IQ Cambridge is marketed as a technology / R&D centre. The site also includes the Boardwalk Centre, a “state-of-the-art” conference facility with 4 conference rooms and on-site management services. Rental prices for office space within IQ Cambridge are available on application. A promotion that ended in December offered 6-month rent free periods to new tenants signing 5-year leases.
Gary Hall, Operations Director for construction company Wates, a recent tenant taking 2,500 sq ft of floor space at IQ Cambridge, said: “IQ Cambridge offered us the benefits of a Cambridge base without the town centre congestion.”
Marketing agents include Savills and Bidwells.
Posted in Cambridgeshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Speculative Developments, Transactions |
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