Posted on March 11, 2011 by John Cronin
A new letting of a floor within a new office scheme in Bristol has left the city short of available Grade A floor space.
Developers Ashfield Land have announced the letting of the second floor of their St Catherine’s Court scheme (pictured) to international assurance group Lloyd’s Register. The firm has signed a 10-year lease for the 6,987 sq ft floor within the building. Quoted rental prices are £28 / sq ft.
According to agents Alder King, this latest letting has left the Bristol offices market short on availability for Grade A floor space. Simon Price, partner at Alder King said: “There is only one Grade A building currently under construction in Bristol and as a result of this and other recent deals, the amount of top quality space that is now available is extremely limited”.
St Catherine’s Court, completed in 2009, has only the 6,805 sq ft top floor available for immediate occupation. The BREEAM rated ‘Excellent’ speculative scheme was the first new-build office in the Clifton area of Bristol in over 20 years. The 5-storey building offers total floor space of approximately 31,000 sq ft along with basement car parking.
Another Bristol office scheme with a troubled history was sold yesterday in a multi-million pound deal. Aerium, the European real estate fund manager, purchased the speculative One Glass Wharf scheme from the administrators for £83m. The 215,000 sq ft scheme came to market last September. Reports indicate that the offices have a current occupancy rate in excess of 80%.
Marketing agents for St Catherine’s Court are Alder King and WGH Property.
Posted in Bristol |
Tagged Rental Prices, Speculative Developments, Transactions |
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Posted on March 10, 2011 by John Cronin
The Co-operative Group has launched an £800m development scheme for Manchester city centre, to be known as NOMA.
The ambitious, mixed-use scheme (pictured) was launched this week by the Co-op at the MIPIM property conference in Cannes. NOMA 53 (derived from north of Manchester) is a commercial led, 4million sq ft scheme that will include 1.5million sq ft of office floor space.
The scheme has a construction timeline approaching 15 years with phase one already in progress. The Co-op is currently having new 326,000 sq ft headquarter offices constructed on the 20-acre site by developers BAM. Scheduled completion for the BREAAM rated ‘Excellent’ offices is September, 2012. The land is owned by the Co-op.
The Co-op envisages NOMA as a leading commercial centre, consisting of headquarters accommodation along with offices for media, financial and service industries. The speculative scheme will however have to compete for media industry tenants with the large, Peel Holdings MediaCity scheme at nearby Salford.
Martyn Hulme, Managing Director of Co-op Estates said: “This commercially led scheme will offer a range of floorplates to satisfy the needs of both large corporate occupiers and small and medium sized enterprises”. Potential tenants will be able to specify their exact requirements at the pre-let stage. It is not clear if construction of new-build offices will commence without pre-let agreements being signed.
The scheme will involve a programme of public realm works, to be designed by Netherlands based Mecanoo and the site will be integrated into the existing transport network. The Co-op says the scheme will generate all of its own power requirements via a renewable energy centre and smart grid. As such BREEAM ratings of ‘Excellent’ should be expected.
The Co-op is currently the sole developer for the scheme but expects to commit to joint ventures.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Media City, NOMA, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on March 9, 2011 by John Cronin
A research report published by a leading commercial property agent indicates that the Edinburgh office market saw a marked improvement in 2010.
In the latest report published by property agents Colliers International it can be seen that there was a 24% increase in transactions for Edinburgh offices in 2010 compared to the previous 12 months. Total floor space take-up during the year amounted to 446,000 sq ft. As Edinburgh is a leading financial centre, lettings to the banking and financial services industry remain popular although activity is below average. Lettings amounted to 54,500 sq ft during 2010, substantially lower than the 10-year average of 114,247 sq ft.
The public sector accounted for one of the largest lets in the city centre with the NHS signing-up for 37,000 sq ft of floor space at the imposing Waverley Gate building (pictured – credit). There were no deals recorded for city centre Edinburgh offices over 40,000 sq ft and only 6 for space greater than 15,000 sq ft.
Colliers suggest that current demand is below trend and that they expect demand from public sector tenants to soften due to austerity measures. The first 2 months of 2011 have been strong however with significant lettings secured. Virgin Money has agreed to let 30,000 sq ft of floor space within the prestigious, Grade A, St Andrews Square scheme. Serviced offices provider Regus have extended their lease on 20,700 sq ft at Conference House.
Colliers estimate that some 300,000 sq ft of floor space remains available for occupation with average, city centre rental prices currently around £27.50 / sq ft.
Posted in Edinburgh |
Tagged Rental Prices, Research, Serviced Offices |
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Posted on March 8, 2011 by John Cronin
Converted offices within a converted Lincolnshire train station have been officially opened by the local council and are now available for start-up businesses.
An empty part of Sleaford train station (pictured) that had been boarded-up for several years has now undergone an 8-month, £125,000 refurbishment scheme to create 8 self-contained offices.
The scheme was officially opened last Friday by North Kesteven District Council Leader Councillor Mrs Marion Brighton, OBE. The council has signed a 15-year lease on the 2,000 sq ft listed building, owned by Network Rail.
The speculative scheme, known as the Sleaford Station Business Centre, is being primarily aimed at start-up businesses. The office suites range in size from 97 sq ft to 883 sq ft and have a rental price of £10 / sq ft. Flexible lease arrangements are available. Enquiries from potential tenants have been received and an initial letting is expected in the near future.
The scheme is part of the wider Sleaford Masterplan which aims to encourage investment and economic growth in the town. Cllr Mrs Brighton said: “The railway station is an important building, at a gateway to Sleaford. For too long it has been an eyesore”. She goes on to say: “We can only hope that as tenants move in to these useful and attractive workspaces, they enjoy every prosperity and success.”
The construction work was undertaken by Taylor Pearson who were awarded the contract in autumn 2010. Marketing agents are Hodgson Elkington.
Posted in Lincolnshire |
Tagged Listed Buildings, Renovations, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on March 7, 2011 by Rob Powell
i2 Office has opened a new serviced office centre in the heart of London’s financial district.
10 Lloyds Avenue in the City of London is a newly refurbished 1960s office building close to Fenchurch Street station and i2 Office says it has already achieved 50% occupancy.
Nick Wentworth Stanley, who joined i2 Office as an Executive Director last December, commented, ““These offices provide the ideal solution for a company looking for a modern office in London’s vibrant financial district. In opening this new business centre we are responding to the high demand for serviced offices in this part of the City which is known, in particular, as being the centre of the insurance and shipping world.”
i2 Office also has serviced office centres in Glasgow, Milton Keynes and London’s Marylebone.
Posted in London |
Tagged i2Office |
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Posted on March 7, 2011 by John Cronin
Plans for a multi-million pound office scheme on the site of a well-known Aberdeen landmark have been submitted.
The Evening Express reports that property developers Stewart Milne Developments have finally submitted plans for the speculative scheme having undertaken a public consultation exercise. The Aberdeen City Council planning database does not however list the application at time of publication. The developers want to develop a new office scheme at the Triple Kirks site where 3 churches were built in 1843. The site and ruined buildings have been derelict since the 1970’s. The remaining church spire is listed and must be incorporated into any new-build scheme.
The £40m scheme, if approved, will offer a 6-storey office building affording some 72,600 sq ft of Grade A floor space (pictured).
The new building, which will also include underground car-parking, is expected to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. Construction on the site is hampered by a marked difference in adjacent ground levels giving rise to a 1-in-3 slope across the proposed 0.43-acre site.
The proposed scheme has met with some local criticism with some locals unhappy that the building does not fit with existing property in the vicinity. The Aberdeen Voice local news site describes the scale of the proposed office development as: “too large compared with the steeple and the building has a bloated rather bizarre appearance as a result. The blocks are too high compared to the skyline of the surrounding buildings. A five storey building would be more in keeping here.”
Architects for the scheme are Halliday Fraser Munro and marketing agents include CB Richard Ellis.
Posted in Aberdeenshire |
Tagged Listed Buildings, Planning, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on March 4, 2011 by John Cronin
International property investor Hines has announced that work has started on a new office scheme in London.
Hines announced yesterday that construction work has now started on a speculative office scheme to be known as 280 High Holborn, London in an area that developers have attempted to rebrand Midtown. The building replaces the now demolished Chichester House, an 8-storey office building that offered 70,000 sq ft of floor space. Hines acquired the building in April 2007 and achieved planning consent for a new scheme by the end of 2007. Hines had previously announced in August, 2008 that the old offices had been demolished and construction work had commenced on a new-build scheme.
The new scheme (pictured) consists of an 8-storey building that will offer 67,000 sq of office floor space and 3,000 sq ft of ground floor retail space. Individual floor plates will range in size from 7,000 sq ft to 9,400 sq ft. The Grade A scheme is expected to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. A completion date of autumn, 2012 is expected.
Hines UK Project Director Alexander Knapp said, “We are very optimistic about the leasing prospects for 280 High Holborn as we expect it to be completed at a time when Midtown will have very low levels of Class A supply”.
Architects for the scheme are GMW and the main contractor is Mace who have previously worked with Hines on a mixed-use, residential and office scheme at One Grafton Street, Mayfair. Hines are also expected to complete their 389,000 sq ft Cannon Place office scheme later this year.
Joint marketing agents for 280 High Holborn are Jones Lang LaSalle and DTZ.
Posted in London |
Tagged Demolitions, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on March 3, 2011 by John Cronin
A large, multi-suite office building close to Manchester Airport has been sold in a multi-million pound transaction announced today.
Property investments company Infinity LLP has purchased the Manchester International Office Centre (MIOC – pictured) for a total of £13.5m. Although the deal is not yet announced on their website it appears that Highcross were the vendors. Highcross purchased MIOC in January, 2008 in a £16.5m deal. Highcross undertook an internal refurbishment of the building and had planned to construct an additional floor at the rear of the building.
MIOC, located less than 1 mile from Manchester International Airport, is a 3-storey building within grounds of 6.5acres and offers approximately 93,000 sq ft of floor space. The building is divided into 42 office suites ranging in size from 450 sq ft up to 8,000 sq ft. Meeting room and conference facilities are also available for hire along with a manned reception desk and on-site cafe. Flexible, 12 month leases are available and rental prices are available on request. Current tenants include Federal Mogul and Franke.
Les Lang, property partner at Infinity, said: “The property’s prime location and high specification accommodation offers an outstanding opportunity to increase occupancy, and enhance value.” Infinity were supported on the transaction by Barclays Corporate. The purchase is not the only investment Infinity has made in the Manchester office market. In April, 2009 Infinity purchased a 50% share in 53 King Street, a 43,000 sq ft office and retail building, for a total of £6m.
Marketing agents for MIOC include WHR Property and Knight Frank.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Renovations, Transactions |
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Posted on March 2, 2011 by John Cronin
Liverpool Vision is predicting the already limited supply of new office space in the city is set to shrink further in the months ahead.
Liverpool Vision, the city’s economic development company, has published its annual market review of the commercial Liverpool offices market. The report (.pdf format), covering 2010, is a comprehensive analysis of quality-assured data collated from local commercial property agents and professionals.
The report indicates that the Liverpool offices market is showing signs of recovery with demand for smaller office suites located in the Central Business District (CBD) up 30% compared with 2009. Liverpool is also seeing strong demand for office floor space from the creative, media and digital industries with a near 9% increase on 2009 amounting to a total take-up of 46,349 sq ft of floor space.
The availability of Grade A office space in the city centre is falling with further shrinkage expected due to the lack of speculative, new-build schemes. As at November, 2010 a total of 173,178 sq ft of Grade A floor space was empty and available for occupation. Grade B rated offices (defined as any office building over 5 years old) are the most popular and account for 59% of CBD lettings.
There is approximately 52,000 sq ft of unoccupied floor space remaining at the 20 Chapel Street scheme and the only other significant, Grade A development is the final phase of St Pauls Square (pictured). Expected to be completed by summer 2011, the speculative development will add an additional 109,000 sq ft of floor space to the market.
The published report does not include an analysis of rental prices however the Liverpool Daily Post reports that the headline rent for the CBD is £21 / sq ft. Mike Stares, director of Rumford Investments, 20 Chapel Street owners, believes that once incentives are taken into consideration the true headline rent is approximately £18 / sq ft.
Posted in Merseyside |
Tagged Rental Prices, Speculative Developments, Transactions |
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Posted on March 1, 2011 by John Cronin
Development work has begun on a new business innovation centre that will complete a multi-million pound scheme in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside.
Groundworks began yesterday for the new Tameside College business innovation and incubation centre at the large-scale St Petersfield scheme. The mixed-use scheme is predominately office based (pictured), offering approximately 320,000 sq ft of flexible floor space.
The new 3-storey building, designed by leading architects Aedas, will offer 10,000 sq ft of floor space and will be used by Tameside College to support new and existing businesses in the area. Developers for the building are Ask Developments.
Phase one of the £42m St Petersfield scheme included 1 Henry Square, a 46,800 sq ft office building and a 42,000 sq ft building that was pre-sold to Tameside & Glossop PCT. Plans for the latest building were approved over 12 months ago and include permission for two office blocks containing 113 suites of 500 sq ft each. These units were to be sold off-plan to private investors but it appears that this scheme is not currently being progressed as the units will be made available to let.
John Hughes, Development Director at Ask, said: “The Knowledge Mill at St Petersfield will provide a vehicle for young businesses and new ideas to grow in to fully-fledged businesses, and will make Ashton a centre for innovation and entreneurs.”
The St Petersfield scheme has received £14m of public sector finance from sources including North West Regional Development Agency and English Partnerships. The new Tameside College building is expected to be completed by August, 2011.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Public Sector, Serviced Offices, Speculative Developments |
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