Posted on February 28, 2011 by John Cronin
Infrastructure works have commenced at a new business park at Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.
The derelict, 3.5-acre site will become the Drumpellier Business Park (pictured) offering speculative, new-build office accommodation. The business park is located close the M8 and is 15-minutes from Glasgow by car.
The £12m scheme is a joint venture between Fusion Assets Ltd, North Lanarkshire Council’s regeneration company, and Stirling-based Ogilvie Group Developments. The infrastructure works are being part-funded by way of the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (detail).
The business park will consist of one 3-storey and 8 2-storey office “pavilions”. Detailed planning permission has been obtained for the scheme. The 9 buildings will be constructed to a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’. In total the scheme will offer approximately 65,000 sq ft of floor space along with parking space for 220 cars. Floor space within the buildings ranges between 6,044 sq ft and 11,065 sq ft and floors can be sub-divided to create suites starting at 1,500 sq ft. A design and build option is also available. The developers are seeking owner-occupiers along with pre-let agreements for leasehold occupiers.
Steven Tolson, Director of Ogilvie Group Developments, said: “These initial works should speed up the commissioning of the new office buildings across the site. The overall aim is to create a business village, offering a number of small to medium-sized offices for established and growing businesses.”
Marketing agents for the scheme are Knight Frank. Rental prices are available on application.
Posted in Lanarkshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 25, 2011 by John Cronin
Commercial property agents Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) have secured what is believed to be the largest office let in Hampshire for 18 months.
LSH have announced that aerospace and defence specialists Cobham plc have agreed a 10-year lease on an office block at Solent Business Park, Southampton. Cobham have let the entire Fusion 2 building which offers 43,000 sq ft of floor space.
The Grade A Southampton office space at Solent Business Park consists of 3 self-contained, energy-efficient buildings (pictured). The 3 buildings, known collectively as Fusion, offer a total floor space of 150,000 sq ft. Fusion 1 is a 3-storey, 67,000 sq ft office building that underwent a programme of refurbishment in 2007. There is 50,000 sq ft of unoccupied floor space remaining within the Fusion scheme.
Before Cobham occupy Fusion 2 in April, 2011 the new-build building is to undergo a fit-out. The firm is relocating from 3 other existing offices in Hampshire. Paul McCarter, Cobham plc said: “The Fusion site was chosen for its modern, open plan environment which is designed to the latest environmental standards. Integrating our sites will help to strengthen, standardise and streamline our operations.” Cobham are paying a rental price of £18.25 / sq ft.
Owned and managed by property developers Greenhills, the Fusion campus was previously known as 1000-1200 Parkway. Solent Business Park also contains several other speculative developments including the 17 building Links scheme that was completed in 2005 by collapsed construction company Rok. The business park, managed by Goodman, now covers 130-acres and offers in excess of 2.5m sq ft of floor space.
Related: office space in Hampshire
Posted in Hampshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 24, 2011 by John Cronin
HRH The Princess Royal officially opened the distinctive new offices of the British Horse Society (BHS) on Tuesday.
The new BHS offices in the Grade II Listed deer park at Abbey Park, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire cost £3.5m to build and replace existing office accommodation within temporary buildings that were deemed unfit for purpose. The project was entirely funded by the BHS.
The unusual “squashed doughnut” design of the building (pictured) was necessary to preserve a 300 year old oak tree that now sits in a centre courtyard. Construction of the offices also had to take into account other protected trees on the site. The building has been constructed using natural materials such as stone and oak and a sedum roof has been included. The single storey building offers total floor space of approximately 20,000 sq ft of which 15,000 sq ft is now occupied by the BHS. The remaining 5,000 sq ft floor space is to be sub-let to various other equine organisations. The new offices offer an additional 4,800 sq ft of floor space compared to the old buildings.
BHS Chief Executive Graham Cory said: “A bright, spacious and airy office now stands in the space once occupied by a building which was none of these. Previously, I had felt mean when I asked staff to work in such poor conditions and embarrassed when we welcomed visitors.”
Planning permission for the redevelopment was granted in March, 2009. Architect for the scheme were SMC Corstorphine & Wright, now known as Archial. Construction works were completed in late 2010.
Posted in Warwickshire |
Tagged Listed Buildings, Renovations |
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Posted on February 23, 2011 by John Cronin
A raw cotton merchant has moved back to Liverpool and taken space in a new-build office scheme.
Plexus Cotton is relocating to Liverpool and vacating offices on the other side of the River Mersey at Birkenhead. The global-trading cotton merchant has signed a lease for 6,000 sq ft of floor space at the Grade A office scheme at 20 Chapel Street, Liverpool (pictured). The speculative, new-build office scheme is located in the heart of the Liverpool commercial district and offers total floor space of 155,000 sq ft.
Developers Rumford Investments constructed two, RIBA award-winning towers that were completed in 2006 and were known as Unity Liverpool. The taller, 27-storey building is purely residential and the smaller, 16-storey office building is now known as 20 Chapel Street.
The distinctive, stepped design of the building has resulted in reduced floor plates within the higher floors. The largest floor plates of approximately 13,000 sq ft are available on floors 2 – 6. The top storey offers a floor plate of 6,342 sq ft. The offices have a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’.
Plexus Cotton will share floor space in the building with other tenants including Fujitsu, Ernst & Young and Liverpool Football Club who lease nearly 30,000 sq ft of floor space over 3 floors. Approximately 42,000 sq ft of floor space within the building was let during 2010, equating to a reported 25% of the total Liverpool office market share.
Architects for the scheme were Alford Hall Monaghan Morris. Marketing agents include DTZ. Rental prices are available upon application.
Posted in Merseyside |
Tagged Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 22, 2011 by John Cronin
An expanding Swedish bank has opened a second office in Greater Manchester.
Handelsbanken has agreed a 10-year lease on office accommodation in Salford in order to support additional private banking clients.
The bank has agreed to let 2,000 sq ft of floor space at the Deva Centre in Salford. The Deva Centre, owned by Belfast-based Benmore Developments, is an award-winning office conversion scheme in a former Grade II Listed brewery. Benmore Developments purchased the building for £13.25m in 2007 from the Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund, managed by GMPF. Benmore have 3 other Manchester based office schemes including 2 city centre buildings in Mosley Street.
The Deva Centre in the former Threlfall Brewery was completed in 2001 and offers high-specification office suites ranging in size from approximately 780 sq ft up to 20,000 sq ft. In addition to the conversion of the existing building, two 2-storey office buildings have also been constructed. In total the scheme offers in excess of 83,000 sq ft of self-contained office accommodation.  The scheme is divided into sections including the 17-office Brewery Yard and The Malt House which offers 3, self-contained office suites. Quoted rental prices are £15 / sq ft. Currently available suites range in size from 1,547 sq ft to 8,484 sq ft.
Nick Nelson, surveyor at CBRE North West, advising, said: “Handelsbanken has chosen the Deva Centre for its unrivalled accessibility to the motorway network, excellent on-site car parking ratio and its close proximity to the city centre.”
Marketing agents for the Deva Centre include CBRE Richard Ellis and WHR Property.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Listed Buildings, Renovations, Rental Prices |
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Posted on February 21, 2011 by John Cronin
Transport engineering specialist MIRA has revealed more details about the proposed multi-million pound expansion of their Nuneaton technology park.
MIRA (Motor Industry Research Association) was initially a government backed research centre for vehicle testing. It has been an independent enterprise for many years and is currently planning an ambitious expansion scheme.
The organisation is proposing a £300m investment to create a transport technology park. Many of the existing buildings at the Nuneaton site were constructed in the 1950’s and MIRA considers more modern facilities are required to attract global transport engineering companies who require R&D facilities not only to support the automotive sector but also defence, aerospace and rail.
New headquarters offices are planned along with a range of buildings (pictured) between 2 and 4 storeys offering laboratories, engineering workshops and sustainable office buildings. The focal point building will be a 4-storey, 460,000 sq ft office complex that will be occupied by MIRA itself. The MIRA Technology Park will offer total floor space amounting to 1.66m sq ft within an 850-acre site.
Terry Spall, commercial director for MIRA said: “While our work is at the cutting edge of what is possible, we have many buildings, including our main office block, that are environmentally inefficient and far from ideal. We are in danger of missing business opportunities as a result.”
A second public exhibition of the technology park masterplan is being held on 5th March at the Rope Walk Shopping Centre in Nuneaton. A submission for outline planning permission is expected later in the month. MIRA secured full planning permission for new workshops and a 4-storey office block in January.
Architects for the proposed scheme are Geddes Architects. Construction is expected to start in 2012.
Posted in Warwickshire |
Tagged Business Parks, MIRA, Planning, Renovations, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 18, 2011 by John Cronin
Conversion plans for the former Manchester Eye Hospital have been given the go-ahead by Manchester City Council.
Plans for a speculative, commercial scheme to convert the former eye hospital in Oxford Road, Manchester were submitted just before Christmas 2010.
The scheme is a joint venture between commercial property developer and office provider Bruntwood and Manchester Science Parks (msp). The companies plan to convert the Grade II Listed building into a 100,000 sq ft centre for biotech and medical technology companies with the aim of creating 450 jobs and adding £61m to the city’s economy. The scheme is already generating pre-let enquiries from biomedical companies.
The speculative development, branded as FREH, will include teaching rooms, wet labs, research facilities and flexible office space with shared services. The existing building is to be converted and a new 5-storey extension is to be constructed. Consent for the demolition of 3 existing rear wings of the building was also granted.
Floor space within the project will be specifically marketed at startup biotech firms. The proposed scheme includes a “MedTech Centre” that will offer flexible office space, a shared reception area and serviced office facilities. There will also be a communal area offering breakout areas, meeting rooms and a cafe.
Chris Oglesby, Bruntwood said: ‘The development of the former Royal Eye Hospital is a great project for Bruntwood. We’re looking forward to working with msp and using our development expertise to help the city fulfil its potential’.
Architects for the scheme are Sheppard Robson. Construction is expected to commence this spring and a completion date of summer 2012 is expected.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Demolitions, Listed Buildings, Renovations, Serviced Offices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 17, 2011 by John Cronin
Property agents Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) have been appointed to market a large office scheme in Bracknell.
Guernsey based property investors Mapeley have instructed LSH to market 5 Arlington Square, Bracknell, a 96,900 sq ft office scheme. The building is located in the 22-acre Arlington Square Business Park (website) and is one of four existing Grade A office schemes at the site.
There is approximately 30,000 sq ft of vacant space in Building 1. Serviced offices provider Regus has a centre at 2 Arlington Square. Building 3 offers in excess of 50,000 sq ft of floor space over 5 floors and Building 4 offers 74,000 sq ft of floor space on a pre-let basis.
Arlington Square is one of a number of business parks managed by specialist operator Goodman. The property company has a portfolio of office-based schemes, science parks, industrial estates and distribution centres across the UK. Goodman refurbished the offices at Arlington Square in early 2010 and the business park has previously won a National Landscaping award.
5 Arlington Square was constructed in 2005 and has previously been part-occupied by global software company Oracle. The 4-storey building includes a high specification, tier 2 data centre and as such the agents believe the building is ideally suited for prospective tenants working in the IT, telecoms or media sectors. Other tenants in the business park include Novell, Fujitsu and Broadcom.
LSH are marketing the building to let as either headquarter office accommodation or as whole floor suites offering floor space of 24,000 sq ft. Agents Knight Frank have also marketed the building at a published rental price of £25 / sq ft.
Posted in Berkshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Rental Prices, Serviced Offices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 16, 2011 by John Cronin
Stockport Council have completed a move to a new office block named after a famous tennis star born in the town.
Stockport Council have now completed their relocation to new offices known as Fred Perry House (pictured). The building was named in honour of the world famous tennis player who was born in Stockport in 1909. The grandson of Fred Perry attended the official opening on the building last November that was conducted by the Earl of Wessex, HRH Prince Edward.
The £12m project offers approximately 47,000 sq ft of floor space over 5 floors. The council took the decision to relocate from other office buildings to reduce costs and offer a central service to local residents. The council claims the new offices will be cost neutral for council tax payers. Construction work started in May 2009 with main-contractor Carillion working alongside local, sub-contracting companies. The council had the building constructed within a short time-scale and only issued a completion certificate on 23rd December last year.
The council has nominated the building for the North West Building Excellence Awards as it incorporates various energy saving measures and is the first building in the borough to meet the Changing Places requirements for fully accessible facilities. The building has also been awarded a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’.
Architects behind the scheme were Ingenium Architects. The development was project managed by NPS (Stockport) Ltd.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Public Sector |
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Posted on February 15, 2011 by John Cronin
An international Scotch whisky company has raised a glass to mark the completion of the fit-out of their new headquarters in Edinburgh.
Malt whisky producer Glenmorangie are now able to move into their new headquarter offices in The Cube building (pictured) in the heart of Edinburgh, following a fit-out by property firm James Barr.
James Barr had a remit to design a bespoke interior that reflected the brand identity of Glenmorangie. The designers have incorporated a range of finishes using veneered panelling, glass, customised lighting and “creative placement of product, company heritage and brand values”. Eric Forgie, Chief Executive, James Barr said: “The result speaks for itself and I am sure our client will enjoy a long and prosperous occupation of their iconic new HQ.”
The drinks company has taken all of the 6,368 sq ft of floor space on the 5th floor and approximately 6,000 sq ft of the larger 4th floor. In total, The Cube offers in excess of 64,000 sq ft of Grade A office space. The other significant tenant in the building is investment group Baillie Gifford who have taken space on the 2nd and 3rd floors, totalling 25,000 sq ft.
The speculative office building was completed in 2009 and incorporates a range of energy saving measures that have resulted with scheme being awarded a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. The building was nominated for a Scottish Design Award (2010) for Best Commercial Building.
Architects for the scheme were Allan Murray Architects and the build was undertaken by Sir Robert McAlpine. Marketing agents for the scheme include Cushman & Wakefield LLP. Rental prices are available on application.
Posted in Edinburgh |
Tagged Speculative Developments |
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