Posted on February 14, 2011 by John Cronin
Local residents are said to be shocked at the news that a controversial offices scheme in Windsor has been approved.
The controversial plans to redevelop the former Rank Hovis McDougall headquarters in Windsor were reviewed in late December, 2010 by Clive Kirkbride, an appointed Government inspector. It has now been announced that Mr Kirkbride has given approval for the large-scale, speculative offices scheme.
Windsor resident Peter Archibald told the Maidenhead Advertiser: “These offices are so massively out of scale and character they will dominate and loom over surrounding houses”. However, despite the strong feelings against the scheme, the appeal lodged against the original decision has been approved. Mr Kirkbride notes in his decision document (pdf link) that “as these [new buildings] would have flat roofs they would be broadly similar in height to the existing building which has a more traditional pitched roof”. Mr Kirkbride has also agreed that the proposed development will not give rise to increased traffic management issues.
Commercial property developers St Congar now plan to press ahead with the development of five separate office buildings that will offer a combined floor space of nearly 275,000 sq ft. The speculative development will also include a restaurant, car parking and new public spaces. Various conditions have been imposed upon the proposed development; construction works must commence within 3 years and all the office buildings must achieve a minimum BREAAM rating of ‘Very Good’.
Demolition of the existing 47,000 sq ft Imperial House building is expected to start later this year. An indicative start for construction work has not yet been made public, although the developers indicate that the new offices should be in place by 2014.
Posted in Berkshire |
Tagged Demolitions, Planning, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 11, 2011 by John Cronin
Property surveyors and agents GVA have been appointed joint marketing agents at the Lingley Mere Business Park in Warrington.
Acting alongside Manchester-based chartered surveyors Edwards & Co, GVA will look to secure new tenants for the business park (pictured – source). Lingley Mere currently offers 380,000 sq ft of office accommodation set in 100 acres of parkland.
The scheme is a joint venture between United Utilities and developers Muse Developments. The park has outline planning consent for a further 400,000 sq ft of office space, a hotel and distribution units. Planning permission has been achieved for a fifth office unit totalling 18,500 sq ft to complete the Clearwater phase. The existing four units have been let and sold.
Construction started on the speculative scheme in 2006 and the business park now provides accommodation to some 3,500 staff. The scheme is scheduled to be completed by 2021. The next development phase, known as Constance, is to be built adjacent to the new NW Regional Fire Control Centre and will comprise four office buildings. Additionally, a new 55,000 sq ft Grade A office building was completed in 2009 and is now fully occupied and sold.
Out of the three phases of completed development, one phase has achieved a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ and the other two have achieved ratings of ‘Very Good’.
Building 2, Clearwater, a two-storey office block offering approximately 9,000 sq ft of floor space was sold for £1.75m in 2008. The building is let to MWH UK Limited by way of a 10-year lease for a rental price equating to £17.30 per sq ft.
Chris Cheap, Director at GVA, commented: “Lingley Mere is one of the North West’s premier business parks, which has built up a strong track record for delivering first-class office product that’s set against the backdrop of an outstanding working environment.
Posted in Cheshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 10, 2011 by John Cronin
A private equity company specialising in commercial property has launched the first phase of the new Liverpool Science Centre.
Investors Gresham House plc are now seeking tenants for their speculative scheme located at the former Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) premises on the Southern Gateway site in Speke. The Liverpool Science Centre (pictured) offers specialist features for science-based companies that are looking for office floor space coupled with facilities for research and design projects.
The building offers in excess of 97,000 sq ft of Grade A floor space and includes offices, clean-rooms, laboratory suites and shower facilities. The specialist rooms are also available on a pay-as-you-go basis. The building is available to let on either a whole-building basis or as suites ranging in size from 800 sq ft up to 5,500 sq ft. A fully-serviced office option is available for start-up businesses. Office suites can be configured to have their own entrance and reception areas. The site also offers 24hour, manned security.
The former GSK Southern Gateway site was purchased by Gresham House in 2004 and in total there is 356,000 sq ft of floor space within the mixed-use scheme. Development work on the latest centre began in 2010. The site is very close to Liverpool John Lennon Airport and the Liverpool Science Park which also offers flexible Grade A office accommodation is nearby.
Mike Boyens of Gresham House subsidiary New Capital Developments said: “Liverpool Science Centre is a fantastic facility that has been developed to a particularly high standard, providing laboratory, clean room, or office accommodation for a science-based business or organisation looking for Grade A premises in a prime location.”
Posted in Merseyside |
Tagged Renovations, Serviced Offices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 9, 2011 by John Cronin
Top Premier League team Manchester United are about to make their latest signing, although this time office space is the target.
Market reports indicate that the London-based sponsorship department of the football club have outgrown their existing offices in Pall Mall and are relocating to offices at Five Stratton Street, Mayfair. The club are rumoured to be paying a rental price of approximately £80 / sq ft for the premium, Grade A offices.
Five Stratton Street (pictured) is a traditional building that has a fully refurbished interior. The building offers just under 700 sq ft of office floor space at ground level with 7 upper floors offering a total floor space of 77,670 sq ft. Suites are available from 625sq ft to 57,745 sq ft. Largest floor plates are 11,560 sq ft. The top floor is used as residential accommodation. Manchester United are expected to take a whole floor within the building.
The building is owned by a division of Schroders called the West End of London Property Unit Trust (WELPUT). WELPUT was granted planning permission for the scheme in 2007 and also received permission for associated applications for cleaning of the Portland stone and minor amendments to the building exterior. The refurbishments were completed in late summer, 2009. The offices have a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’. The building is Grade II Listed and was once the London town-house and gardens of Baroness Burdess-Coutts.
Leasing agents for the speculative scheme are DTZ and Strutt & Parker. Rental prices are available upon application.
Posted in London |
Tagged Listed Buildings, Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 8, 2011 by John Cronin
Property developers BAM Construct UK have received planning permission for a multi-storey office block in Leeds.
BAM has secured planning permission for a second office at its Latitude scheme in the West End of Leeds. Permission has been granted for a new, 115,000 sq ft seven-storey office building although construction will only commence once a pre-let agreement has been agreed.
The building is to be initially called Latitude Blue and will be built next to an earlier 121,944 sq ft office development in Whitehall Road originally called Latitude Red (pictured). That building was sold in 2007 to IVG, a German property, in a £140m deal for a portfolio of 7 office buildings. Market reports have suggested that IVG has struggled to secure tenants for the building that has since been rebranded as No 1, Leeds. Indicative rental prices for the Grade A office accommodation are around £24 / sq ft. Marketing agents for the scheme are Knight Frank.
Latitude Blue will be built on a 10-acre site that could eventually offer in the region of 600,000 sq ft of Grade A office floor space in several buildings along with 650 residential apartments. BAM Director, Michael Smart, said of the proposed building: ‘This will be a high-spec development, designed and built to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating to deliver energy efficiency and low running costs.”
The company indicates it can offer flexible floor plans and fit-out specifications configured by the prospective tenant. A build lead-time of 18 months is quoted. Agents for the speculative scheme are BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Posted in West Yorkshire |
Tagged Planning, Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 7, 2011 by John Cronin
An historic building in Cornwall could reopen next year as a mixed-use scheme if hoped-for funding is received.
The Old Duchy Palace in Lostwithiel (pictured) is a Grade 1 Listed palace and is one of the most historically important buildings in Cornwall. Plans have been submitted to convert the building into a mixed-use scheme of speculative, commercial office space and local community meeting space.
The building was last used as a masonic lodge and has previously been used for a wide range of purposes including administrative offices and the County Court. Constructed in around 1290-1300 the building was purchased by the Prince’s Regeneration Trust in 2009. Prince Charles visited the building last November to see for himself the after effects of flash flooding that occurred in the area (via Lostwithiel blog).
An application for a £400,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant was rejected last September but the Trust is now hoping that funding of approximately £200,000 can be secured from the European Regional Development Fund to add to funds already secured.
The revised scheme contains a mix of commercial and community use within the building. The basement will include a heritage interpretation, telling the story of the Old Duchy Palace. The main hall and first floor will provide commercial office space and meeting room / studio office space for community use. The main first floor offices will offer an approximate floor space of 700 sq ft.
Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive, The Prince’s Regeneration Trust said: “We have worked hard over the last few months to come up with a new scheme, one that although it has less community use than we had originally intended will still ensure an exciting and viable future for the Old Duchy Palace.”
Architects for the scheme are conservation specialists Purcell Miller Tritton.
Posted in Cornwall |
Tagged Listed Buildings, Renovations, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 4, 2011 by John Cronin
A family owned commercial property company with office schemes in the Midlands and the north has reported another profitable financial year.
Manchester-based Bruntwood has this morning published its latest financial results for the year ending September 2010 and again the commercial property specialists have seen profits in excess of £10m. The company primarily specialises in office space and serviced offices and tends to focus on regional cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds.
Bruntwood has recorded an increase of 28% in new lettings across its portfolio of office accommodation. The total value of the company’s portfolio of offices was up 4% to £948m and its net increasing 3.2% to £310m. Turnover was up 3% to £100.2m while net profit fell slightly to £11.1m.
The company now manages a total of 101 properties affording over 6m sq ft of floor space and 1860 serviced office desks. The company returned to the market to purchase the 120,000 sq ft City House office block (pictured) in Leeds. Bruntwood now manage approximately 400,000 sq ft of floor space in the city with occupancy rates in excess of 90%.
The Manchester office market is the main area of activity for Bruntwood with the company reporting that it currently owns 20% of the available market, with managed floor space now exceeding 3m sq ft. Along with several Grade A office refurbishment schemes Bruntwood has had success with a speculative new-build scheme at 1 New York Street. The building is also Grade A rated and 68,000 sq ft of the floor space was let during the year. Office suites within the building range in size from 1,500 sq ft to 18,500 sq ft. Quoted rental prices are around £28 / sq ft.
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive, Chris Oglesby said: “Despite a tough market and stiff competition, we have delivered a very impressive increase in new lettings with a record year in Greater Manchester and continued success in our other three cities.”
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Serviced Offices, Transactions |
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Posted on February 3, 2011 by John Cronin
A long-standing, eyesore office block in Gateshead is surplus to requirements and is now being demolished.
Tyne Bridge Tower (pictured) is a 1960’s, 13-storey office block that has stood empty for nearly 6 years. The unattractive, concrete tower is considered as being a blot on the landscape and stands in the way of a proposed £10m commercial, regeneration scheme.
The office block has been the subject of various proposals in recent years with developers interested in converting the building into apartments. However, a £500,000 demolition programme has now started with workers now stripping the inside of the building. The offices were last occupied by the Inland Revenue.
Regional development agency One North East purchased the building from UK Land Estates for £4m as the building sits within the proposed expansion of the Baltic Business Quarter. There are no current plans to construct a new building however, and the site is to be landscaped as part of the 7-month demolition works. Longer term the agency expects the site will be used for a speculative, mixed-use development.
The Baltic Business Quarter encompasses an area of some 21-hectares and office buildings offering 1.5m sq ft of floor space are envisaged. An expansion of the Gateshead Quays area is anticipated, especially in the creative sector. Councillor Martin Gannon said: “This area is at the heart of Gateshead’s expanding Creative Quarter and its removal will not only rid us of one of the last remaining blots on this area’s skyline, it will also provide space for future development”.
Due to the office block being in close proximity to neighbouring buildings, explosives cannot be used to bring down the building.
Posted in Tyne and Wear |
Tagged Demolitions, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on February 2, 2011 by John Cronin
A Lancashire based commercial property investment company has added to its portfolio with the purchase of a significant, Grade A, Manchester office block.
Investment company HIMOR Group has purchased the Ship Canal House offices in King Street, Manchester, for nearly £23m. The impressive, Grade II Listed building, located in the traditional business district of Manchester offers in excess of 71,000 sq ft of floor space and is currently let to multiple occupants. Recently signed tenant, CLB Coopers Chartered Accountants agreed a 10-year lease for the whole 6,665 sq ft fifth floor last November.
HIMOR Group has indicated it is on an acquisition trail and aims to double the £60m property portfolio it already owns. The company sold 40 Spring Gardens, a 100,000 sq ft Manchester city centre office building, last year for £47.5m.
WHR Property Consultants acted on behalf of HIMOR and have secured a deal that returns a net yield of 6.7%. The property sales literature from GVA Grimley indicates an average rental price of £24 / sq ft with rents ranging between £10 / sq ft and £28 / sq ft. The building has some basement parking and 10 floors of office space and is currently let to 8 tenants. The largest floor plate of 9,800 sq ft is on the second floor.
Mark Williams, WHR Property Consultants, said: “We had to compete with several funds to secure this deal highlighting the healthy demand for quality office investments in the region”.
This is only the fourth time the building has been sold since it was constructed in the 1920’s. Ship Canal House was last sold in 2005 for £19.3m to Catalyst Capital.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Rental Prices, Transactions |
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Posted on February 1, 2011 by Rob Powell
Photographs have surfaced of Google’s colourful new office in central London.
Designed by London-based architects, Scott Brownrigg, the interior design takes its inspiration from Brighton beach, with deck chairs, beach huts and huge posters of Brighton pier.
The doorways from the reception area into the main work area will bring employees and visitors through two large ‘O’s from the Google logo.
Ken Giannini, Interior Design Director of Scott Brownrigg stated: “It is little wonder that Google is one of the most desirable places to work in the UK. We have enjoyed every minute of this exciting project. All the Google staff are up for innovation, brilliant ideas and they like to be challenged. We also recognise that Google is a serious business and demands efficiency, value and solutions that can support their business practices. This project has it all – a fun working environment that also incorporates lots of practical solutions.”
Jane Preston, UK Facilities Manager at Google said: “The first impressions by visitors and our staff has been very positive. The project fits well with our real estate and HR strategy and will definitely help support our growth plans. We see the work environment as a major recruitment factor for us to compete for the best talent and this new office certainly does that.”
The new offices in Buckingham Palace Road will accommodate up to 300 members of staff.
Posted in London |
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