Winchester wins

Old established market towns and old established cities in the UK have often avoided the worst of the economic downturn. That appears to be true of Winchester which, said Goadsby’s Annelies Culley, “is still proving to be fairly resilient.”

She notes the “steady demand for city centre offices.” In particular she mentions the refurbished Athenia House, Trafalgar House and St Swithuns as being in demand. “There has been a lot of excitement regarding the proposed Silver Hill development in the city centre. The mixed use scheme will include high quality offices, retail and residential accommodation. The industrial market is still seeing a good level of enquiries for premium space.” Goadsby has also recently analysed the market in another market town, Romsey where it has seen “a positive start to 2011 with a number of office lettings.” Goadsby’s Ben Welch said: “The market town of Romsey offers an attractive working environment and good access to Winchester and Southampton.”

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Industrials set the pace

The buoyancy of the industrial market has spurred investment deals, in particular in the business parks and estates around Southampton. For example, Axa Real Estate Investment Managers has sold the 4,645 sq.metres (50,000 sq.ft.) Solent Gate Industrial Estate, Fareham through Lambert Smith Hampton to Threadneedle Property Unit Trust for £3.82million, or a yield of 8.2%. Axa’s Ian Pollard commented: “The sale crystallises the value we have created and allows us to look for new investments where we can add value for our client.” In Eastleigh, Oceanic Estates has paid Craigard Eastleigh LLP £3.8 million for the 9,290 sq.metres (100,000) Avalon warehouse in Parham Drive.

The warehouse is sublet to the Jamie Oliver Group and was an off-market transaction. Jerry Vigus, from Lambert Smith Hampton commented: “We have stayed close to this property, knowing that it could potentially be bought. We indicated that a quick decision had to be made and therefore approached Oceanic Estates, knowing that the business had the resources available to buy the property and move quickly. We were then able to negotiate terms and purchase the unit within 14 days of agreeing a price.”

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Developing Southampton

Three developments in Southampton, one completed, one with planning permission and the other in the planning stage, continue the improvement to the city. Planning permission has been granted for a new 9,290 sq.metres (100,000 sq.ft.) arts complex, retail space and restaurant units in a joint venture between the council and Grosvenor.

There will also be 29 flats on the site which is around the Guildhall Square. Councillor Royston Smith commented: “Another key development in the Cultural Quarter is coming to fruition. It will be a place where all the arts can thrive and draw in hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.” The second new scheme is a 155 bedroom Premier Inn at West Quay which Cllr. Smith said “is a key element of the West Quay development, which is part of the city’s renaissance plan.” The third project is a plan for Southampton’s tallest building. The residential scheme at Ocean Village with 28 storeys is being developed by Allied Develeopments.

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