Creative in Bath

Bath is also due for a substantial new development through St James’s Investments and Tesco. The £50 million mixed use scheme on the site of the former Bath Press site has been modified to increase the amount of commercial space.

The new proposal is for a Tesco store, 4,554 sq.metres (49,000 sq.ft.) of creative work units, 2,834 sq.metres (30,500 sq.ft.) of offices and 10 residential units. This would make the joint venture the largest provider of workspace for artists in Bath.

Timing

London & Stamford Property, the REIT which has a shrewd ability to time its moves into the property market to catch the trend, has bought a distribution unit in Harlow for £23 million, a yield of 7.5%. The 25,372 sq.m. distribution warehouse is leased to Tesco and has 12.5 years to run. It is one of the supermarket group’s key distribution points for stores in London and the south east. The acquisition will become part of the joint venture portfolio held with Green Park Investments and means that London & Stamford’s equity commitment is likely to be less than £5 million. London & Stamford has now built its assets up to £1.5 million in a relatively short period. The deal comes at a time when the development of big sheds has slowed considerably, which in the long run should point to an increase in values.