It is encouraging that Doncaster and Rotherham are continuing with major development schemes that will bring widespread benefits locally. In Doncaster, the £300 million Civic and Cultural Centre has been given the planning green light and is the key to transforming the Waterdale area of the town. At the heart is a 14,585 sq.metres (157,000 sq.ft.) civic building to house the council’s 1,400 staff. This will overlook the first civic square in Doncaster and will bring the council’s staff in from several buildings.
Dan Needham of Muse Developments, who are developing the scheme, said: “When complete, it will act as a catalyst for the ongoing regeneration of the Waterdale area by allowing the redevelopment of the vacated office buildings in the future phases, which will further enhance Doncaster’s offer and help attract new investment and new occupiers to the town.” The long term plans for the area include a new hotel, performance venue, new library, swimming pool and leisure facility together with housing and offices.
One major Doncaster building in the pipeline for redevelopment is the 7,432 sq.metres (80,000 sq.ft.) Denison House, the GII listed building which housed Doncaster carriage works and is being sold by Sanderson Weatherall. Glenn Levison of Sanderson Weatherall said: “The development options are vast and having played such a historical part in the region’s railway industry, the potential is there to transform the premises into a museum or tourist attraction similar to the National Railway Museum in York. Other uses could include a hotel, gym or offices.” Colliers International has been appointed to study the leisure and retail requirements of Rotherham for its next Local Development Framework, examining the town’s future needs. Meanwhile, Oak Holdings has been given the go ahead by the government for the £350 million Yes! leisure scheme in Rotherham on a 327 acre site which will centre around a 14 storey building.
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Office Space in Yorkshire, Serviced Offices in Yorkshire and industrial commercial property in Yorkshire. You can also find the latest commercial property news for the Yorkshire region.
The property industry has been successful over the past few decades in converting some of Yorkshire’s historic industrial buildings, usually woollen mills, from modern use. The latest of these is Sunny Bank Mills in the centre of Farsley, a family owned mill which is being extensively renovated for small and medium sized businesses. In a short period it has four new tenants, Powerhouse Digital Photography; travel agents, Uncover the World; Yorkshire Physiotherapy Network and Richard Moran Photography who have taken 1,022 sq.metres (11,000 sq.ft.). John Gaunt of Edwin Woodhouse, the owners, said: “I think the pedigree of business reflects the quality of the refurbishment and even in the teeth of the recession, Sunny Bank Mills and Farsley can succeed in its mission of being a creative space for business.” The mill stopped textile production in 2008 having opened in 1912. In Halifax, St James is developing the historic Shaw Lodge into 10 small office suites. The company’s Oliver Quarmby commented: ”In the longer term we are looking to fulfil our dream of an urban village on this unique site, but we believe it is in everyone’s interest to proceed carefully as the property market begins to recover from the deep recession.” There are already 15 tenants on the 10 acre site, many of them in the creative industries and education. As with Sunny Bank mill, the last loom fell silent in 2008. Another historic building, the ARTTS International training centre, Bubwith, which has planning permission for conversion to residential and offices is on the market for £1 million.
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Office Space in Yorkshire, Serviced Offices in Yorkshire and industrial commercial property in Yorkshire. You can also find the latest commercial property news for the Yorkshire region.
South Yorkshire continues to thrive as a locale for distribution and logistics with the latest major deal the letting of a 15,236 sq.metres (164,000 sq.ft.) warehouse at Quattro, the final phase of the West Moor Park scheme at Doncaster. The joint venture of Valad and Shepherd Developments has let the shed to Scotts Miracle Gro Company, the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. Shepherd’s Richard Squire commented: “West Moor Park is now well established as a prime location in the Doncaster area and epitomises the renaissance of south Yorkshire over the past decade.” At Century Park Networkentre, Rotherham there have been five recent lettings in the workspace and office scheme developed by Network Space, a joint venture of Langtree and the Homes and Communities Agency, totalling 1,580 sq.metres (17,000 sq.ft.). The 5,388 sq.metres (58,000 sq.ft.) scheme has 28 small office suites and workspace units. In Sheffield, Property Alliance has completed the first phase of the refurbishment of the Ecclesfield 35 Industrial Estate which it bought in 2009. The £1 million improvements include an enhanced power supply and café area. The industrial and warehouse units range up to 4,645 sq.metres (50,000 sq.ft.). Property Alliance’s Lee Charnley said: “We are delighted with the enquiry level since completing the first phase and look forward to adding to the quality tenant list.” Opus North is one of the most active developers in the region and has recently let 6,178 sq.metres (66,500 sq.ft.) at Opus 36 Business Park, Goole to HCK the catering equipment and supplies group. This is the largest property deal in Goole this year with HCK relocating from another site in the town. Andrew Duncan of Opus North said: “The two remaining refurbished units are attracting interest and there is certainly pent up demand in the region.” Another Opus North scheme is a supermarket and mixed use scheme with Lidl in Barnsley, close to the new Gateway Plaza development.The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Office Space in Yorkshire, Serviced Offices in Yorkshire and industrial commercial property in Yorkshire. You can also find the latest commercial property news for the Yorkshire region.
Properties from another bankruptcy came onto the market in Scotland through Knight Frank acting for Lloyds Banking Group and the Administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers to Kilmartin. The office block at Castle Street in Edinburgh, John Smith Hall, a student residence, 200 St Vincent Street, a Glasgow office and Inshes Retail Park in Inverness have all been sold for a total of £51,100,000 million, well above the asking price of £45.5 million. Another former Kilmartin holding that has been sold is a 90 acre site at Stoneywood, Aberdeen.
The Scotland Commercial Property Register
The Scotland Commercial Property Register for Sctoland is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Offices Space, Serviced Offices and Commercial Property in Scotland . You can also find the latest commercial property news for Scotland.
Cushman & Wakefield has joined Knight Frank in marketing the 11,473 sq.metres (123,500 sq.ft.) No1 Leeds which was developed by BAM Properties on behalf of the IVG Institution Fund. The development potential is considerable because it has planning permission for a total of 55,554 sq.metres (598,000 sq.ft.). At the moment the Leeds office market is typified by the Public and Commercial Services Union leasing 587 sq.metres (6,315 sq.ft.) in Town Centre House which has been refurbished by Town Centre Securities and is now 95% let. While it is clear that the current phase is for small deals, the investment market is thriving. Knight Frank Investors, for example, on behalf of Lancashire County Council has paid MEPC £20 million for the 6,689 sq.metres (72,000 sq.ft.) Benson House, which is let to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The yield is 7.33%. Matthew Atkinson of Jones Lang LaSalle, in reviewing the second survey of investor confidence, said: “Activity in the second quarter was relatively strong with £60.3 million deals transacted, a rise of 9% on the same period of 2009. With several assets brought to the market in the same period this suggests a strong out turn for the third quarter but we expect capital values to remain relatively stable.” The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Office Space in Yorkshire, Serviced Offices in Yorkshire and industrial commercial property in Yorkshire. You can also find the latest commercial property news for the Yorkshire region.
The call for refurbishment will be magic to the ears of Bruntwood, who have built a substantial portfolio on the basis of improving tired office buildings. Its latest purchase in Leeds is the 12 storey 11,148 sq.metres (120,000 sq.ft.) City House, which is above Leeds central railway station and is now
in shell condition after being stripped out by the previous owners. In other words this is a classic Bruntwood situation which it will restore in consultation with Network Rail and Leeds City Council. It already owns over 20% of the office stock in Manchester city centre and now as 35,302 sq.metres (380,000 sq.ft.) in Leeds. Illustrating its skills, the portfolio is 95% let in Leeds. Bruntwood’s Chris Burrow commented: “With extensive experience in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham we’re confident that we can revitalise the building, enhancing the building’s infrastructure and, without doubt, a fantastic location in Leeds city centre.” He added that the company was still buying properties in Leeds and that it “believes in the fabric of the cities we operate in and wherever possible, we recycle
buildings instead of knocking them down and starting again. This is part of the company ethos to avoid waste and help create sustainable cities.”
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Office Space in Yorkshire, Serviced Offices in Yorkshire and industrial commercial property in Yorkshire. You can also find the latest commercial property news for the Yorkshire region.
Because of the slowing economy and the decline in speculative office development there is a potential shortage of quality office space in Leeds. Theanswer, suggests Jones Lang LaSalle in a research report, is for the gap to be met by refurbished and repositioned Grade B offices.
According to JLL, Leeds currently has 128,202 sq.metres (1.38 million sq.ft.) of offices available, or 11.1% of total stock. In this case the priority for landlords is
for income preservation rather than refurbishment. But with only a small amount of Grade A being built, the shortage will bite next year, said JLL. The firm’s Jeff Pearey commented: “There is a growing awareness from occupiers and developers about the potential shortage of Grade A space that we forecast will emerge in Leeds in 2012 although continued funding constraints means we do not anticipate any major construction starts in the next 12 months.” He
added that upgrading Grade B stock seems logical and a relatively low risk strategy to bridge any supply gap.
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register
The Yorkshire Commercial Property Register is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Office Space in Yorkshire, Serviced Offices in Yorkshire and industrial commercial property in Yorkshire. You can also find the latest commercial property news for the Yorkshire region.
It is encouraging that Doncaster and Rotherham are continuing with major development schemes that will bring widespread benefits locally. In Doncaster, the £300 million Civic and Cultural Centre has been given the planning green light and is the key to transforming the Waterdale area of the town. At the heart is a 14,585 sq.metres (157,000 sq.ft.) civic building to house the council’s 1,400 staff. This will overlook the first civic square in Doncaster and will bring the council’s staff in from several buildings.
