Agents Towler Shaw Roberts (TSR) have been appointed by Morris Property to market its landmark 28-acre site, Stadium Point on Oteley Road in Shrewsbury. The site will provide flexible distribution warehousing and office space for new build and build-to-suit opportunities, with units ranging from 1,850-175,000 ft².
Liz Lowe, Head of Development at Morris Property commented: “We are delighted to once again be working with Towler Shaw Roberts on this exciting development. We value their experience and in-depth knowledge of local market conditions and look forward to early uptake of these new units, designed to meet the demands of today’s business occupier.”
Liz continued: “With easy access to the A5 and connectivity to the West Midlands, Stadium Point is ideally located on the south side of Shrewsbury with excellent public transport links and controlled parking on site. Our units will benefit from a high standard specification which prioritises energy efficiency and helps reduce operating costs.”
Speculative and bespoke units will be made available with a construction period of between 6-9 months. Pre-lets and forward sales are available now with the first phase of construction seeing units available from late Spring 2024. The buildings are being constructed to a ‘shell’ finish so occupiers have a blank canvas to work with, ensuring the internal configuration reflects their specific operational requirements.
TSR have been providing expert professional advice on commercial property since 1991 and have worked with Morris Property for over 30 years. As a progressive and proactive firm, TSR have been recognised since 2003 by the nationally recognised property publication, Estates Gazette, as offering clear, professional and consistent advice.
Toby Shaw, a partner at Towler Shaw Roberts said: “Stadium Point is a hugely significant commercial development for Shropshire, with much anticipation in Shrewsbury and further afield for this flagship scheme.
“The creation of this iconic and strategically located site has been eagerly anticipated by local companies together with regional and national operators seeking a key base to expand in the county and beyond. The scheme has been carefully designed to provide flexible and innovative accommodation to meet occupiers’ wide-ranging requirements for the 21st century.
“We are delighted to be involved as the appointed agents for Stadium Point on what will become the premier commercial/logistics location for Shrewsbury and we look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with Morris Property, following the successes of their other flagship developments at Vanguard Trade Park and Centurion Park on the north side of town.”
A prominent Mid Wales town centre restaurant with eight en suite letting rooms is on the market with Halls Commercial due to the retirement of the owners.
Offers in the region of £500,000 are being invited for Parkers B&B and Restaurant, 1 Short Bridge Street, Newtown, which has a five star B&B award. The 70-cover restaurant has a five star hygiene rating and music and entertainment licence.
The attractive, three storey building has the restaurant on the ground floor with the high quality, en suite letting rooms on the upper two floors. The rooms have a self-contained entrance or access from the restaurant.
The restaurant area, which has an attractive glazed shop frontage, covers around 1,091 sq ft and a breakfast room, used by B&B guests, is around 302 sq ft. The property also has a 382 sq ft commercial kitchen, ancillary facilities and WCs.
All fixtures and fittings are included in the sale of Parkers which has two off-street car parking spaces at the rear of the property.
Situated on the River Severn, Newtown is an established market town and administrative centre with a significant catchment area.
The largest town in the rural county of Powys, Newtown is 33 miles from Shrewsbury, 13 miles from Welshpool 43 miles from the coastal university town of Aberystwyth.
For more information about Parkers, contact Halls Commercial on Tel: 01743 450700.
London’s businesses are continuing to turn to flexible office space as Q2 figures reveal an increase in those opting for shared work environments with the latest data giving a unique insight into the capital’s property trends.
Statistics by Flexioffices, published in its 2023 Q2 State of The Market Report, show the number of listings in core London markets are up as a whole by nearly 10% (9.86).
The growth is driven by finance companies which top the table both in terms of contract revenue and number of shared workspace deals.
Overall, eight out of 15 core London markets saw an increase in the flexible office sector this last quarter compared to Q1.
These are: the City of London, Mid Town, Euston & Kings Cross, West London Prime, Southwest London Prime, Southwest London, Southeast London and East London Prime.
Flexioffices Managing Director, Michael Dubicki, said: “We’re seeing positive growth both in terms of overall building listings’ numbers and quarter-on-quarter increases in desk rates achieved, whilst the rest of the property sector is seeing lead volumes generally subdued across the marketplace.”
After finance, the legal sector is the second largest profession buying into flexible workspace in terms of contract revenue and number of deals agreed, followed by recruitment companies.
The research – published in line with the launch of the office broker’s ‘Flex Appeal’ campaign that aims to help companies find flexible business solutions – shows property hotspots with notable spikes in desk rates since Q1.
Michael explains: “We are in unique position as a flexible working space intermediary to use real-time data to give invaluable insight. It means we can benchmark and position pricing, help clients make decisions on building layout to optimise capital expenditure and crucially, pinpoint the best locations to open new buildings, where industry sectors are active.”
Detailed 2023 trends for key London sub-regions
Euston & Kings Cross saw the highest growth in the capital with a rise in listings of 36%. East London Prime saw listings increase by nearly a third (32%) and creative hub Mid Town saw listings rise by 29%, whilst Southwest London saw an upturn of a quarter (25%).
The new data also shows six out of 15 markets are achieving desk rates higher than those recorded for the whole of 2022. These are West End, Mid Town, Southwest London, Southeast London Prime, Southeast London and East London Prime.
Michael continues: “It is good news for us and the flexi office landscape that some of London’s key areas are beating the whole revenue for 2022 in this second quarter.
“That combined with the fact that others are showing an increase quarter on quarter indicates the market is on a positive course for the remainder of 2023.”
The West End commands the highest desk rate at £903 and saw a nominal decline in listings, down 3% on the last quarter. Key sectors buying flexi space in terms of contract revenue are financial, retail and creative industries with media and technology emerging in terms of the number of deals.
Euston & King’s Cross is ranked the second most expensive at £814 per desk and has seen the highest growth since Q1, increasing by over a third (36%), with charity, media and marketing companies driving desk sales.
Southeast London Prime is the third highest in terms of desk revenue at circa £686 but the area is seeing negative growth (minus 9%). The top three businesses taking space here are accounting & payroll, communications and media.
West London Prime comes in fourth with an average desk cost of £541 but remained static in terms of growth with the top three sectors by contract revenue being energy, design, transportation & logistics.
The City of London commands prices of £540 per desk and has seen growth of 11% since Q1, driven unsurprisingly by insurance, recruitment and accounting companies.
Sixth place is taken by booming Mid Town at £491. The are also boasts an impressive increase in listings of 29%, with the top three sectors in terms of contract revenue being legal, marketing and communications. Accounting takes the third spot from comms in terms of the number of deals.
Southwest London Prime comes in seventh with desk space retailing at £465 following a 7% growth. Finance, legal and IT Services are the dominant sectors in terms of contract revenue. When it comes to the number of deals, property takes over the bronze from IT.
West London has desk space retailing at £400, giving it the eighth spot but saw static growth rates, with flexi space taken by creative, marketing and media companies.
The under £400 barrier is broken by North London coming in at nineth at £368, with a nominal drop in growth of just 4%. In terms of the business sectors when it comes to contract revenue, they are creative, legal and fashion. In terms of the number of deals, healthcare takes the pole position.
Tenth is Canary Wharf at £355 per desk, following a slight dip in growth in Q2 of 3%, with shipping, design and healthcare taking over most space in terms of contract revenue and design businesses emerging in third spot when it comes to the number of deals.
Southwest London ranked 11th at £346 per desk but is seeing exciting growth of over a quarter (25%) up on Q1. This is fuelled in terms of contract revenue by property, creative and communications businesses and by the number of deals from creative, design and communications.
Taking 12th place is East London Prime averaging £351 per desk and seeing an impressive increase in listings of nearly a third (32%). The growth is driven in terms of contract revenue by marketing, communications and media, with recruitment taking first place from marketing agencies when it comes to the number of deals.
Northwest London saw the cheapest desk rate of £208, with sales down by over a third (37%), the highest decrease in listings since Q1 in the capital. Construction, recruitment and finance companies dominate both in terms of revenue and number of deals.
East London saw no change in sales and ranked the second cheapest with a desk rate of £243, driven by recruitment, finance and cleaning companies.
Southeast London is the third cheapest for desk space at £266 and but is seeing a rise in listings of 19%, driven by cleaning, creative and healthcare in terms of contract revenue with retailing emerging in third place when it comes to the number of deals.
Lead-to-deal times are also falling, in nine out of 15 London markets, suggesting that transacting customers are becoming much more certain in their decision-making process.
Michael adds: “We expect the remainder of 2023 to continue showing growth in building numbers and desk rates, but at a pace closely linked with broader macroeconomic uncertainties. Once inflationary pressures start to ease and there is better outlook on future interest rate prospects, the significant pent-up demand mentioned above is likely to be released and we will experience a significant and sustained period of positive growth. We’ll look to Q1 2024 for this to start accelerating at pace and will look forward to it!”
The company leads the way in helping to negotiate the best deals for businesses to save money on local, national and international office spaces for their clients. Flexioffices.co.uk has thousands of serviced offices in every major UK city and a curated international offering.
One of the UK’s leading insurance brokers is warning businesses struggling with the ever-increasing cost of living that they shouldn’t be cutting back on their insurance costs as they may not survive the consequences of being underinsured.
In the UK, 84% of property owners, both private and business, are underinsured*, meaning that if their property is damaged and they need to claim, the pay-out amount will not cover all of the costs of reinstatement, leaving owners vulnerable should the worst happen.
Robert Lewis, Corporate Broking Director at Towergate Insurance Brokers, said, “To put it simply, when agreeing on an insurance amount building owners should be looking at the same cost that it would cost to entirely rebuild including adequate provision for debris removal and professional fees. When businesses are underinsuring their commercial properties, they aren’t covering the entire cost and can be left with a significant shortfall, especially after a recent spike in construction costs.”
Data collected by industry specialist RebuildcostASSESSMENT.com shows that on average, buildings are covered for just 66% of their rebuild costs. These soaring costs would put even more financial strain on most businesses and homeowners with many unable to make up the deficit, especially during the cost of living crisis.
Robert said: “Not only is the cost of energy increasing rapidly, which has a major impact on production costs, there is also huge demand for building materials and ongoing supply chain issues. While people might be aware of this, they may not realise the impact it’s having on their insurance.
“Some people may worry that alerting their insurers to the higher rebuild cost of their property will increase their insurance premium, but this rise will be negligible and is a worthy investment in comparison to the shortfall in coverage should the property be damaged. Up-to-date valuation is key to ensuring that you aren’t left out of pocket following property damage, especially during the current crisis.”
Towergate Insurance Brokers is one of the UK’s leading independent insurance brokers and risk management advisors. Boasting an experienced team of insurance specialists, Towergate Insurance Brokers has built a solid reputation for understanding many business sectors and industries, and the everyday risks that they face in today’s increasingly complex world. They also look after the insurance needs of private individuals and families seeking tailored personal covers.
—
Towergate Insurance Brokers is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited.
Registered in England No.4043759. Registered Address: 2 Minster Court, Mincing Lane, London, EC3R 7PD.
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The second quarter of the year saw take up of large industrial property in Wales reach 200,000 sq ft, down significantly compared with the same period last year, according to new research by global property consultancy Knight Frank.
The level of activity for properties over 50,000 sq ft was 177,000 sq ft lower than during Q2 2022 and less than half the number of transactions witnessed in Q1 this year.
Neil Francis, head of Logistics & Industrial at Knight Frank in Cardiff, said: “The figures comprised one sale in North Wales and two lettings in South Wales, with the stand out deal being the letting of the newly constructed 50,000 sq ft unit at Junction 35, Pencoed by Deeside Regeneration.
“This was let to Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Limited on a 10 year lease and the investment is now being sold in the market with good levels of interest in acquiring this opportunity.”
He added: “I would describe the market as inconsistent this quarter and we have a number of large units under offer which we had hoped would have completed by now. With a push towards getting these completed before summer we do expect Q3 to record higher take up.”
The Knight Frank research showed that availability in Wales for the quarter stood at 5.7 million sq ft, up by 600,000 sq ft on Q1. Of this, 450,000 sq ft can be classed as Grade A space with St Modwen Park, Newport offering two units of 106,000 sq ft and 116,000 sq ft, both of which are attracting strong interest at the quoting rent of £8.75 per sq ft.
In addition construction work is progressing well at the 52,582 sq ft RYB1 at Rhyd y Blew in Ebbw Vale with good levels of interest received from a range of occupiers
Neil Francis said: “Of the 5.7 million sq ft availability, 1.6 million sq ft is the Ford site and we still wait to understand who is acquiring this and the plans for this site in the future.
“In my review of 2022 I said that the wider UK economic pressures could impact on business viability and could in turn increase availability levels as 2003 progresses. We have seen this in Q2 with a number of closures announced and with further business failures rumoured we expect the availability of second hand stock to increase.
“Positively though we are still seeing demand from occupiers keen to own property. For example, Knight Frank is marketing a 55,000 sq ft unit that had two parties bidding, both had cash, and the price secured is close to asking. With a number of freehold properties likely to become available we expect similar sentiment into Q3.”
Denbighshire County Council is to invite the owners and leaseholders of retail and commercial buildings located in Rhyl Town Centre to apply for generous grant funding to enhance their shop frontages.
The Property Development Grant is a regional scheme funded by the Welsh Government as part of its Transforming Towns Programme. The owners and leaseholders (leaseholders must have a minimum of 7 years remaining on their lease) of eligible buildings will be able to apply for a grant of between £5,000 and £50,000, with a match funding requirement of 30%.
The aim of the scheme is to enhance the appearance of the frontages of existing businesses, to bring vacant commercial floor space back into beneficial use, and to repurpose properties where appropriate, a key element of the Rhyl Town Centre Vision, a vision that will shape the future of the Town Centre over the next 15 years.
There are numerous ways that businesses can advertise and promote their products and services in 2023. There’s social media, television, radio, newspapers and magazines, or even the old flyer through the letterbox. But once you’re out and about in a town, there’s nothing as valuable as an attractive, interesting or enticing shop or restaurant window and signage to tempt you through the door and (they hope!) spend your money. For businesses currently considering investing in improvements and enhancements to their properties’ frontages, this might well provide the necessary incentive to move forwards with their plans.
As is the way with high streets and town centres today, more than ever, businesses come and go, there are changes in use and changes in the appearance of retail units. However, where buildings, shops particularly, are left vacant for extended periods of time, a town is not only affected by the loss of the business itself but also the employment it once provided. Where such empty premises are not regularly maintained, their presence can prove to be detrimental to the appearance and people’s perception of adjacent shops and buildings, or even the town. Bringing these units back into use would be of benefit to everyone.
According to Jason McLellan, Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Economic Growth & Tackling Deprivation, “This is an excellent opportunity for eligible businesses located in Rhyl Town Centre to help them to literally improve their shop window. The old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ could also be said to apply to the way we shop. How many of us judge a shop, restaurant or take-away by its frontage or window as we decide whether it is worth a visit or not, before we venture through the door? Denbighshire County Council’s Welsh Government funded scheme will allow us to enhance the appearance of our existing business frontages, as well as helping the owners and leaseholders who wish to make use of and repurpose vacant spaces which they own or lease.”
Wales’ two successful Freeport bids are expected to create 20,000 new, high-skilled jobs across a wide range of businesses, not just those with import and export operations, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.
Celtic Freeport at Port Talbot and Anglesey Freeport at Milford Haven were the successful bidders announced last month and the new sites are set to attract an estimated £5 billion of investment.
Claire Williams, Head of UK and European Industrial Research at Knight Frank, said: “Companies inside the tax sites will be offered temporary tax breaks including reductions to the tax companies pay on their existing property, and when they buy new buildings.
“The Business Rates Relief is 100% and for five years, and will be particularly valuable given the rise in business rates taking place from April 1, 2023. Also National Insurance Contributions relief is applicable for three years of employment for new hires, which could prove a draw for labour-intensive manufacturing operations.”
According to the Knight Frank research, the Freeports offer strong opportunities for Wales, with the benefits of Freeports relevant to a wide range of business sectors, including manufacturing and energy production.
Claire Williams said: “Freeport status could help boost the prospects for the local area. For instance, part of the Celtic Freeport project involves accelerating plans for a large floating offshore windfarm in the Celtic sea with turbines being launched from and manufactured in Port Talbot.“
The Freeport could also present an appealing location for firms seeking to reshore manufacturing operations with the tax benefits leading to reduced operating costs which could help reduce or eliminate any cost advantage from offshore production.
Offshoring relies upon a significant production cost differential between manufacturing the goods at home compared with offshore locations. Labour-intensive industries, in particular, have sought to take advantage of the relatively lower cost and availability of low-skilled labour overseas as a way to drive down their wage bill.
Neil Francis
Neil Francis, head of the Logistics & Industrial team at Knight Frank in Cardiff, said: “Opportunities for manufacturing growth and reshoring for Wales lie in advanced, high-value manufacturing. This is because of the post-Brexit rules of origin, the UK’s strong intellectual property rights and some of the strengths of the Welsh market, which include the availability of highly-skilled labour and low occupancy costs relative to other parts of the UK.”
Investment in manufacturing in real terms has increased 51 per cent over the past 10 years according to the Office for National Statistics, and manufacturers are estimated to occupy around 392 million sq ft of industrial floorspace in units over 50,000 sq ft across the UK, with around seven per cent of this space located in Wales.
Neil Francis said: “With manufacturing investment expected to rise 17 per cent over the next 10 years, the sector is likely to place further demands on industrial land and floorspace, as well as providing continued investment into facilities.”
—
Image of Baglan Bay, one of the areas set to benefit from the development, created by dji camera
Self-adhesive material manufacturer Nu-Coat has leased a 51,000 sq ft industrial unit at Avondale Industrial Estate in Cwmbran to enable it to expand its sales globally.
The fast-growing company was formed five years ago and its innovative products are used by the sign, display and graphics markets in the UK and Ireland. Nu-Coat had outgrown the 20,000 sq ft premises it had on Chapel Farm Industrial Estate in Cwmcarn but was keen to stay in the area and has taken a 10 year lease on Unit 4 at Avondale.
Its new factory on Avondale Industrial Estate was acquired last year by PMG, the commercial property developer behind Cardiff City Stadium and Capital retail park. It invested £500,000 in refurbishing the unit, including energy-saving initiatives, new epoxy resin floors, refurbished offices, and a new yard area. The company was advised by property consultancy Knight Frank.
PMG development director Rick Guy said: “We are delighted to have attracted a quality local company so quickly to Unit 4 which we acquired as the first step of a new drive into buoyant or undervalued sectors where we can add value. The letting to Nu-Coat completes the successful delivery of our business plan.”
Chris Martin, managing director of Nu-Coat, said: “We anticipate a lot of growth over coming years – including the creation of many new jobs – and the much larger premises at Avondale give us the capacity to expand our manufacturing capabilities and stock to enable us to grow further in the UK and also overseas.”
Nu-Coat has invested heavily in the latest coating and converting technology, housed within a clean room environment and is spending a further £300,000 to tailor the new building to its requirements.
Chris Martin added: “We are one of the very first manufacturers worldwide to have chosen UV curing technology for self-adhesive signs and graphics materials. This is a speed-curing solvent-free process in which high intensity UV-C light instantly cures the coating, saving time and money and delivering significant environmental benefits, including much lower fuel usage at the factory.”
Neil Francis, head of logistics and industrial at Knight Frank in Cardiff, said: “It is clear that occupiers of buildings of this size are no longer prepared to accept older dated accommodation. PMG reacted to the lack of Grade A space within the market by undertaking a full scope of works to transform the building into a HQ facility.”
Developer PMG has transacted on over £500m worth of commercial property over 60 different projects including student accommodation, industrial, retail and land assembly. Its major projects in south Wales include the 35,000-seat Cardiff City Football Stadium and adjoining 480,000 sq ft Capital Retail Park and Trident Industrial Park. It has also helped to develop Wales’s first 375,000 tonne waste-to-energy incinerator.
A 12-bedroom guest house on Llandudno’s seafront has been sold by the Hotel Agency team at commercial real estate firm Colliers.
Swn Y Mor Hotel is a successful, privately owned bed and breakfast located on a prime seafront location in Llandudno, Conwy. The property has 12 bedrooms, breakfast room to seat 24, along with two newly refurbished owner’s apartments.
Swn Y Mor is highly established in the area receiving a high volume of year-round tourist trade, from the local vicinity and nationwide. Llandudno is the largest seaside resort in Wales, and as early as 1861 was being called ‘the Queen of the Welsh Watering Places.
Previous owners, Chris McQuade and Steven Podmore acquired the business from their parents 10 years ago and have now sold Swn Y Mor to move to Brighton for a new business opportunity.
The hotel has been sold to Colin and Sandra Lewis, a couple from Kent whose background is in customer services. Buying a hotel has been a long-term dream for the pair and this purchase will be their first business venture together.
Sandra/Colin Lewis said: “We are over the moon to begin this next chapter of our professional lives together. We have so many exciting plans for the business and are eager to get started. We look forward to welcoming all customers into our new home when we open later this month”
Neil Thomson commented: “Swn Y Mor Hotel is a marvellous venue in a picturesque tourist destination. Searching for a coastline hotel or guest house proves to be popular for buyers, as it offers the dream for many first-time operators of the ultimate work/lifestyle balance and can prove highly profitable if run well.”
“Despite the current financial uncertainty for the UK hotel industry, we are still seeing buyers from all over the UK wanting to invest into the leisure sector, particularly throughout North Wales. Since the beginning of 2021, Colliers’ Hotels team has completed 132 hotel and associated business sales, 72 of these have been in the last 12 months further demonstrating the strength of the market.”
Winvic Construction Ltd, a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects, along with its client Edmond de Rothschild has celebrated the topping out of a 406-apartment build-to-rent project on Kent Street in the centre of Birmingham. To mark the occasion, one of the final sections of concrete was poured – an upstand to an automatic opening vent on the seventeenth-storey roof of Block A – and finished by the investment house’s leadership team and Winvic’s Director of Multi-room, Mark Jones.
The project, which comprises 154 one-bedroom, 228 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom apartments is on the former site of the Kent Street Swimming Baths. Winvic began the enabling works in April 2021 and construction works commenced in August 2021. Contained by roads on all sides, the compact site has seen the reinforced concrete slip formed cores and frames rise to seven, eight, 10 and 18 storeys since then. The 10-storey tower is on the corner of Gooch Street and Kent Street and the tallest block – which also has a basement car park for 95 vehicles – is on the corner Bromsgrove Street and Henstead Street.
Works to the roofs as well as the Steel Frame System and window installations are over halfway through their programmes across the whole project. The Winvic team is also focusing on the façade to Block D – where brick slip panels are being installed – and internal fit out to Blocks D, A and C including partitions, first fix mechanical and electrical works and the plant room.
To watch the continued progress via an on-site camera, visit Winvic Live.
The scheme will also feature green roofs, a ground floor commercial space, shared resident amenity areas and a landscaped central courtyard with community hub. Winvic is scheduled to hand over the scheme in 2024.
Mark Jones, Winvic’s Director of Multi-room, said: “It’s particularly rewarding to reach the topping out stage of a RC Framed building and we were delighted to be able to celebrate this important milestone with our client and the funders. We’ve been working as one team with Edmond de Rothschild to ensure progress is on track and the people of Birmingham will now start to see the brick slip façade envelop the buildings. I’d like to thank our team for their hard work to get to this stage. Everyone is looking forward to a productive year and final push to completion in 2024.”
Tim Holden, Edmond de Rothschild – REIM Head of Residential UK – added: “We are delighted to be developing 400 apartments for Build-to-rent in Birmingham in partnership with Winvic. This scheme is an important project in our 2,600-unit portfolio. Working with Winvic is always a good experience and the topping out is an important milestone. We look forward to reaching practical completion so that our in-house lettings and property management service can begin to let and manage this exciting place-making scheme in the centre of Birmingham. I would like to thank our investors for participating in this project and the project team that’s bringing this landmark project to fruition.”
For more information on Winvic, the company’s latest project news and job vacancies please visit www.winvic.co.uk. Join Winvic on social media – visit Twitter @WinvicLtd – and LinkedIn.
Share this:
Business in the News – the latest UK Business news from NTSI
