eastern counties |
COLCHESTER: ULTRAREADY FOR BUSINESS
olchester, Britain’s oldest recorded town, is transforming itself into the ideal business location offering a unique combination of business opportunities, culture and first-class education provisions. The town has optimised its setting by implementing strategies to become one of the best-connected locations in the Eastern region by improving infrastructure, securing added value employment, increasing its attraction for businesses and residents alike.
C
The town is taking an ‘infrastructure first’ approach securing direct fibre Gigabit Broadband connections in all major business parks in order to optimise their investment potential and work is currently underway on a new growth area, Colchester Northern Gateway, which has recently been awarded £5.5m funding by the government. The aspiration around the Northern Gateway is for it to become a 250 acre destination of regional significance for sport and leisure, with some 20 acres dedicated for commercial use. “We know that Colchester is a great
place to do business and we want to encourage more companies to re-locate to our town. “When companies are looking for a new location to grow their business, we want to ensure that Colchester is firmly on their radar and that they recognise we have a highly skilled and entrepreneurial workforce ready to help them achieve their goals” said Will Quince, Colchester MP. The commercial land will be situated just one mile from Colchester’s mainline rail station and will be adjacent to Junction 28 on the A12, providing the perfect opportunity for occupiers seeking a top- quality site in a highly accessible location. With prime office rents -74% of the City of London and -46% of Cambridge and average wages – 96% of the average of the UK’s major core provincial cities, Colchester is an economical and dynamic place for business.
Access to world-class research Colchester offers businesses easy access to world-class research and development in
WORK TO START ON A MAJOR SCHEME IN IPSWICH TOWN CENTRE W
ork started recently on a major scheme to bring the “wow factor” to Ipswich town centre. Local contractor Brooks & Wood is turning the Ipswich Vision
Group’s Cornhill project into reality by transforming the town’s main square. Four iconic arches, a water feature, seating and exciting new paving will turn the Cornhill into a visitor attraction in its own right and help to boost local businesses. The project is being co-ordinated by Ipswich Borough Council on behalf of the Ipswich Vision Group.
It is being funded by £1.6million from New Anglia LEP’s Growth Deal and by Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Central.
Ipswich Vision Group Chair, Terry Hunt, said: “The Cornhill is the biggest and most prominent public open space in Ipswich town centre. As such, it sets the tone for the rest of the town. So it is absolutely vital that the Cornhill has a real ‘wow factor’ for shoppers, visitors, and residents alike. This important project will give Ipswich a town square to be proud of and I am confident this work will act as a catalyst for other improvements in the town centre experience.”
Doug Field, Chairman of New Anglia Local Enterprise
Partnership, said: “The LEP is pleased to be investing in the redevelopment of the Cornhill. It will boost the economic heart of Ipswich, benefiting all who live, work or visit our county town. I look forward to seeing the project take shape over the coming months.” Meanwhile, the Ipswich town centre market is moving. Stallholders will be located by the side of the Town Hall, just a few metres from their old home, and stretch down to Giles Circus and into Queen Street.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2018
ondonMetric Property Plc (“LondonMetric”) announces that it has exchanged contracts on the letting of the two final units at its Martlesham Heath Retail Park in Ipswich. Mountain Warehouse and Card Factory have agreed new leases on a subdivision of the existing Topps Tiles unit. It follows previous lettings agreed with Hobbycraft, Shoezone and Poundland, as well as with M&S for an extended 20,000 sq ft Foodhall.
L These lettings have transformed the 47,800 sq ft scheme,
where average rents have increased from £16.50 psf to £25.60 psf, total income has risen by 73% to £1.2 million per annum and average lease lengths have been extended to 12 years. The Park has delivered an ungeared total return of 12% per annum since acquisition in 2013. LondonMetric has also recently completed a new 31,000 sq
ft retail development on an adjoining site, which is fully let to Wickes, Evans Cycles and Topps Tiles. Mark Stirling, Property Director at LondonMetric,
commented: “The retail market continues to polarise with retailer interest focusing almost exclusively on strong shopping locations with affordable rents. Our lettings at Ipswich reflect the strong occupier appeal of this location and our asset management abilities in securing new retailers, at favourable rents and on long leases.”
27
areas including data science, robotics and artificial intelligence, as well as excellent employment, education and training opportunities. The University of Essex is ranked in the top 20 in the UK for research and for education, and produces 4,500 graduates a year.
The town has also become popular for
start-ups as the Innovation Centre at the University of Essex’s new Innovation Centre will provide workspace and hands-on support to help 50 start-up companies to scale-up and succeed when it opens later this year. Businesses in the creative sector are also benefitting from the creative business centre at 37 Queen Street run by SPACE Studios, a leading operator of creative business space in and around London. “Colchester is very well connected. It is close to London, which is handy for some of our tenants, but it is also a town with a strong identity of its own. It has an interesting creative community already, although it is under the radar” said Anna Harding, Chief Executive, SPACE Studios.
LONDONMETRIC COMPLETES REPOSITIONING OF ITS IPSWICH RETAIL PARK WITH TWO FURTHER LETTINGS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
