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First deal signed for Halo, set to be one of the UK’s greenest office buildings The South West


Cubex, funded by Fiera Real Estate, has secured a significant pre-let for Halo, its landmark green office building that will form the next phase of award-winning Finzels Reach in Bristol.


Osborne Clarke will move its Bristol office from its current location in Temple Quay to Halo. Bristol developer Cubex bought the former Avon Fire & Rescue site, which will be home to the next phase of Finzels Reach, in 2018 on behalf of Fiera Real Estate Opportunity Fund IV (UK), a programmatic joint venture by Fiera Real Estate that is exclusive to clients of CBRE Global Investment Partners (CBRE GIP).


Halo will be one of Bristol's most innovative office buildings and will help cement Osborne Clarke's reputation as a leading technology law firm; it was the first UK law firm to open an office in Silicon Valley 20 years ago.


The UK continues to be a strong powerbase for Osborne Clarke which over the last three years has demonstrated impressive year-on-year financial growth.


UK revenues surpassed £150M for the first time in 2019.


Osborne Clarke has agreed to take nearly two thirds of Halo - 74,000 sq ft - two years ahead of its completion. The firm will relocate 600 staff from its Temple Quay office into the leading-edge, smart workspace at Halo, taking the top five floors including a private roof terrace.


The deal represents one of the most significant pre-let deals in Bristol over the past year. Osborne Clarke has signed a 12-year lease at £35.50 per sq ft for four floors and £36.50 per sq ft for the top floor with roof terrace.


Halo is a smart Grade A office building of 116,000 sq ft being developed by Cubex and funded by Fiera Real Estate. It is being constructed across the road from the first phase of Finzels Reach, a growing city centre quarter acknowledged as one of Bristol’s most successful regeneration


projects. Halo is set to be one of the greenest office buildings in the UK, targeting a BREEAM Outstanding accreditation to meet the toughest new sustainability assessment criteria.


It will take a similar design approach to Aurora at Finzels Reach, which was also recognised for its stand-out environmental and digital credentials.


Before choosing Halo, Osborne Clarke carried out an extensive employee consolation to ensure any new office would meet the needs of its people. Osborne Clarke has consistently been recognised for its outstanding culture by legal website RollOnFriday and at the Managing Partner Forum Awards.


In line with these values, the new building will have a greater focus on employee wellbeing, with key features including the outdoor space on the rooftop, a bike park, and a glazed façade to maximise views and allow daylight to fill the space.


Halo's modern features will complement Osborne Clarke's future- focused brand. Halo features a unique corkscrew-like staircase rising up through a glass atrium, with highly efficient LED lighting, roof-top mounted photovoltaic panels – and even a drone landing pad.


The building's modern design will maximise space with excellent digital connectivity, allowing Osborne Clarke's employees to move to a ‘connected working’ style, which has already been adopted in its London and Reading offices.


Knight Frank and Lambert Smith Hampton are the lettings agents on Halo. Morton Property Consultants advised Osborne Clarke on the deal.


Fund manager Fiera Real Estate has provided the finance for Cubex for the next phase of Finzels Reach, following their successful partnership on the first phase.


New Development Manager Joins Bristol Developer Cube


Bristol developer Cubex has appointed a new member of the team as it looks ahead to new development opportunities.


Sarah Trahair-Williams


Sarah Trahair-Williams has joined Cubex as development manager, having worked for the past 5 years as a senior project manager at Turner & Townsend, where key projects included Dyson's campus at Malmesbury and IAAPS, University of Bath's new automotive testing facility.


She started her career at Faithful + Gould after having achieved two degrees: architecture at University of Nottingham followed by commercial management and quantity surveying at Loughborough University.


Sarah joins Cubex at an exciting time for the business as it looks forward to new opportunities for development across the South West and South Wales.


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The appointment follows the promotion of Elgan Jones, previously development manager at Cubex, to associate director.


Cubex and investor PfP Capital last year formed a new strategic partnership to bring forward development opportunities, initially around the Frome Gateway area of Bristol city centre, with future opportunities expected across the region over the longer term.


The developer is also pressing ahead with the construction of phase two of Finzels Reach, an award-winning new neighbourhood that has attracted widespread recognition as one of the city's most successful regeneration projects.


One of Sarah's key initial focuses will be on Halo, its landmark new smart office scheme that is set to be one of the greenest office buildings in the UK.


Sarah said: "Cubex's reputation precedes itself as a leading Bristol developer with an impressive track record of delivery in the city and across the region, so it was a no brainer for me to join its highly experienced team. Cubex focuses on creating not just buildings, but thriving mixed, balanced communities and places that really work for people - and that ethos was a key draw for me."


COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2020


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