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CARDIFF BASED COMMERCIAL LAW FIRM GOING PLACES


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erry Smith is a well-established, Cardiff based commercial law firm comprising 10 partners and approximately 80 staff with offices also in Bridgend and London. Commercial Property has always formed a significant proportion of the practice since the firm was originally set up more than thirty years ago.


The Commercial Property team, 18 in total, is headed by three leading individuals, partners Martin Pursall and Chris Jones and consultant Roger Berry, who are all recommended in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners legal directories. It also includes a very experienced team of senior associates together with other qualified solicitors so every client has access to a high level of expertise and knowledge. It is a strong local practice specialising in all aspects of commercial property work, in particular development work and commercial lending, offering a much higher personal partner involvement in fee earning work than the majority of our peers.


The firm aims to provide a quick and


direct service, in the large part, on a fixed fee basis, appealing to entrepreneurial


clients who value more than simply receiving legal advice but also strategic direction on their commercial decisions. It is on the respective panels for secured lending legal services of various commercial lending institutions including Principality Commercial, Hodge Bank, HSBC, Santander and the Development


property matters. The Commercial Property


team works for a broad range of clients including developers, banks, investors, landlords, tenants, house builders, retailers and local authorities.


Bank of Wales. The firm is also on the National Procurement Service Legal Services Framework Agreement enabling it to act for the Welsh Government, Welsh local authorities and other public- sector organisations on commercial


VECTOS EXPANDS IN HELMONT HOUSE G


rowing transport planning consultancy Vectos has expanded its Cardiff office. The company has moved to larger offices at Helmont House, fronting Churchill Way in central Cardiff, where it has occupied space since 2011. Vectos has signed a new five year lease on the prominent 1,766 sq.ft office suite on the ground floor. Helmont House is owned by Lancashire County Pension Fund, client of Knight Frank Investment Management (KFIM). Vectos provides transport planning and infrastructure design services to the property development industry. Some of its many Cardiff projects include many of the large strategic housing sites in Cardiff where Vectos provided transport planning advice through the design stages and a detailed


Transport Assessment and Travel Plan to support the various planning applications. It has offices in London, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, and Exeter. Mark Sutton, Partner in Knight Frank’s office agency team in


Cardiff, said: “Comprehensively refurbished in 2009 and with office accommodation over 12 floors, Helmont House is a popular choice for occupiers. With the building occupancy now standing at 96 per cent, the remaining suites present an opportunity for smaller occupiers to secure Grade A city centre office space. There are currently opportunities to suit businesses with five to 15 staff and available suites on the 10th floor - 1,000 sq.ft - and part ground floor - 696 sq.ft.”


Tim Lawley of joint agents Cooke & Arkwright added: “The generous on site car parking is a key part of the offering at Helmont House.”


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A significant example of transactions during the year was acting for car finance provider FirstRand Bank Limited (T/A MotoNovo Finance) in their acquisition of a new 15-year Lease of Ground to Fourth Floors (71,000 square feet) at One Central Square, Cardiff as part of the new Flagship City Centre Office Development. The Commercial Property team works for a broad range of clients including developers, banks, investors, landlords, tenants, house builders, retailers and local authorities. It also acts in conjunction with colleagues in the Corporate, Commercial and Dispute Resolution departments, providing the property support aspects of corporate, insolvency and litigation transactions.


For further details, please contact Martin Pursall, Commercial Property Partner, at Berry Smith on 029 2034 5511, mpursall@berrysmith.com or visit our website berrysmith.com


19% YEAR-ON-YEAR RISE FOR CARDIFF LETTINGS


ommercial office lettings in Cardiff are up 19% on the same quarter last year, according to new figures released by leading property agent Cooke & Arkwright. The data, gathered by the Cardiff Commercial Property


Forum, shows that total space leased in the third quarter of 2017 was 363,752 sq. ft., compared with 187,775 sq.ft. for the same period last year. It brings the total space leased for 2017 to date to 575,706


sq.ft. Notably, the quarter’s increase was driven by the biggest


ever office letting in Wales to date – 266,000 sq.ft. at 6 Central Square to the Government Property Unit, which accounted for almost 75% of the take-up for Cardiff. City centre locations accounted for 333,679 sq.ft, compared


with out of town locations which accounted for 17, 921 sq.ft. Overall, 20% take-up was Grade B office stock, and 80% Grade A. Aside from HMRC, significant lettings for the quarter


included Friary House to Cardiff University, Brunel House to Legal and General, and Callaghan Square to Aon Benfield. Smaller Cardiff Bay lettings included Drake Walk to


Rockadove, and Mount Stuart Square to Cinemattic. Tim Lawley, Associate Director at Cooke & Arkwright, specialising in office and industrial agency, said: “It’s been an unprecedented bumper two-year period for Cardiff, largely due to the major city centre office developments, and landmark lettings to the likes of the BBC, Motonovo, and Hugh James. “Similarly, the substantial GPU pre-let to accommodate the


HMRC relocation from Llanishen in 2020 has had a major impact on the figures for this quarter, and for the year as a whole. If it wasn’t for this deal, the year’s outcome would look very different.”


COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2017


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