| the south west
AN INSIGHT INTO THE SOUTH WEST MARKET I
n the months leading up to this publication the City of Bath has seen an increasingly short supply of high quality, open plan office space and an almost total lack of industrial stock coming to market. This has resulted in inflationary pressures on rental values in both instances, which would appear to be characteristic of the wider South West region. Looking at
Bath in particular, the Quays
Rupert Bendell MRICS FAAV
development by Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) Council, which was intended to
relieve supply pressures, is still yet to materialise. The absence of new office supply has been compounded by the relaxation in permitted development rights meaning the area’s office stock is being further reduced as it is converted to residential use.
Earlier this year Colston & Colston sold
Viper, which was recently awarded the title of 2017 West of England Business of the Year for its innovative technological advancements to the subsea oil and gas industry, first moved to the business park in 2014 after outgrowing its previous premises in Portishead.
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It first leased Unit 3a but following rapid expansion of both its product range and staff numbers, it has expanded its headquarters operation by leasing an additional 2,008 sq.ft in the adjacent Unit 3b. It now occupies approximately 8,100 sq.ft across both units. Tom Dugay, associate at Alder King, commented: “It’s been very satisfying to witness Viper’s progression from its early days on the business park to the thriving and highly innovative company it is today.”
HQ CONVERSION F
estival proprietors The Circus of Boom is taking over the former Trimite building off Feeder Road in Bristol as a new headquarters.
The highly contemporary arts and music stage set pioneers have appointed fast-growing Bristol builders Helm Construction to convert the former powder coating plant. Helm Construction Chief Executive Gary Sheppard said: “The old
Trimite building will make a fantastic permanent base for the Circus of Boom – which moves from venue to venue staging some amazing shows in front of the biggest audiences. “Their eye-catching stages are in demand for shows and their own festivals across the country.” The prominent Trimite building offers six and a half thousand sq ft of space with a pitched roof of almost ten metres – enough to house the most ambitious set designs.
78 B
by Rupert Bendell MRICS FAAV, Chartered Surveyor – Colston & Colston let market.
Lymore Gardens, a former light industrial workshop in the Oldfield Park area of Bath, to a residential developer for conversion to several flats.
At the time of writing, Colston & Colston are in the process of selling a 9,500 sq.ft approx. mixed used redevelopment opportunity in the City centre, which is likely to be converted in a similar vein.
Both of these examples are typical of commercial space being converted to residential purposes in the City, which is not surprising given the disparity between commercial and residential sale values in the current market.
Added to this, on the industrial side,
Bath’s secondary industrial property is rapidly being demolished to make way for student accommodation for the growing Bath and Bath Spa Universities. Other items of note in the City include the opening of the Apex Hotel (among others) and a casino that is currently under construction. These developments will continue to attract custom to the City, helping to serve the ever-growing holiday
VIPER’S EXPANSION
lder King have let the last remaining office suite at Marine View Office Park to existing occupier Viper Innovations.
eal estate investment company, Skelton Group has secured a trio of lettings at the Almondsbury Business Centre after having only acquired the investment earlier this year.
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The business park comprises nine modern office buildings in a mature landscaped setting, with ample car parking, situated in a prime position at the M4/M5 motorway interchange to the north of Bristol City Centre. Existing occupiers include Vistair, April UK, Novus and Happy Days Nursery.
The trio of lettings includes the grant of a new five year lease of the entire ground floor (3,203 sq.ft) of Linden House to one of the country’s leading players in the building services market, Briggs and Forester, who are moving their Bristol HQ from Warmley to Almondsbury Business Centre, providing greatly improved transport links, car parking and better quality open plan working space for their technical and support staff.
SALE OF THE SUBSTANTIAL HQ OFFICE IN YATE
urston Cook have recently disposed of Challenge House, which is a substantial office of approximately 3,000 sq ft,
located a short drive away from the railway station. The property has been bought by Genie Care Homes, which is
a family owned business, who have been providing high quality care for the elderly for over 20 years. Finola Ingham of Burston Cook to comment:- “This is one of the largest office sales that has been
transacted in Yate this year and the purchase of the property will provide Genie Care Homes with a substantial new HQ office to allow them to continue and operate their care home business in and around the Bristol area”
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2017
Given the changes in the local market place, Colston & Colston are growing to offer a wider range of in-house services to a growing client base. We have sought to diversify our services in the form of Rupert Bendell MRICS FAAV, who joins the team to provide advice to commercial property owners, landowners and developers in respect of planning matters, development agreements and rural professional services. Joe Brennan MRICS also joins to provide a range of commercial property building surveying services such as building surveys, dilapidations, design, AutoCAD, project management and insurance reinstatement cost assessments.
Despite the difficulties posed by the above and the uncertain macro-economic climate, the robustness and
innovativeness of the local commercial and development markets, together with the growing range of services we offer, mean that we are optimistic in our outlook for the year ahead.
ALMONDSBURY BUSINESS CENTRE
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