Property briefs: Next; Thermo Fisher; Panacea & more
LOWRY Outlet at MediaCityUK in Salford has revealed fashion retail giant Next as its latest signing.
The store, set to open in early November, will be its second Next outlet store in the Manchester area.
The 11,000 sq ft store will offer womenswear, menswear and childrenswear, as well as a Lipsy concession.
Joining its collection of 80 other retailers, the new Next Outlet will offer savings of up to 70% off RRP all year round.
Lowry leasing director Adrian Wright said: “Next will be a very exciting addition to Lowry Outlet, with a beautifully fitted new store offering leading fashion from one of Britain’s favourite retailers.
“The outlet has seen its footfall figures rising year on year and with the arrival of Next, we hope to welcome many more shoppers through our doors”.
A Next spokesperson said: “We are delighted to be opening this new store in the prime retail location of Lowry Outlet. We’ll be able to offer a huge variety of products to our customers at discounted prices”.
Next will join other fashion outlets including M&S, Gap, AX Paris and Clarks, with shoppers also discovering brands including Molton Brown, Yankee Candle and The Body Shop.
The waterside shopping and leisure complex boasts 80 stores, restaurants and cafes, and a huge selection of fashion, gifts and homeware, plus an on-site multi-screen Vue Cinema. A food court seating 400, seven Plaza restaurants and an on-site Virgin Active Gym adds to the leisure mix.
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MULTINATIONAL biotech specialist Thermo Fisher has committed to a new 10-year tenure at Altrincham Business Park, near Manchester, in a lease regear.
Frogmore, represented by Savills, agreed the deal for the 14,718sq ft space where Thermo Fisher has been a tenant since 1990.
The agreement follows four office lettings totalling 15,795sq ft at the scheme over the last 18 months to Lakesmere, Factory Transmedia, Bowdon Group and Trant Construction.
The Park offers 85,000sq ft of high specification business accommodation in self-contained buildings of varying sizes in a landscaped environment.
A new Asda superstore is due to open adjacent to the scheme this month, further improving amenities and the park’s profile.
Richard Lowe, associate director of office agency at Savills, said: “Altrincham Business Park continues to attract significant interest thanks to the quality of the self-contained buildings, associated branding opportunities and ample car parking. Thermo Fisher has been a key tenant for a number of years and we are pleased the firm has reconfirmed its commitment to the Park.”
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PLANNING permission has been granted for Manchester-based property developer Panacea Property Development’s landmark Forth Banks PRS scheme in the centre of Newcastle.
The development, comprising 280 residential apartments in three blocks, is located close to the city’s Central Station and adjacent to the Stephenson Quarter.
It represents the city’s first PRS development built specifically for the private rental market.
The three apartment blocks will contain a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments with 111 apartments in block one, 114 apartments in block two and 55 apartments in block three. The scheme will also be supported by a 3,000 sq ft retail unit located on the ground floor of block one.
The Forth Banks scheme is expected to start on site in the first quarter of 2016 on a currently underutilised brownfield site with a modern, high quality residential scheme that will create a highly sustainable location that is close to both Newcastle city centre and a wide range of services and amenities.
Neil Patten of Panacea said: “The Forth Banks scheme is a marker for Newcastle City Council to demonstrate support for PRS.
“The scheme will not only provide the catalyst for further private investment into the city but will also improve the existing range of accommodation that is available to young professionals and graduates, attracting in the region of 512 residents into the city centre generating additional economic benefits.”
Zerum acted as planning adviser to Panacea. Leach Rhodes Walker is the architect for the scheme.
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A DEVELOPING network of schools and academies has bought Vortex House office building at Liverpool’s Wavertree Technology Park in the biggest sale in the city this year.
Northern Trust announced its had sold the 22,900sq ft space to the Lydiate Learning Trust.
Northern Trust director Tom Parkinson said: “This was an exciting new use for the Wavertree Technology Park and Vortex House will be used as a studio school, funded by the state, and will offer business and technology courses to 14 to 19 year olds, as well as classes in engineering, accountancy and textiles.
“It opens this month and the concept is to provide young people with a better, more practical understanding of the world of work before they leave education.”
Sarah Gregg, the new school’s marketing manager said; “The launch of Studio@Deyes is fantastically exciting for the region and we are very proud of the innovative new school we are creating.”
Andrew Byrne, senior surveyor at CBRE’s Liverpool office added: “We are delighted to act on behalf of Northern Trust Company Ltd in the sale of Vortex House which represents the largest sale within Merseyside this year.”
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PLANS to build 25 new homes in the Fylde village of Little Eccleston, Lancashire have been given the go ahead.
Lancashire-based planning consultancy PWA Planning and Stanton Andrews Architects have gained permission for the development at the 4.6 acre former nurseries site on behalf of the landowner.
Seven of the 25 properties planned for the site in Garstang Road will be affordable homes.
Daniel Hughes, senior planner at PWA Planning, said: “This project will see a brownfield site that’s already been heavily developed upon transformed into a high-quality, sustainable housing scheme. It will provide a significant boost to the supply of new homes in Little Eccleston.
“As with any proposal to build new homes in a rural area, there have been objections, but we have worked closely with the local authority planning team to allay any concerns and ensure we’re bringing forward a viable development.”
The indicative site layout and house types have been designed by Stanton Andrews Architects, which has offices in Clitheroe and Lytham.
Charles Stanton, of Stanton Andrews, added: “The homes have been designed to complement the rural character of the local area while adopting contemporary development strategies. The existing pond on the site will be retained as a key feature of the development and integrated into a wildlife garden, landscaped swale and shared surfaces for vehicles and pedestrians.”
The site lies on the western edge of Little Eccleston, yet the development is designed to provide good pedestrian connectivity to the village of Great Eccleston just 500 metres away.
The plans were approved by Fylde Borough Council, subject to agreement on a Section 106 agreement for the provision of affordable homes as part of the development.
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MANCHESTER commercial law firm Kuits has advised Tunstall Properties 1 Limited and Tunstall Properties 2 Limited on the sale of its portfolio at the Jasper Square retail park in Stoke-on-Trent for £11m.
The Jasper Square retail park in Tunstall was built on the site of the former Wedgwood Alexandra pottery works and is home to big brands such as Matalan, Next and Argos.
It has now been sold to Real Estate Investors plc (REI plc), a publicly quoted property investment company with a portfolio of more than £100m million in commercial and residential properties focused around Birmingham and the Midlands.
Kuits has also advised Ebsett Care on the purchase of the entire issued share capital of Futurewise Properties Limited.
The transaction includes the purchase of St Clare House, a 29-bed purpose-built care home with dementia-friendly facilities based in Hull.
Ebsett Care was founded last year by brothers Ashley and Julian Jones. Kuits provided the owners with a bespoke commercial service incorporating integrated corporate and commercial property advice.
Corporate associate Helen Mather led the transaction, while commercial property partner Stephen Lopeman advised on the property-related provisions.
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MANCHESTER-based property investment and development company MCR Property has expanded its commercial property portfolio in Birmingham with the acquisition of a 17-storey edge-of-centre office building.
The acquisition of Cobalt Square, on Hagley Road, Edgbaston is the second city-based deal completed by the Manchester-based company this year following its multi-million pound purchase of Monaco House on Bristol Street from Tesco after the supermarket retailer shelved plans for a new store on the site.
The value of the Cobalt Square purchase has not been disclosed. MCR has said it plans to use one of the floors as its new Birmingham base.
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COMMERCIAL property consultant Legat Owen Incorporating Lamont has announced the letting of an industrial building at Lancaster Fields in Crewe to Hough Green Garages.
This is after the company secured a contract with Cheshire Police.
The road recovery service operator has taken units C and D, measuring approximately 20,000sq ft, on a 10-year lease at £4.30 per sq ft.
The building occupies a prominent location on Lancaster Fields, which is a feeder road off Gateway, the main thoroughfare through Crewe Gates Industrial Estate.
Headquartered in Widnes, the family run company has a 40-strong fleet and operates from three additional depots in Deeside, Preston, and The Wirral.
The deal comes after the unit became vacant earlier this year.
Hough Green Garages was unrepresented.
Legat Owen (Incorporating Lamont) acted on behalf of a Liverpool-based private property company.
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CONTRACTORS have started work on a £3.6m advanced manufacturing technology centre based at Furness College in Barrow.
The project, overseen by Lancaster-based Harrison Pitt Architects, will boost engineering and advanced manufacturing expertise throughout the county by enabling the college to train up to 1,150 apprentices at any one time.
The 14,000sq ft centre will host engineering and advanced manufacturing research, rapid prototyping and high voltage test laboratories.
It will provide a realistic learning environment for those completing science, technology and engineering-related apprenticeships at some of the area’s biggest employers, including BAE Systems, Siemens, GlaxoSmithKline, Kimberly Clark and Centrica.
Zoe Hooton, an architect at Harrison Pitt Architects, said: “The design of the centre mimics the facilities used by leading international manufacturers with sites in Cumbria, so it will provide students with the specialist transferable skillset needed to succeed in the sector.”
Maryport-based Thomas Armstrong Construction Ltd, which specialises in the construction of building and civil engineering projects, is building the scheme on behalf of Harrison Pitt Architects.
George Smith, contracts manager at Thomas Armstrong, said: “The expansion plans of some of the area’s top manufacturers, including Siemens in Ulverston and the new biopharma plant at GlaxoSmithKline, means that demand for skilled workers is going to surge even more.”
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A GLOBAL software company is to open a new base at Sci-Tech Daresbury, the North West’s leading science and innovation business location.
US-headquartered Flexera Software, which has offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, is to take 4,848sq ft of office space at Sci-Tech Daresbury’s Vanguard House.
The company is one of the world’s leading providers of innovative solutions to software producers, high-tech manufacturers, businesses and public sector organisations.
It expects to employ around 30 people at its new Cheshire base.
Sci-Tech Daresbury is a private-public joint venture partnership between developer Langtree Property Partners, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Halton Borough Council.
The site, which has Enterprise Zone status, is home to technology businesses and globally significant science facilities.
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AN ambitious specialist investment firm which has doubled the value of funds under its influence in the last 12 months has relocated its head office.
Deepbridge Capital, which increased the value of funds under influence to £40m during the last year, has moved in to a 4,500 sq ft office at the Honeycomb Chester business community.
The company, which has also expanded from five to 20 employees over the last 18 months, had outgrown its previous head office at Regus House on the Chester Business Park.
Founded in 2010, Deepbridge Capital provides tax-efficient investments propositions to financial advisers and private investors, in the life science, technology and renewable energy sectors.
The move to Honeycomb Chester has been brokered through Chester commercial property agents Beresford Adams Commercial and Legat Owen.
