Property round-up: IDH takes on Bethell HQ; M&S sticks with Lowry Outlet Mall; and more

INTEGRATED Dental Holdings (IDH), the Bolton-based operator of dental surgeries, has taken the 18,000 sq ft Europa House building at Stoneclough Road in Kearsley, near Bolton, for its new headquarters.

The company, which was acquired by Carlyle Group in a £450m deal back in January, has taken an assignment on the lease  of the building from Bethell Group –  the civil engineering firm owned by Tim Kilroe. It had previously operated its own headoffice from the building.

IDH has relocated from the nearby Sunset Business Park and will refurbish the offices to provide more space for staff. It was advised on the assignment by the Manchester office of Colliers.

The firm’s director of offices, Rupert Barron, said: “This is one of the largest office deals in the Bolton area so far this year and we were obviously delighted to facilitate the move for IDH and secure a new home for this increasingly successful business.”

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BAM Properties has let 18,000 sq ft of space at its Metro building in Salford Quays to Australian consulting engineer Sinclair Knight Merz.

The practice is merging two existing offices at Manchester and Salford Quays. It will initially occupy 12,500 sq ft on a 12-year lease and will take the remaining space by late 2013.

Neil Mort, BAM Properties’ northern development manager, said: “It’s great news for Metro and we are delighted to welcome SKM.  

“It is an indication of the more positive outlook which is emerging within the north-west business community and certainly reflects the increase in the number of serious enquiries we have been receiving.”

The six-storey Metro building comprises a total of 72,500 sq ft and was the first office building outside Manchester City centre to achieve an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating.  

Joint letting agents CBRE and Canning O’Neill acted for BAM Properties. The tenant was unrepresented.

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ARCHITECTS Austin-Smith:Lord has completed work on a £5.3 million sixth form centre in Accrington.

The new three-storey building, at St Christopher’s High School, contains a number of sustainable design features which led to the building being granted a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating.

It will generate more than 20% of its energy onsite through ground-source heat pumps and will use rainwater harvesting to provide water for toilet use, significantly lowering its carbon footprint.

Natural ventilation and day lighting have also been placed at the heart of the design, meaning  the building will have significantly lower running costs.

The 270-place college has two three-storey blocks joined by a glazed circulation area featuring classrooms, laboratories and a 2,000 sq ft multi-purpose hall. Two roof gardens will also provide an open-air teaching environment and a student recreation area.  

Austin-Smith:Lord developed the plans with the school and The Diocese of Blackburn in conjunction with EC Harris, as part of its ongoing role on the Diocese of Blackburn Education Framework.

Chris Wright, project director at Austin-Smith:Lord, said: “The finished sixth form centre has  delivered on St Christopher’s vision for a flexible, 21st Century teaching facility that places student learning at the forefront of everything.

“Working with the school and the Diocese of Blackburn has been a very rewarding experience for the team and we look forward to continuing this successful relationship during this framework and beyond”.

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PROPERTY consultant Smith and Sons has sold 1 Hickmans Road in Birkenhead to Kent-based Darcy Spillcare.

The 27,000 sq ft warehouse and office facility sits on a one acre site next to Peel Holdings Wirral Waters development. Darcy Spillcare is planning to relocate its manufacturing arm to the site as part of a wider expansion plan.

Sean Seery of Smith and Sons said: “It’s great to see Wirral recognised by a southern-based business as the ideal location for a business move in terms of manufacturing.

“Darcy Spillcare was very clear on the type of commercial property and site that they needed and we are pleased to have worked alongside them to secure the sale of this fantastic facility.

“Wirral offers a wealth of opportunity in terms of commercial property and 1 Hickmans Road is a large site providing extensive internal floor space and external storage and carriage area.”

Darcy Spillcare’s new site is expected to open in September 2011.

Richard Proctor of Darcy Spillcare said: “The opening of this new manufacturing facility stems from Darcy’s growth over the last few years and will enable us to meet with the ever increasing demands for our growing range of Environmental Protection products and services.

“By making this move we hope to speed up our supply times, increase our product range and enhance research and development facilities. Overall, we believe our launch of the Birkenhead site will improved efficiency and overall allow us to deliver even better customer care.”

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ROYAL London Asset Management has completed infrastructure work at the 52-acre Atlantic Park site in Sefton.

The firm received £4.7m in funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the NWDA last September to complete the works on the basis that it could attract up to 1,500 jobs and significant amounts of private sector investment to the area.

The project has been completed by civil engineering company Lagan Construction.

Works included the upgrade and installation of a new high voltage electrical system with enhanced capacity, new gas distribution system, water and fire mains and a site-wide network of fibre-optic cable ducts which will accommodate the most up to date communication technology and future-proof the site.

A spine-road system was also built throughout the park as well as a second controlled access road, which links with Bridal Road and puts Atlantic Park within ten minutes’ reach of Aintree train station.  

Acoustic boundary fencing and extensive landscaping have also been installed across the site, alongside new barrier controls, CCTV systems and low energy street lighting.

Office buildings already complete on the site including the 46,000 sq ft Alaska House, 35,000 sq ft Caspian House and The Big Ft, which has 320,000 sq ft of industrial space to let, making it one of the largest industrial buildings in the region with space available to let.

Rob Currie from Industrial Securities, the development managers acting on behalf of site owners Royal London Asset Management, said: “This project has made Atlantic Park a development-ready site. The finished product will have broad appeal to a wide range of potential occupiers.”

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HIGH street retailer Marks & Spencer has renewed its lease with the Lowry Outlet Mall and signed another 10-year deal for its Marks & Spencer Outlet store.

The scheme, which is owned by South Manchester-based developer Orbit, said that it had bucked high street trends by achieving sales increases of 8.4% over the past 12 months. Footfall for 2011 is also up 6.8% on the start of the year.

Centre Manager Robert Hallworth said: “We are thrilled that M&S has signed up for another 10 years of trading with the centre.

“With MediacityUK, one of the UK’s largest developments, being next door to the centre, this will also give the Mall a boost in sales and footfall for years to come and M&S are very keen to capitalize on this market.”

“Our tenants have already seen an uplift from MediacityUK’s workers and residents that are on-site now. As the Lowry Outlet Mall has the biggest retail offering on the Quays, we are in a prime position to take advantage of the growing opportunities in this area.”

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NETWORK Space – the joint venture development company between Langtree Group and the Homes and Communities Agency – has let 3,374 sq ft of office space at its i2 building on Oakham Business Park in Mansfield to motor claims handling firm WNS Assistance.

WNS Assistance (WNSA) has taken the space on a five-year lease.

Tim Rankin, managing director at WNSA, said: “We selected the site because it is strategically placed in relation to our other offices located in Ipswich and Cheadle, and we are able to utilise the wealth of property claims expertise which has traditionally been located in the area.  

“i2 at Mansfield is therefore the natural place for WNSA to locate the new property claims business, the accommodation suits the size of our business now, but also offers us the potential to expand as the business grows.”

Joint letting agents for the scheme are Innes England and Jones Lang LaSalle.
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Waters Corporation has appointed Liverpool-based design agency Uniform to support the launch of its new £60m, 37-acre mass spectometry site at Wilmslow, close to Manchester airport.

Uniform prepared a film on Waters’ behalf outlining plans for the new facility to the American Society for Mass Spectrometry conference in Denver and is currently developing a book for the company.

Claire Sharp, marketing communications manager of Waters, said: “The new Manchester centre is one of the most significant investments in the company’s recent history – we needed an agency capable of bringing the story to life.

“The finished product was creative and imaginative and has inspired our staff and customers.”

The centre will be complete in 2013 and will employ 500 staff – many of whom are relocating from nearby sites.

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BRUNTWOOD has taken on two new tenants in Liverpool.

Property recruitment firm Caroline Kingsley Holdings has taken space in The Plaza building, while video production firm Paintbox Art Media have taken space at the Grade II listed Queen Insurance Buildings. The combined space let to the pair equates to around 2,000 sq ft.

Caroline Kingsley said: “Kingsley Associates are delighted to join Bruntwood at The Plaza. The customer service team are both welcoming and accommodating; ensuring the transition of our expanding recruitment consultancy was as smooth as possible. “

David Seddon, sales surveyor at Bruntwood, said: “These lettings demonstrate Bruntwood’s capacity to meet a variety of business needs.”