Property round-up: Williams Sillitoe; Taylor Wessing; Investcorp; Liverpool One; Purcell; Davies Harrison Real Estate

The Parkgate Industrial Estate property

Independent property agency, Williams Sillitoe has disposed of a 113,820 sq ft warehouse/office complex on Parkgate Industrial Estate in Cheshire for £6.3m.

Acting on behalf of the vendor, Williams Sillitoe, who were the sole agents instructed, agreed the sale to Avjon 3 Limited. Williams Sillitoe also advised Albis on its relocation to new premises at Booth Park in Knutsford.

Parkgate Industrial Estate is an established business park situated in Knutsford close to the M6 and M56 motorway networks. The complex, which sits on a 4.81 acre site, comprises five neighbouring units providing warehouse, workshop and office accommodation.

Mark Sillitoe, of Williams Sillitoe, said: “This is a significant disposal not only for us as a company but for the industrial sector, which continues to benefit from a surge in interest and investment across the country.

“We had a great deal of interest from a number of parties – both occupiers and investors – culminating in a best bids process and a great result for our client.”

Mark added: “Avjon acquired this site with the intention of breaking it up and refurbishing some of the units. As specialists in the industrial sector, their plans for this important site will positively benefit the area. Avjon is already in serious talks with potential occupiers and hopes to announce new tenants in the coming weeks.”

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Global law firm Taylor Wessing has announced the completion of its permanent office space in the Edward Pavilion building in Liverpool’s vibrant and iconic Royal Albert Dock.

The completion of the project follows the signing of a 10-year lease in February 2020 and underlines the firm’s long term commitment to the city and its communities.

Since establishing a presence in Liverpool in November 2018, Taylor Wessing has built a team of 100+ legal and business experts, and has a growing reputation as an employer of choice for outstanding talent in the region.

The firm’s office in Liverpool focuses on delivering a broad range of legal services including corporate, real estate, disputes, finance, private client and trade marks, with more areas of specialism to follow. Working with colleagues across its business operations teams in London, it also delivers critical operations, including data, IT, innovation, finance, HR and business development, digital marketing and design.

UK managing partner, Shane Gleghorn, said “We are delighted with our decision to choose Liverpool as the home for our new legal and business services operation. We are a people business and we need a pipeline of talented individuals with a wide range of skills. The depth and diversity of talent in Liverpool and the North West has been fantastic for our business.”

Partner and head of the Liverpool office, Saleem Fazal, said “We are looking forward to settling into our new space. Our Liverpool team plays a critical role in continually improving the ways in which we deliver legal and business services to our clients and the new space perfectly reflects our aspirations and values.”

Taylor Wessing serves the world’s most innovative people and businesses and wanted the design of its new office space to be distinctive and inspirational, reflecting their creative culture and long-standing commitment to the arts.

Completion of the office at Royal Albert Dock is well timed. The firm is also pleased to confirm a new corporate partnership with Tate Liverpool.

Taylor Wessing is already synonymous with the National Portrait Gallery in London and the self titled international Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. Its latest arts partnership with the Tate Liverpool, which is located only a stone’s throw from its offices in Edward Pavilion, makes a real statement of its commitment to the Liverpool community and the opportunities delivered from its ‘innovation hub’ since opening an office in 2018.

Taylor Wessing’s office space was created with the expertise and support of international independent real estate consultancy Hollis, ADT Workplace, and Manchester-based interior design studio ‘kin, who delivered an interior that showcases cutting edge technology and space that promotes teamwork and collaboration against a backdrop of imagery from the National Portrait Gallery, which the firm sponsors.

The office space and designs have already started to gain recognition, having been shortlisted for both the North West Property Awards – Fit Out Of The Year category.

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Matthew Stretton

Investcorp has completed on the purchase of Anchorage 1 and 2, a landmark office asset in Salford Quays, Manchester.

Knight Frank was appointed to sell the building by HIG Capital and Canmoor, who were the operating partner, having recently had great success with lettings in Anchorage 2 over the 12 months prior to COVID.

A high quality refurbishment of Anchorage 1 was completed by Canmoor and HIG in the fourth quarter of 2020, providing an exciting opportunity for Citivale, who will be acting as asset manager for Investcorp, to lease the remaining 28,000 sq ft of office accommodation at Anchorage 1.

Citivale is a UK asset manager and operating partner with more than £210m AUM (assets under management), focused on value-add business space investments and developments.

Rebecca Farnsworth, investment director at Citivale, said: “We are very pleased to have completed another transaction with one of our longstanding partners, Investcorp, to continue the growth of our JV.

“Anchorage offers flexible, high quality office space and best-in-class amenities at competitive rents in the dynamic media and tech focused Salford Quays market. We have already completed an expansion with existing tenant Campfire and look forward to marketing the remaining space, where we have been encouraged by the strong interest we have received.”

Matt Stretton, at Knight Frank, said: “This was a great instruction to be involved with, although marketing a part-vacant office building during lockdown provided its challenges. We needed to use every bit of experience to demonstrate how the tenants will occupy the building after lockdown and the letting prospects for the vacant accommodation.”

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Original Dog Bakery team

Grosvenor has announced the launch of The Original Dog Bakery in its first long-term trading space at Liverpool One, marking an important milestone for the local start-up.

Previously operating from a mobile tuk-tuk at the destination, The Original Dog Bakery has been supported by Liverpool One to build its profile. The up-and-coming business has reported a 56% sales increase since opening at its new kiosk on Wall Street.

Established in Liverpool, The Original Dog Bakery specialises in fresh and nutritious patisserie-style baked products, all lovingly handmade for dogs. Baked with insight into canine health and wellbeing, the bakery’s goods are all created entirely from natural ingredients, with no added salt or sugar. The kiosk’s ‘best in show’ treats range from cookies, brownies, and doughnuts, to crunchy popcorn and six-inch birthday cakes.

The opening of the Wall Street location coincides with the three business founders, Daniel Carroll, Caitlin Carroll and Eilish Clarke, leaving behind jobs in other fields to focus on the bakery concept full time.

The launch also follows the release of data from the Office for National Statistics revealing dogs as the nation’s most popular pet, with just under one in four UK households owning a dog. The figures also show that UK consumers spent almost £7.9bn on pets last year, up from £7.2bn in 2019.

Alison Clegg, managing director, asset management, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, said: “The Original Dog Bakery has been a huge hit with visitors since first introduced in its tuk-tuk configuration. We are pleased to have supported this local business in building a loyal customer base, and to have helped The Original Dog Bakery to debut in a long-term home.”

Daniel Carroll, co-founder of The Original Dog Bakery, said: “Liverpool One has played a key role in driving and supporting the rapid growth of our business since we launched less than 12 months ago, so it made sense to put down our roots at the destination. It is fantastic to have exposure to Liverpool One’s comprehensive tenant support and marketing platforms to take this step as a business, and the high level of foot traffic from our new home on Wall Street is already driving a considerable increase to our sales.”

Liverpool One and The Original Dog Bakery dealt directly.

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Cockpit House

Plans for a new creative managed workspace at Cockpit House in Prescot have taken a major step forward.

Specialist conservation-accredited architects, Purcell, has been appointed to lead on the external repair and restoration of the Grade II-listed building.

The revamp will enable the building to be brought back into use as a managed workspace for creative, maker, craft and digital industries as part of the overall regeneration of Prescot Town Centre. It will link closely and complement its new neighbour, The Shakespeare North Playhouse as a destination for visitors, and hosting a thriving community of small creative businesses.

The late 18th century building is a key part of Knowsley Council’s planned cultural and leisure town centre offer and will complement The Shakespeare North Playhouse and the soon to be regenerated Prescot Picture Palace on Kemble Street, adding further diversity to Prescot and helping to establish itself as a cultural hub and leisure destination.

It is all part of Prescot’s Heritage High Street Heritage Action Zone initiative which is bringing buildings and areas back into use and delivering cultural activities to help restore the local history and character of the town.

Alongside the physical revamp of the building, there will be an opportunity for an operator to manage the creative workspace. This opportunity is expected to be advertised this summer.

Cllr Tony Brennan, Knowsley’s cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, said: “Cockpit House is such an interesting building, with a fascinating past and origins. I’m delighted to see plans moving forward to bring the building back into use and develop it into a space that can be used creatively. Our local community is well known for being creative so I am sure this will be well received and a huge success.

“It is wonderful to see another part of our ambitious regeneration plans for Prescot coming to fruition.”

Damien Woolliscroft, senior conservation architect, Purcell, said: “We are delighted to be appointed by Knowsley Council to lead the conservation fabric repairs to Cockpit House, one of the key buildings within Knowsley’s HSHAZ programme. The external repair works will be completed in line with Historic England’s Conservation Principles and will secure the building’s future in preparation for the internal Phase 02 works.”

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Rugby Business Park

Acting on behalf of Cantt Pak, Davies Harrison Real Estate has sold a 121,128 sq ft warehouse scheme in Oldham to Aberdeen Standard Investments for an undisclosed sum, but with a net initial yield of in the region of 4.5%.

Built last year, Rugby Business Park was a speculative warehouse scheme strategically situated just off junction 21 of the M60, close to Chadderton town centre. Davies Harrison, together with retained joint letting agents, Preston O’Herlihy, let both of the two-storey warehouses, which sit on a nine acre site.

The estate comprises two brand new self-contained warehouses: Building 1 was pre-let to Sunbelt Ashtead Plant Hire and comprises 60,947 sq ft for its regional headquarters on a 15-year lease having decided to consolidate its previous operational units to move to its bespoke new unit at Rugby Business Park; Building 2, comprising 60,181 sq ft, was let to Oldham-based wet wipes manufacturer, Sachets on a 15-year lease soon after completion.

Rick Davies, of Davies Harrison Real Estate, said: “Rugby Business Park has been an extremely successful scheme due to its excellent location and the exceptional high quality specification of the build. Having originally introduced this development site to Cantt Pak and advised on the type of product that would appeal to the market, we are particularly pleased with the speed with which we were able to secure these lettings and subsequent investment sale.”

James Preston of Colliers acted on behalf of Aberdeen Standard Investments.

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