Property round-up: Prime PC; Urban Logistics; Moxy Hotel; Williamson & Croft; Peel L&P; Horwich Loco Works
Prime Property Consultancy has signed Freedom from Torture to a five-year lease on the 5,000 sq ft ground floor of the building, located on the fringes of Manchester city centre.
Prime oversaw a comprehensive refurbishment of the 10,000 sq ft detached office building in 2020, and occupies the first floor itself, meaning that the building is now fully let.
The refurbished Chichester House now benefits from aluminium glazing, air conditioning throughout, a secure car park and onsite gym.
Commercial director for Prime Property Consultancy, Imran Younus, said: “Another week and another deal for Prime.
“We are especially pleased with this letting as the building we occupy is now fully let and we have gone that extra mile to help a charity whose work we greatly admire.”
Freedom from Torture is a British-registered charity providing therapeutic care for survivors of torture who seek protection in the UK.
Since it was established in 1985, more than 57,000 survivors of torture have been referred to the organisation for help. Now working from five centres across the UK, it is one of the world’s largest torture treatment organisations.
Sixteen Real Estate and Canning O’Neill acted as joint agents on the instruction. Ray Smith, of Kuits, acted for the landlord on the lease.
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Urban Logistics has acquired a site in Golborne, in a £13.3m deal which will forward fund the redevelopment of the site.
This will be a full redevelopment of an existing logistics property, once completed resulting in a new building of 120,750 sq ft. The new building will be EPC A rated and the development will be BREEAM rated ‘excellent’.
The REIT company is actively pursuing an attractive pre-let opportunity. It also announced the purchase of a site in Letchworth for £1.8m.
Richard Moffitt, Urban Logistics chief executive, said: “We are delighted to announce these latest acquisitions, which once again demonstrate our team’s expertise and deep sector knowledge in successfully acquiring high quality assets in off-market transactions at an attractive blended net initial yield of 6.0%.
“The acquisitions fit into our strategy to acquire medium-sized last mile assets with excellent transport links in areas with strong demand, attracting robust tenants.”
He added: “As anticipated, we continue to see strong market fundamentals and significant opportunities to provide additional value for shareholders through our active asset management approach.”
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Moxy Hotel, Spinningfields
Moxy Manchester City, a Marriott concept from KE Hotels, will open its doors next month (November) to bring more style and socialising to Manchester’s Spinningfields within its 146-modern bedroom development, with a cool living room lobby and hip bar.
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Anil Khanna, director at KE Hotels, said: “Moxy Manchester City will be a new playground for the neighbourhood and city.
“Our play and stay concept is a new way of travelling, designed to give guests everything they want at an affordable price.
“Located in the city’s vibrant Spinningfields district, Moxy Manchester City won’t take itself too seriously, but it is serious about showing guests a good time. We have smartly spaced rooms, stylish communal areas that are ideal for work and meetings, and a new cool bar for the city.”
He added: “We wanted the design of the building to fuse together traditional and contemporary – the exterior is stunning and something very unique, whilst the hotel’s interior will feature nods towards the building’s industrial past. We can’t wait to show Manchester the Moxy lifestyle.”
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Damien Loughran, left, and Daniel Moon, of Williamson & Croft
Accountancy, advisory and tax firm Williamson & Croft is relocating to Bruntwood’s dynamic office space, York House.
The firm has chosen to relocate from its former Manchester Club site, following a period of growth and a requirement for more than double the office space. Williamson & Croft has committed to the top floor of the building. It has taken on a five-year lease on 3,080 sq ft of the 10th Floor of York House, providing it with more capacity as it continues to grow its team.
It will enjoy a newly-refurbished space equipped with premium amenities, including an on-site Moose Coffee, free access to Spark, Bruntwood Works’ business support programme and dedicated breakout spaces.
OBI advised Williamson & Croft on the transaction.
Andrew Cowell, transaction and asset management at OBI, said: “York House is a brilliant location for Williamson & Croft and a great space, offering the growing business a space that will support agile working as well providing a great space for their clients. It has been great to work with the business during such an exciting time for them.”
Damien Loughran, partner at Williamson & Croft, said: “Following another excellent year of growth, we require a much larger office space that can support our new larger, and more flexible, workforce and our expanding client base. York House is an ideal location for us, and we are really excited to moving into the building.”
York House offers dynamic open plan workspaces to suit split, full floor and multiple floor requirements.
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Peel L&P has launched a community conversation on its proposals to create a new recreational and sports ‘hub’ on land between Jowkin Lane and Norden Road in Bamford and Norden, Rochdale.
The recreational and sports hub plans sit at the heart of Peel L&P’s ambitions for the site’s development, with the company looking to work with local sports clubs, residents and community groups to understand how the local area’s sporting offer can be best enhanced.
The Bamford/Norden site has been identified as a preferred location to create a new residential-led development in the submission draft of Places for Everyone, which is Greater Manchester’s long term plan for new homes, jobs and sustainable growth across the nine districts (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan).
Places for Everyone sets out that the Bamford/Norden allocation will deliver a high quality recreational and sports hub for the local area, as well as new homes and infrastructure improvements to meet local needs.
Jonathan England, Peel L&P’s development director, said: “We have a special opportunity to create a lasting legacy through the recreational and sports hub. By working closely with the local community, we aspire to build on the area’s sports, health and wellbeing provision and deliver a new hub to be enjoyed for generations to come.
“The recreational and sports element is a fundamental part of the wider plans for the Bamford/Norden site and we want to start an early conversation on what local people would like to see. So, whether you already use sports facilities in the area and have thoughts on how they could be enhanced, or have big ideas on what’s missing when it comes to sports, health or wellbeing provision, get in touch and have your say.”
The community conversation runs until Wednesday, November 3, 2021 and local people can find out more and get involved by visiting www.bamford-nordenconsultation.co.uk and completing the online questionnaire.
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Proposal for memorial park
People in Bolton are being urged to share their views on heritage proposals that have been submitted to Bolton Council for the Heritage and Community Core at Rivington Chase as part of the next stage in the £262m redevelopment of the former Horwich Loco Works.
The design proposals complement the wider masterplan for the Community Core and open space which was put forward by architects Cass Associates in March 2021.
The three proposed landscaping elements include: A pocket park adjacent to Rivington House roundabout and north west of the Lane End development; a memorial park adjacent to the spine road and the proposed Community Core; and a landscape buffer adjacent to the spine road, the proposed Community Core and the proposed Bellway Homes Phase 2 development.
The pocket and memorial parks have been designed to retain existing heritage features from the former erecting shop, with the latter forming a gateway to the future Community Core. Both parks include a hard paved area that features seating and a heritage interpretation point, with the memorial park earmarked as a possible location to remember the former workforce of the Loco Works.
A key element of the designs is the retention and display of the original cast-iron columns from the erecting shop which will be restored to their former glory and displayed in situ throughout the pocket and memorial parks. The 6m-high columns, which have been likened to Belfast’s Samson & Goliath, will go on public display as a permanent reminder of Horwich’s industrial past and contribution to the railway industry.
Other proposed measures to honour the heritage of the site range from linear beds planted between existing columns from the erecting shop to mimic the railway lines that ran through it, blocks of wild ornamental grasses with timber edging and gravel to emphasise the site’s post-industrial appearance, and, where possible, the retention of key artefacts such as original structural elements, tipper wagons and remaining railway lines.
The landscape buffer is designed so as to form part of the approach to the future residential developments south east on the site, including the reserved matters residential application submitted by Bellway Homes in June 2021.
The majority of the green areas will be amenity grass, with clover lawn potentially to be added to increase biodiversity.
Mark Caldwell, chief executive of Bluemantle, said: “We’re really keen to hear views from the community on these plans which have been carefully designed to maximise the heritage and abundant open space at Rivington Chase such that everyone can enjoy it – both visually and practically.”
For this phase of development, Cass Associates is the masterplan architect, and Avison Young the planning advisor. The wider Rivington Chase development is being developed by landowners Bluemantle, Network Rail, Homes England HKR, and is overseen by Bolton Council.
The Rivington Chase regeneration scheme was granted outline permission in 2015 for 1,700 homes and associated retail and leisure space on the former industrial site.
In 2019, planning permission was granted for a link road which will connect the site up to Middlebrook Retail Park, Horwich Parkway Railway Station and junction six of the M61. In June 2021, Bellway Homes lodged plans with Bolton Council to build 207 family homes as part of the next phase of the Rivington Chase scheme.
