Property round-up: Northern Trust; Priestley Construction; Armstrong Craven; McGoff Construction; We Influence; Bob & Berts
Metacre Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chorley-based Northern Trust Company, has completed the disposal of its 35 acre site at Great Eccleston, to Duchy Homes, for an undisclosed sum.
The site was master planned and promoted over a number of years which resulted in planning permission being secured for 350 new homes. The outline plans also included a new community hub with school, medical centre, village hall and shop, together with one hectare of employment land.
Stephen Glenn, land director, said “We are absolutely delighted that all of the hard work, diligence , innovation and skill of the team delivered this complex project and worked tirelessly to conclude the sale to Duchy Homes. We wish them every success with development of this prestigious site.”
Privately-owned Northern Trust has a land bank of more than 5,000 acres and is actively looking for further residential and commercial land opportunities to purchase or promote throughout the UK.
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Cable Street
Work on a £6.5m bespoke student apartments scheme in Lancaster has been completed.
Priestley Construction, the Leeds-based contractor, delivered the project which included a 19,217 sq ft new build and the conversion of a five-storey Grade II-listed building, creating 89 new apartments, as well as communal spaces for residents.
The completion of the project was not without its issues. A partly-designed project and a partially-completed M&E report identified several issues that had to be addressed.
Having been instructed in early February 2021, with the prevailing issues uncovered in the part-build, Priestley Construction felt the best solution was to completely restart the design process, reworking the programme entirely, which created a delay in the delivery.
The final project was completed for the client, Priestley Homes, with Cheadle-based Together as the funding partner. The final apartments were made available via Homes for Students.
Nathan Priestley, chief executive of the Priestley Group, said: “The delivery of Cable Street was a success, despite the setbacks that we encountered. It is a testament to the team at Priestley Construction, their expertise and technical proficiency have allowed us to deliver top-notch student accommodation to our usual industry-renowned high standards. We have transformed the Grade II-listed building into a striking, modern communal area for the students to enjoy.”
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3 Barrington Road
Global talent consultancy, Armstrong Craven, has found a new home for its headquarter offices at newly refurbished 3 Barrington Road in Altrincham, taking space on the fourth floor.
Armstrong Craven has a global footprint and team of more than 120 experts in the provision of insight and talent analytics, talent mapping, pipelining and executive search services. The move to 3 Barrington Road keeps the headquarters in the North West and comes as part of its continued global growth plan, which has seen the company more than double in size since January 2021.
Joint managing director, Rachel Davis, said: “As a global business in existence for over 30 years, we have always had a flexible work structure that allows for global working. Post-pandemic, this is an ideal opportunity to take up new and improved office space that reflects the next chapter of our global growth, whilst keeping our headquarters firmly based in the North West, where our home has been for the last 32 years. At 3 Barrington Road, we appreciate the bright, airy, modern space the office provides, and the central location is ideal for transport hubs.”
The 3 Barrington Road property was acquired by Columbia Threadneedle in 2019 and underwent extensive remodelling to bring environmentally conscious modern workspace to Altrincham. The building offers up to 30,000 sq ft of light, bright and contemporary workspace with ample parking (e-parking bays) and extensive cycle storage and new shower/changing facilities,
Simon Gardener, associate director at Williams Sillitoe, said: “We are thrilled to let the fourth floor at 3 Barrington Road. It’s great to see Armstrong Craven keeping their head office in the North West and utilising Altrincham as the place to invest in. It’s great to see they recognise the amazing location and transport links 3 Barrington Road offers.”
Williams Sillitoe and Canning O’Neill are joint agents on the building.
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Altrincham-based McGoff Construction has commenced on site delivering a £9.5m new build care home in Weybridge for Barchester Healthcare.
This scheme marks McGoff Construction’s 15th project for Barchester having worked with them for the past six years as a trusted turnkey build partner. Projects delivered to date include both lightweight steel frame (metsec) and traditional builds varying from 60- up to 75-bed homes.
Following the demolition of a large garden centre, the scheme, located on Seven Hills Road, Weybridge, will comprise the design and build of a 64-bed metframe care home. It will provide high quality residential and dementia care for older people in the community of Weybridge and is due to complete in summer 2023.
McGoff Construction joint MD, Declan McGoff, said: “Securing our 15th scheme with our valued client Barchester is testament to the dedication and passion of our delivery teams built up over many years and over many successful projects. We look forward to adding another stunning setting to Barchester’s portfolio.”
McGoff Construction is a privately owned construction and integrated support services business sitting at the heart of the McGoff Group.
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New Chester office space
Digital marketing agency, We Influence, has opened its new office in the heart of Chester.
Established in April 2017 by Graham Withe as a specialist e-commerce marketing and advertising agency, We Influence has grown to serve a roster of clients including Winfields Outdoors, CCL Computers, Direct Stoves, Blue Vanilla and more.
With a headcount of 20 and recruiting a further seven this year, the agency offers services across paid search, paid social and earned media. The agency’s fifth birthday coincides with the move to a new office located at The Steam Mill Business Centre, on Steam Mill Street in Chester City centre.
Graham Withe said: “It’s great to be relocating to the heart of Chester, which is quickly becoming a thriving hub of digital marketing agencies. We’re looking forward to becoming part of Chester’s business community and supporting more brands with their growth plans.”
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Bob & Berts, Bury
Independent coffee and food chain Bob & Berts opened its latest store in Bury’s The Rock shopping centre on Friday, April 29, creating 35 new jobs.
The business has transformed an empty 3,500 sq ft unit into the new coffee shop.
Colin McClean, founder of Bob & Berts, said: “We’ve made a significant investment in transforming the Bury site to create a location that’s completely unique in the town and will offer customers an extensive range of great grub and proper coffee served all day long in our relaxed surroundings.
“We carefully select each of our locations where we see a genuine opportunity to meet the needs of the community by providing a store that offers quality, affordable food and drink, and demonstrates a commitment to supporting the future of the local high street.”
David Ferguson, co-owner of Bob & Berts, said: “We’re really pleased with the new store, which is our fourth opening in England in the last 12 months. The initial feedback from passers-by and the local community on social media has been really positive, and we’re very much looking forward to opening our doors to the public this week and giving them a taste of what Bob & Berts has to offer.”
Founded in Portstewart in Northern Ireland in 2013 by Colin McClean and David Ferguson, following a £2m investment from BGF in 2017, the business has grown to 25 sites across the UK, and in the past 12 months opened its first three sites in the North West of England in Lancaster, Kendal and Preston – all of which are experiencing strong sales.
For the next phase of expansion, the business is looking at other North West locations including Southport, Lytham St Annes, Blackpool and further north into Carlisle among other opportunities.
