Hurstwood seals acquisition of prime office development
Property investment and development firm Hurstwood Holdings has acquired a prime office building in the town of Whitehaven, for an undisclosed sum.
Sir Christopher Harding House, comprising 45,391 sq ft, is situated on a self-contained site on the North Shore Road and is fully let to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which has the whole of the ground level, and United Utilities, which is on the first floor.
Both companies agreed 10-year lease renewals last year.
The site also offers 275 car parking spaces.
Stephen Ashworth, chairman and CEO of Manchester-based Hurstwood Holdings, said: “We had been looking at this building, which is one of the most significant in the area, for some time and were very pleased to have finally secured its purchase.
“The building is strategically situated in what is an established primary business location for the UK’s nuclear industry and green energy sector.
“With the ongoing decommissioning work at Sellafield and planned ‘Nu-Gen’, next generation power station at Moorside, the area continues to attract international business and major new contracts and given the importance of the work being undertaken, this is an especially significant and exciting addition to our portfolio.”
He added: “I would also like to extend a special thanks to Ros Harper of Rothschild who has been a major support over the last seven years funding us on a number of deals including this one.”
Chris Bathurst, of Christopher Dee, acted on behalf of the vendor, a private client. Oliver Rowe of Avison Young represented Hurstwood Holdings, with Gateleys providing legal advice and Rothschild funding the acquisition.
Hurstwood Holdings is a commercial and residential property group with more than £250m of properties on 140 sites nationwide housing in excess of 1,000 occupier clients.
