Property round-up: Vengrove; Urban Splash; Wirral Waters; Back to the Garden Childcare; Christie & Co; Realm Recruit
London-based Vengrove has completed the acquisition of Unit 6 Westpoint Enterprise Park, Trafford Park, Manchester, for an undisclosed sum, for VRE Industrial Partners, its UK industrial and logistics strategy.
The property comprises a 63,500 sq ft logistics unit let to Sadaqat Global, a manufacturer and distributor of textiles and home furnishings.
It was acquired by way of a sale and leaseback for a term of 10 years with no break and is the tenant’s key UK distribution location.
Will Hunting, partner and head of investment at Vengrove, said: “This marks VREIP’s third acquisition in the North West and second in Manchester within the M60.
“The JV actively seeks exposure to locations with strong fundamentals and favourable supply and demand dynamics and, as one of the UK’s core industrial and logistics locations, Trafford Park typifies this.”
Vengrove was advised on the transaction by BNP Paribas Real Estate, Greenberg Traurig,, Watts Group, and Nova Ambiente (part of Nova Group, GBC).
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New Islington
Manchester regeneration company, Urban Splash, has acquired a site on corner of Lampwick Lane and Old Mill Street at New Islington in Manchester, completing an off-market deal with a private vendor.
Urban Splash will explore a residential development for the site, creating new homes for sale or rent.
The site stands on familiar territory for Urban Splash – the company has spent 20 years working in collaboration with Manchester City Council and other partners to transform the former Cardroom Estate into New Islington, creating new homes – one third of them affordable – workspaces, a park, the New Islington Free School, marina, cafes and bars.
The newly-acquired land is at the north eastern end of New Islington, adjacent to Stubbs Mill, a building which Urban Splash transformed into workspace and is now fully let to Fanatics.
Director, Nathan Cornish, said: “New Islington is an important part of the Urban Splash story – a place in which we’ve helped deliver a new vibrant community for Manchester. This site is a natural purchase for us and an opportunity to create more new homes for the area. We look forward to exploring our options here.”
The news comes amidst a run of acquisitions for Urban Splash which has in invested in 25 new sites for its own operations and associated businesses in the past five years. Recent purchases include the Urban Splash Residential Fund’s acquisition of Derwent House in Birmingham, where the entire block of 40 homes is now available to rent.
Nathan added: “We are active in the market, using our own equity without bank debt. We take pride in being good buyers, completing on time and as quickly as vendors require – we hope to find more opportunities as we move forward with our regeneration work across the country.”
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Plans for Wirral Waters Sustainability Hub
The Wirral Waters Sustainability Action Hub is set to receive £1.75m of government funding, through the Birkenhead Town Deal project.
This collaborative facility will enable partners and the community to work together, share, innovate, train, and learn about all things relating to sustainability.
The Hub will be developed within and surrounding the vacant 1960’s NorthWest Ship Repairers building at West Float, which will be fully converted, retrofitted and extended. The plans incorporate indoor and outdoor facilities, with shared workspaces, an outdoor classroom, a ‘reuse’ hub and shop, an outdoor gym, raised growing beds, beehives, energy and construction workshops, and an events space, as well as ‘wetland’ gardens and a tree-nursery.
Cycleways, including the Greenway project, will connect the Hub to the surrounding neighbourhoods and the local public transport network, with electric charging points provided for electric vehicles and eCycles.
Ten ‘step-change’ actions, based around the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, were unveiled by Peel L&P in April as part of its Sustainability Action Plan. The Sustainability Hub is a key part of this plan.
The Wirral Waters Sustainability Action Plan ensures that sustainability and the environment continue to be embedded into each part of the development at Wirral Waters with the aim that it can fulfil its potential as one of the most sustainable regeneration projects in the UK.
Richard Mawdsley, Peel L&P’s director of development for Wirral Waters, said: “The Sustainability Hub will be a fabulous space for people to meet and share ideas, as well as a place to innovate and learn practical sustainability skills. It will bring together different partners who want to come and work with others on projects of varying scales, at a local city region or national level.
“Genuine collaboration and partnership working between the public, private, third sector and community groups is what we have always sought to achieve at Wirral Waters. Together we can take action and inspire change so that the vision of Wirral as a sustainable and resilient place will become a reality for the long term.”
The Wirral Waters Sustainability Action Hub proposals are being led by Parkinson Inc, the masterplanner for Wirral Waters, through collaboration with national, regional and local partners, including Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Energy Projects Plus, UTS Foundation, GROW-Wellbeing CIC, LettUs GROW and Farm Urban, ReciproCity Wirral, Wirral Met College, Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Liverpool, and Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority.
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The Lymm site
Work is continuing at pace at Back to the Garden Childcare’s new nursery on Statham Avenue in Lymm, with practical completion confirmed for later this month.
Build at the £2m project is well under way with the building now watertight, which means the team of contractors and tradesmen on site are busy working on the interior of the nursery, ensuring the project edges closer to completion over the course of the coming weeks.
When complete, the nursery will provide 90 places for children aged three months up to five years. There will also be local job creation, with 30 employees required, including a nursery manager, nursery practitioners, chef and a number of apprentices.
Back to the Garden Childcare’s curriculum, incorporating forest school, ensures natural, child-led learning through play is at the heart of the nursery.
With the project taking shape, founder, Jeannie Pickering, said: “Work on site is progressing well and with just weeks to go until practical completion, the nursery is really starting to come together and looks superb. Working in partnership with McGoff Construction, the nursery has been designed meticulously with every last detail carefully considered, allowing the team to deliver outstanding care to the children in a safe, stimulating and stylish environment.”
Back to the Garden Childcare in Lymm will officially open in December, with the first few children already signed up. It is the second nursery for the company, which is part of Altrincham-based McGoff Group.
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Spar Cleary Fiveways
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has sold Spar Cleary Fiveways in Stockport, for an undisclosed sum, to Venkata Sudheer Chigili, a multi-store operator with stores in Leeds, Huddersfield and Wrexham.
This profitable, leasehold convenience store and Post Office is located on Fiveways Parade, a busy main road running through Hazel Grove.
The large, well-fitted store is heavily relied upon by locals and enjoys high turnover, having established several income streams including a bakery and café area in the store, as well as four separate apartments located above the business, which generate an annual income of £32,400. These flats were also included in the sale.
Gurnam Singh, business agent in Christie & Co’s retail team handled the sale and said: “It was a pleasure selling this fantastic local business which attracted seven offers from hopeful buyers.”
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Realm Recruit Charter House
Specialist legal recruitment consultancy Realm Recruit has relocated to a new headquarters in Altrincham to support its continued growth.
The move signals the next stage of Realm’s growth journey as it celebrates seven years in business. Previously based on Cross Street in Altrincham town centre, Realm is moving to a fifth-floor suite at Charter House.
The bright and modern space, which has been fitted out in anticipation of the move, comprises a spacious office, breakout area, media and podcasting space, and two private meeting rooms. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide spectacular views across Altrincham and as far as Manchester city centre.
Duane Cormell, Realm’s managing director, said: “After seven years and significant growth, we had well and truly outgrown our previous office on Cross Street, so I’m incredibly excited about our new space at Charter House.
“While our flexible working model means that the Realm team work from home for much of the week, it is still really important that we have a workspace where we can all come together. During the fit-out, we’ve worked hard to create a space that properly reflects who we are as a business and what Realm stands for.
“Our move signals the beginning of the next phase of Realm as we look to continue to grow our team and expand our attraction, retention and recruitment consultancy services for law firms and legal professionals across the North West, Yorkshire and the West Midlands.”
Charter House is managed by Orbit Developments, part of The Emerson Group. Manchester commercial law firm Kuits provided legal advice to Realm.
