Property round-up: Birchwood Business Park; Avison Young; FWP; New Care; Downing; Great Places Housing Association
A foreign exchange provider has taken space at Birchwood Business Park.
FX Cartel is now in situ and BE Group and JLL were the acting agents for Birchwood Park.
The company provides education and training to those working in the foreign exchange trading space – also known as FX trading – which involves the conversion of one currency into another. FX is one of the most actively traded markets in the world, with individuals, companies and banks carrying out billions-worth of forex transactions every day.
FX Cartel has quickly established itself as a key education provider within the foreign exchange trading space. The new office space will be home to more than 30 traders, in addition to more than 600 members that FX Cartel will be training remotely across the globe.
The location of the park, coupled with the on-site facilities were leading factors behind the relocation, in particular the on-site gym, which the team believes will provide a great wellbeing service once settled in at the new office.
FX Cartel founder, Sebastien Dubois, said: “As well as being a hotbed for entrepreneurship, to be situated right in the heart of the North West region and close to the M62 will be a great benefit for our team.”
Birchwood Park commercial director, Martin O’Rourke, said: “It’s great to have our first foreign exchange traders here at Birchwood Park, something we’re all excited to learn more about when the team are settled in at Bridgewater Place.
“Like FX Cartel, we champion workplace wellbeing here at Birchwood Park and we’re proud to hear the park’s facilities, including the various food and drink outlets available to our occupiers and visitors alike, were driving factors behind the move.”
FX Cartel is now in the process of fitting out its offices at Bridgewater Place, one of the park’s most stylish office blocks, accompanied with elegant landscaping and waterworks surrounding the offices.
::
Cathedral View
Avison Young has been instructed as joint agent on Cathedral View, Liverpool Science Park’s (LSP’s) new, premium laboratory-enabled office scheme.
The facility sits at the heart of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool), a 450-acre urban Innovation District, and home to some of the world’s most influential players in science, health, technology, education, music and the creative and performing arts.
Located on the second floor, the 5,535 sq ft space will be a hotbed for flexible working, offering space for up to 55 fixed desks as well as multiple breakout rooms and formal meeting areas, all at a high level of specification as well as the option to be adapted for laboratory use.
Avison Young, acting alongside CBRE, is seeking an occupier to take over the entire space and work with them to establish their ideal office environment, whether that be traditional or more creative. The occupier will have access to an on-site fitness suite, coffee shop, communal showering facilities and kitchens.
Rent is quoted at £23 per sq ft with the option of onsite car parking priced at £1,750 per space per annum. However, Cathedral View is within walking distance of the city’s two main train stations, Lime Street and Central, with a connection to the underground train and the mainline into Manchester within a matter of minutes.
Remi Smith, senior surveyor at Avison Young, said: “For over a decade, LSP has been home to a variety of incredible companies, and is revolutionising office space and workforces. Yet, as Liverpool faces a science office and lab shortage, a space of this specification, and with one of the best views in the city, is rare.
“Over the years, LSP has created a community of like minded people and every person that occupies a space at LSP has access to high quality facilities, including lab space, free-to-use meeting rooms and social/business event space.”
Cathedral View is the newest addition to the Sciontec portfolio, which owns and operates Liverpool Science Park, manages AI at The Spine and is developing new, world class science and technology facilities across the Liverpool City Region, including HEMISPHERE at Paddington Village.
::
Facilities at CAMHS
A new home for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Stockport, delivered by Preston-based FWP, has opened its doors to young people and families.
The architecture, design and masterplanning practice led on the CAMHS project for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust which has seen £1.4m invested in developing a safe clinical space.
The new facility has been created in Stopford House in the centre of Stockport and is part of a wider refurbishment of the building for Stockport Council, which will be completed later in the year. The new CAMHS facility was officially opened at a special ceremony.
FWP’s specialist mental health team has worked with Pennine Care, which provides a wide range of mental health services to children and young people.
As well as input from the clinical team, ideas and thoughts were gathered from young people and their families about the layout and interior design. The result is a modern and bright new location that includes 18 themed rooms that will be used for treatment and support.
A 75-strong team is now based at Stopford House from the CAMHS service and other associated services. They include adolescent psychiatrists, mental health practitioners, clinical psychologists, child psychotherapists and administrative support workers.
FWP’s design of the centre began with the service user’s journey, starting with the approach to the building providing a clear, bright, identifiable entrance with excellent signage and graphics. Once inside there is a reception area far detached from the typical CAMHS or clinical environment with a modern look that includes a slatted timber and moss wall.
A secure corridor space where the therapy rooms are located has been widened to lower anxiety and has open spaces with built in seating areas, feature timber slatted walls, graphic walls and plenty of colour.
David Simmons, FWP senior associate, said: “Our approach was to create a journey from start to finish for the service user that is modern, exciting, and encompasses design for a wide variety of age groups. We did this by taking on board all information learnt from service users and clinical workshops, together with the latest available information on neurodiversity design.”
FWP, which has offices in Preston, Manchester and London, has a wealth of experience in the healthcare sector. It has a successful track record of delivering health projects in the North West of England for almost 30 years.
Sarah Leah, Pennine Care’s associate director of operations for CAMHS, said: “We have created a leading mental health environment for children and young people. The building has been transformed into a unique, light, bright welcoming space. The feedback we’ve had so far from our families and staff has been amazing.”
::
Statham Manor
Work continues at pace on a new £15m care home in Lymm, which is now less than one month away from completion.
Build is progressing well at New Care’s 66-bed care facility on the corner of Whitbarrow Road and Statham Avenue in the centre of Lymm with practical completion taking place before Christmas.
The external brickwork and roof tiling are complete meaning the building is now watertight, and the team of contractors and tradesmen on site are working hard on the interior to ensure the development remains on schedule as it edges closer to completion.
The new care facility will be known as Statham Manor and is the latest care home development for New Care, part of the award-winning Altrincham-based McGoff Group.
When complete, it will cater for the aspiring needs of residents in Lymm and the surrounding area offering person-centred residential, nursing, dementia and respite care in a safe, comfortable and stylish environment.
Each of the bedrooms will feature a private en-suite wet room, while the home itself will offer several communal lounges, dining rooms, spa-assisted bathrooms, a hair salon and nail bar, plus landscaped gardens.
The care facility will also provide high end hotel-style services that ensure continued quality of life and enjoyment for residents, including fine dining and a busy and varied programme of activities and events.
Commissioning director at New Care, Dawn Collett, said: “Work on site is progressing well and, with less than one month to go until practical completion, Statham Manor is really taking shape. The care facility has been expertly designed to offer outstanding care in a stylish environment, and we are already starting to recruit the 100-strong team and our first residents.”
::
No1. Old Hall Street
Liverpool property developer Downing has completed its refurbishment at No.1 Old Hall Street, equating to £5m, as it revives one of the city’s prominent buildings.
Located directly opposite Moorfields train station, No.1 Old Hall Street’s position has been strengthened as an appealing home for occupiers. The space meets a range of occupier needs, from those looking to take their first start-up office, requiring space to support new hybrid-working patterns, or more traditional space planning.
The newly refurbished office space equates to 68,000 sq ft – 22,000 sq ft of Grade A office space is now available for new tenants across its upper ground, first and fifth floors. No.1 Old Hall Street also offers a broad range of office sizes, from one person suites, upwards. These are available via Downing’s contemporary flexi-lease model, or more traditional lease arrangement.
Along with the new Grade A office suites, completed work has seen a striking new face on the property, through the replacement of the original façade with new, insulated, asymmetric, cladding and double glazed windows at upper levels and double full height glazing and feature signage at lower levels.
No.1 Old Hall Street has welcomed its first new tenants into the renovated spaces, including a range of solicitors, accountants and consultants. It has also welcomed cosmetic and dentistry specialists Rasul & Howell into a 2,200 sq ft space on the ground floor.
Recent previous phases have seen a full roof replacement, a power supply upgrade, the completion of a new building entrance and reception area, breakout areas and meeting spaces, as Downing has looked to modernise its office space in a bid to meet the changing and varied demands of office working.
John Clegg, head of property management at Downing, said: “It is great to see this iconic building transformed, meeting higher sustainability standards, and securing the long term future of the building. Sat at the epicentre of Liverpool’s commercial business district, No.1 Old Hall Street’s evolution meets the needs of the flexible workplace, as well as those long term tenants, looking to make a space their own.
“As a result of the refurbishment, No. 1 Old Hall Street has another long lease of life.”
::
Nick Cumberland
Manchester-based Great Places Housing Association has been appointed onto the Homes England Delivery Partner Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) (Large and Small Sites).
Great Places’ Affordable Development Programme has been added onto the DPS, a primary route for Homes England’s land disposal which offers housing providers the exclusive opportunity to bid for Homes England sites. The framework is the largest of its kind in the UK and Homes England’s largest procurement exercise.
Nick Cumberland, head of programme at Great Places, said: “Our appointment is fantastic news. To be appointed alongside major PLC housebuilders demonstrates the confidence in our ability to deliver quality new homes at scale.
“Our appointment will enable us to bid for a range of development sites, both small sites under 70 homes and large ones with capacity for over 70 homes, from Homes England and other landowners through to September 2031. It presents an exciting opportunity for us, broadening our exposure to potential projects in the future to realise our ambition to build 9,000 new homes by 2030.”
He added: “At Great Places, we understand the power of partnerships and look forward to working with, and building a successful relationship with, Homes England DPS, remaining committed to delivering much needed high quality affordable homes and sustainable communities.”
