Property round-up: Abracadabra Studio; Clarke Willmott; Pugh; Reside; Nicholson Group; Animate; Fisher German; FEC
Abracadabra Studio, a renowned games development group known for the highly popular SharkBite series on the Roblox platform, has moved into the Princes Dock neighbourhood within Peel Waters’ growing Liverpool Waters district.
The company, whose games have been played by billions worldwide and boast more than one million members, is another exciting new addition to the vibrant community at Princes Dock.
Founders Simon Burgess and Max Entwistle met aged just 12 and together they learnt how to make games on the Roblox platform. Now their business is poised for its next phase of growth.
Roblox engages around 70 million daily active users globally and their Sharkbite brand has now transcended from online to offline popularity, with branded toys, including a Sharkbite Nerf gun.
Within Abracadabra’s new Princes Dock studio, they will be joined by other game developers all working under the Dev House UK studio brand, with collaborations including ‘Laundry Simulator’ which has had more than 400 million hits on the Roblox platform. ‘Absolute Zero!’ Is another developer in the same space, who’s success includes ‘Bid Battles’ with more than 116 million visitors and ‘Goofy Gods’ with in excess of 50 million hits.
Simon Burgess
Simon Burgess, co-founder of Abracadabra Studio, said: “Princes Dock is the ideal place with not just a great workspace, but the surrounding views, the riverside, the docks, it all adds up to being a really great place for the team to work their magic. The passing ships also provide inspiration when modelling ships for the games.”
Liza Marco, Senior Asset Manager at Liverpool Waters, said: “Abracadabra Studio is a great addition to the growing community of digital, technology, and creative businesses we now have here. They join the likes of E-Sign, System C, IT Answers, and global TikTok marketing agency 15Talent who have all chosen Princes Dock as the location for their growing businesses.”
Avison Young and CBRE are the appointed agents for commercial space at Princes Dock, Liverpool Waters.
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Lindsay Felstead
Clarke Willmott has secured a place on a panel of leading housing specialist law firms as part of a legal services framework agreement.
The firm is among a group of law firms named by The Liverpool-based Regenda Group, a social housing provider in the North West.
Having previously worked for the organisation under one lot, Clarke Willmott has now been appointed to all four of the available lots – Corporate, Governance, Financial & Securitisation; Housing Management and Commercial; Property, Development & Construction; and Employment.
The new framework is worth £10m and will run for four years, led by Clarke Willmott’s senior social housing partner, Lindsay Felstead.
Lindsay Felstead, who jointly heads up Clarke Willmott’s social housing sector alongside Vicky Kells, said: “Not only did we retain an important lot, we also gained three more which is a great testament to our work and the services we provide. It’s fantastic to be appointed across the board and offer a ‘one stop shop’.”
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Holy Trinity Church
The Victorian former church in the picturesque village of Upper End, near Buxton, has been put up for sale by auction and is being marketed as a potential redevelopment opportunity, with a £200,000 guide price.
Holy Trinity Church, which was founded in 1885, will feature on the online property auction held by Pugh, part of Eddisons, on September 18.
The stone-built former church was granted planning permission in 2019, which has now lapsed, for the conversion and extension of the building into five new houses with two to three bedrooms and modern and period features.
Ed Feather, director and auctioneer at Pugh, said: “This is a great opportunity to buy an incredibly characterful, stone-built former church in a popular Peak District village. Planning consent would have to be reapplied for but because it has been granted previously there is precedent for a residential scheme.
“However a buyer may come to the property with innovative new ideas for a change of use which could also be looked upon favourably by planning officers.”
He added: “This area of the White Peak is really popular with visitors, including walkers, climbers and mountain bikers, and tourist destinations such as Edale and Castleton are right on the doorstep. Upper End is also well connected to Buxton and to Manchester via the train station at nearby Dove Holes, as well as the road network.”
The village of Upper End expanded in size in the 19th century with the coming of the railways and employment at the neighbouring limestone quarry also boosted the population. The church continued to hold regular services until it closed in 2003.
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Reside team in Bolton
Estate agency, Reside, has announced the opening of a third branch in the heart of Bolton town centre.
The new branch, set to open in October, joins Manchester city centre and Stockport, as the estate agency, established in 2013, continues its growth across Greater Manchester.
Reside has selected premises on Le Mans Place, just off the famous landmark of Le Mans Crescent in the heart of the town, close to the Town Hall and Bolton Market.
The agency believes Bolton is set to see a significant property boom and is looking to recruit and build a dedicated team in Bolton to help meet the needs of the increasing number keen to live in the historic town.
The team at Reside has recently been instructed by Step Places on their town centre housing scheme – Neighbourhood, on the site of the old Bolton Bus Station on Moor Lane – close to where the new Reside branch will be located.
Neighbourhood is a new mixed-use development of 44 luxury three-bedroom townhouses, 114 apartments and artisan retail space.
Anthony Stankard, director at Reside, said: “Investor confidence in Bolton is high and there are several large developments that have completed or are near completion in the coming months. There is definitely an air of ambition about the town and we believe it’s the right time for Reside to open a dedicated branch.”
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Paul Nicholson and Lynn Duffy
The Nicholson Group has acquired a building in St Helens, for an undisclosed sum, which has secured the future of a charity which grants wishes to over-40s facing terminal and life-threatening illnesses.
CEO, Paul Nicholson, said: “We have acquired an office building which we are currently undertaking due diligence on as to the viability of several uses subject to prevailing demands.
“We have no plans at present. We wish to discuss our proposals with the council in order that any decision and subsequent application we do make is in line with their strategy for the town and its ongoing regeneration.”
However, the purchase has benefited The HoneyRose Foundation, which was founded 20 years ago and serves the North West of England.
Paul Nicholson has pledged to clear all the charity’s debts on acquisition of the property, on the corner of Cotham Street and Ormskirk Street.
Charity leader, Lynn Duffy, says the HoneyRose Foundation, has “helped over 12,500 individuals and their families, providing them with moments of joy and respite amidst their most challenging times. We will now continue to do so thanks to Paul and Nicholson Group.”
Mr Nicholson said: “When I was approached that there was an opportunity to acquire another iconic building in the town centre, from reviewing the situation it became apparent that anyone who took on the challenge of acquiring the property must act in the best interest of the community and the HoneyRose Foundation.
“In order to ensure the future of the charity we took the decision to clear all of the debts of the charity so it had a clean slate to allow it to flourish whilst continuing its vital work in the community.
“It’s been extremely hard for the HoneyRose Foundation like so many charities we know and support, given the pandemic and the economic aftermath.”
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CGI of the Illuminate and Integrate project
Work on a £1m project to improve the public realm and lighting near Preston’s new £45m+ Animate leisure scheme has begun.
The Illuminate and Integrate works, to be delivered by Maple Grove Developments, aim to encourage pedestrian and cycle movement at a section of Lancaster Road next to the Market Hall and Old Vicarage Road.
Works include a pedestrian and cycle-friendly space with high quality paving, trees, and other features such as public seating and an expanded circulation space around the market to create opportunities such as alfresco dining. This new space will also offer improved linkages to the St John Shopping Centre.
The project, part of the £200m Harris Quarter Towns Fund Investment Programme, will also incorporate additional lighting improvements.
Delivery of the scheme involves works to the Ormskirk junction from now for four weeks including two weeks of night works. Works on Old Vicarage start now for a period of 12 weeks.
Preston City Councillor, Valerie Wise, Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building, said:”We’re thrilled to see this pivotal project in the Harris Quarter moving forward, complimenting other initiatives in the area, such as The Harris and Animate.
“The Illuminate and Integrate project will revitalise this part of the city centre, bringing fresh energy while also enhancing street safety.”
John Chesworth, Chair of Preston Towns Fund Strategic Board, said: “While the Harris Quarter is well connected to the rest of the city centre via an existing network of streets, many of these routes are dated, having been designed around vehicular movement, limiting the potential for cycle and pedestrian use.
“Illuminate and Integrate will complement the excellent architecture within the Harris Quarter while improving the quality of the public spaces. A key aspect of the scheme is to encourage footfall and dwell time in the day and evening, which is allied to our vision for the Harris Quarter to be the go-to cultural destination in Preston.”
Nick Hague, project director at Maple Grove Developments, said: “The Illuminate and Integrate works are an important piece of the jigsaw in the regeneration of the Harris Quarter and will help to stimulate cultural, economic and social viability.”
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Rebecca Ruck-Keene
Property consultancy, Fisher German, has been appointed to deliver rural property management services to the Church Commissioners for England, the body which administers the property assets of the Church of England and one of the country’s largest landowners.
The five-year contract will see colleagues at Fisher German’s offices in Chester, Doncaster, Ashby, Worcester, and Bedford manage a significant area of rural land and property across England, including across the North and Midlands.
Experts will also provide advice across a variety of specialisms including planning, development, investment, building consultancy, environmental and sustainability, and telecoms.
Fisher German is one of just two consultancies to be awarded a contract to deliver property management services for the Church Commissioners’ farmland portfolio after a competitive tender process.
Partner, Rebecca Ruck-Keene, who is leading on the contract fort Fisher German, said: “We are extremely pleased to be awarded this contract. It is a significant five-year contract which really demonstrates the strength of our rural property
team as well as the depth and breadth of the services that we can deliver in-house at Fisher German across a wide geographical spread.
“The Church Commissioners is a charitable organisation which has strong values and is focused on providing high quality assets for tenants, and they were looking to award this contract to a consultancy which shares those values and maintains a high professional standard.”
Joanna Loxton, Head of Land at the Church Commissioners for England, said: “Our two managing agents will work closely with our asset managers and farming tenants to support sustainable farming businesses and food production across our nationwide portfolio of farm holdings.
“We look forward to collaborating with the Fisher German team to continue and grow our programme of tenant engagement and long-term stewardship across our portfolio.”
Ciara Williams, Head of Farmland at the Church Commissioners for England, said: “Regular engagement to understand the individual needs of our farming tenants is a major focus for the Church Commissioners.
“We always strive to share best practice in land management and conservation, and in Fisher German, we have a partner that shares our values of sustainability, collaboration and long term stewardship.”
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The Found team
Far East Consortium (FEC), the developer behind the Victoria North neighbourhood in Manchester, has launched its new in-house operational brand, Found.
Bringing together the management of both its commercial and residential assets, Found’s two sub-brands, Found Living and Found Spaces, will focus on placemaking and customer experience, creating an end-to-end service for all customers.
By creating one service offering for both commercial and residential operations, FEC believes that the Found brand will create a unique service proposition for residents that puts their experience at the heart of everything it does, with all sales, lettings and property management services brought under one roof.
In tandem, Found Spaces will create a holistic approach for commercial customers across its portfolio and support the growth of the neighbourhoods it is operating within.
This includes using meanwhile spaces, activating unused areas and integrating with existing communities throughout the development process, six-12 months before completion of any residential assets.
This approach is already underway at Victoria North, FEC’s £1bn joint venture with Manchester City Council that will see 15,000 new homes delivered over the next decade.
To support this community integration, Found has also launched Arch 19 at its Red Bank scheme in Manchester, which will be used to host pop-ups, community activations and third-party events to draw more people to the area and provide a place that the wider Victoria North community can also use.
Gemma Price, Managing Director, Found, said: “As developers of the some of the UK’s most high profile regeneration projects, we are acutely aware of our responsibility to both support existing communities and provide sustainable improvements to the existing neighbourhoods.
“That is why creating one, in-house operational brand was so important, to ensure that we can take people on that journey with us and create places that bring people together and enhance what already exists.”
Gavin Taylor, Regional General Manager, FEC Manchester, said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time for FEC as we take the bold step into creating a truly end-to-end offering for all of our customers, from residents through to investment partners. This unique holistic approach will help us to drive better investment opportunities for our stakeholders and drive further inward investment into the cities we operate within, supporting their long-term growth.”
