Property round-up: Steam Packet House; Sunlight House; Bruntwood; and more

INSURANCE broker Alec Finch has taken 6,500 sq ft of office space at the recently-converted Steam Packet House at Cross Street in Manchester.

The firm has signed a new ten-year lease on the space, which has recently been refurbished by landlord Ribot Investments. Ribot Investments is a property investment vehicle owned by Fred Done and his family.

Peter Buckles, asset manager of Ribot Investments said: “We’re delighted to welcome Alec Finch to Steam Packet House.  It shows that the refurbishment we did on the building is reaping its reward, despite challenging market conditions.”

Alec Finch managing director Paula Williams said:  “The new offices will provide a modern working environment for our team and put us closer to the heart of the business community in Manchester.”

Will Lewis, partner of joint letting agent OBI Property, said:  “The deal with Alec Finch means there is only the sixth floor remaining, which comprises 2,414 sq ft. 

“Our clients, Ribot Investments, will take a proactive stance on leasing the space and will consider subsidising the cost of a tenant fit-out.  We have the opportunity to create characterful offices that will suit those in the creative and media sectors.”

Other occupiers in the building include Mono Consultants and Linder Myers.  OBI Property is joint letting agent with Edwards & Co.

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DTZ has let a 1,035 sq ft office suite at Sunlight House in Manchester City Centre to Silentnight Group.

The letting to Silentnight, which was taken over last year by private equity firm HIG Capital following a pre-pack administration, follows a recent change in letting strategy at the building to offer smaller units.

It also follows on from two other recent lettings at the building to IT company PTS and Bilal Patel of St James Place Wealth Management.

Simon Roddam of DTZ’s Manchester office agency team said: “The introduction of a new leasing strategy designed for the small office suites at Sunlight House is proving increasingly popular with footloose occupiers.

He added: “Sunlight House is an iconic Grade II-listed building, fitted to a modern specification, and located in the popular Spinningfields development.

The building is owned by the Apia Regional Office Fund – a jointly-managed fund between Aviva Investors and Warner Estates. It has more than 200,000 sq ft of offices, retail and leisure space over 14 floors.

DTZ, OBI & Canning O’Neill are jointly marketing the building.

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CBRE North West has been appointed by the Joint LPA Receivers of buildings formerly controlled by Pinder Fry & Benjamin at Kings Business Park, Knowsley, totalling over 9,000 sq ft. 

The units are located at Tiger Court, and comprise two self-contained units 4,123 sq ft and 5,093 sq ft in size, available to purchase at a price of £399,999 and £499,999 respectively.  A further single floor of approximately 1,600 sq ft is available on terms to be agreed.

Neil Kirkham, associate director of Office Agency at CBRE, commented: “The units at Tiger Court are finished to the highest standard and offer occupiers the chance to be a part of one of the most prestigious business parks in Liverpool.

“With highly competitive pricing, we expect Tiger Court to generate serious interest from owner-occupiers and investors alike.”

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NOLAN Redshaw has been instructed to let St George’s House – a well-known Edwardian landmark office building in Bolton town centre.

Python Properties, which is based in Middlesbrough, recently acquired the property following success with similar buildings such as the large cargo fleet headquarters in Middlesbrough, the former Co-op building and offices in Warrington.

Suites of up to 500 sq ft are available to let on flexible terms at £9.50 per sq ft, with a total area of approximately 24,000 sq ft.

Neil Higson of Nolan Redshaw said: “This is a whole new concept in the landlord/customer relationship, with Python Properties carrying out a high specification conversion, along with bringing a bistro and art gallery to the ground floor.

“The property also has a large reception meeting area, which will be offered to future tenants. The formula has worked extremely well in Middlesbrough and Warrington and we expect it to be a great success in Bolton.”

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BRUNTWOOD has secured two new lettings at Burlington House in north Liverpool.

Oakdale Insolvency has signed a three-year lease for 700 sq ft of office space in the building on Crosby Road, while VoiceEngineer.com has taken a 650 sq ft suite on a five-year lease. This has pushed the occupancy rate to over 75%.

David Seddon, head of sales at Bruntwood, said: “Our north Liverpool offices continue to be popular with companies looking for high quality, well connected office space at competitive rates. We have invested solidly in the building since acquiring it over 20 years ago including a recent refurbishment of the reception and various offices.

“This, coupled with rent free incentives and lease flexibility, is producing a surge in companies interested in the north Liverpool offices we have available.”  

Alen Roberts, managing director at Voice Engineer Dot Com, said: “We knew we would require a larger office when we took on new staff earlier this year. As we have to travel to reach our clients, we felt Burlington House is ideally located close to both Liverpool city centre and the rest of the North West.”

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HOW Planning has secured has had a decision to refuse permission for a new residential scheme at Helmshore in Lancashire overturned on appeal.

The firm was working on behalf of Taylor Wimpey, which had applied to build 74 new family homes on the site of the former Airtours HQ in the village. The site had been empty for many years but was still refused planning permission.

How Planning was brought in to prepare and manage the appeal, and The Planning Inspector agreed that the balance of benefits and the need to increase the number of new homes in the area outweighed any detrimental effects the scheme might have on the area.

Richard Barton, principal planner at HOW Planning, said:  “This scheme will make an important contribution to achieving residential targets for the area. This decision clearly shows that significant weight is being given to the provision of new housing and further demonstrates the Government’s commitment to the presumption in favour of sustainable development.”

Mark Calvert of Taylor Wimpey added: “Taylor Wimpey is very pleased with the outcome of the appeal and is looking forward to building the new homes here.”

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FOUR bidders have come forward with a view to helping secure the future of Crewe’s historic Lyceum Theatre.

Cheshire East Council invited interested parties to express an interest in partnering the Council in the future management of the century-old institution.

The council said that it received 58 expressions of interest from potential partners in the scheme, which has led to four formal bids emerging for the contract.

The council stressed that it is not looking to sell the theatre but to gain an experienced partner to manage it.

Cllr Rod Menlove, cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: “We understand only too well the importance of securing the theatre’s future. The fact that several parties have expressed a real interest in working with us to achieve this is great news.

“The Lyceum Theatre is a much-loved institution that is at the very heart of the local community and it has a proud and rich history, playing host to so many memorable events over the years.”

“Our aim is for this to continue. We want to work with a partner who has fresh ideas and enthusiasm and the experience to match the council’s wishes for the theatre to remain as an important cultural asset.”

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GREENE King is set to open its first Hungry Horse restaurant on a leisure park at Neptune Developments’ Marine Point in New Brighton, Wirral.

The firm has acquired a 6,300 unit at the scheme. It was advised on the deal by law firm Cobbetts.

Hungry Horse operations director Matt Brown said: “We are excited about this addition to our Hungry Horse chain of pubs. This new pub and restaurant will create up to 40 new jobs for people in the local area.”

Cobbetts’ partner David Frankland said: “We are pleased to have been able to advise Greene King on the acquisition of its first unit on a major mixed use leisure scheme.

“The out-of-town retail and leisure sector has continued to see strong trading levels over the last 12 months, and New Brighton offers an exciting new opportunity for the Greene King business.”

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ASSET management firm Livingcity Group has been appointed as the new managing agent of the Chorlton Mill building on Manchester’s Cambridge Street.

Livingcity Asset Management Limited has been instructed by Chorlton Mill Management Company, which is the residents’ own management company, and the team will now be working across the site by providing tenant care and liaison, management of communal areas and the employment of site-based staff.

Chorlton Mill is made up of 90 residential apartments, 16 commercial units and two retail units. Livingcity already manages a number of other commercial schemes. Manchester-based Livingcity also manages the nearby Macintosh Village and Macintosh Mills developments, as well as the the No.1 Deansgate, The Hacienda and the Green Quarter schemes.

Managing director Mark Gallimore said: “This new appointment in one of Manchester’s most important historic residential conversions, is great news for Livingcity and is testament to the professional asset management service we’ve delivered to our managed portfolio of residential, commercial and mixed-use developments.”

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HURSTWOOD has signed up two new tenants to fill its Taylors Court office scheme in Rotherham.

More than 5,000 sq ft of office space was let as deals were completed with TLC Homecare and Sevacare (UK) to move into suites A3 and A4 respectively.

TLC Homecare currently provides care at home to around 400 people in South Yorkshire.

Richard Walker, the company’s CEO, said: “Following the award of a significant contract with Rotherham MBC, TLC Homecare – a three-star excellent rated care at home provider and part of the Optimo Care Group  – was keen to secure high quality office accommodation in Rotherham. Hurstwood and their property at Taylors Court was an obvious choice.”

He added: “The team at Hurstwood worked with us closely to ensure we could take occupation in a short period of time.”

Sevacare (UK) offers a range of care services and has more than 30 branches across the UK. Chairman Ravi Bains said: “Taylors Court is ideal for us. It is in the right location and is a very prominent building in the town.”

Freshfields House, Hurstwood’s office building at Taylors Court, is a modern two-storey office development featuring a range of open-plan office space.

The building is located in the Parkgate area of Rotherham, around 1.5 miles from the town centre.