Capital & Centric starts new spec scheme
MANCHESTER property developer Capital & Centric is on site at a speculative business park in Speke.
Nelson-based Barnfield Construction is building the 65,000 sq ft scheme next to Mersey Retail Park, off Speke Boulevard. The units will be available to buy or to rent.
Of the £5m development costs some £1.4m has come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the balance from private investors.
Capital & Centric director Tim Heatley said demand from growing businesses who need modern space justified the development.
“They’re not forecasting too far into the future, but they get to the point where they’re busting at the seams and say ‘we need to be somewhere in eight weeks’,” he said.
“We’re doing well because we’ve got brand new energy efficient space ready for people to move in to.”
Mr Heatley said suppliers to Merseyside motor manufacturers, General Motors and Jaguar Land Rover, are benefiting from the decision to source more products closer to their factories.
“They want to get control back, and high fuel prices and energy efficiency targets are shaping these decisions,” he said. “We’re finding that these forces are taking effect.”
Nearby Capital & Centric is putting the finishing touches to its Estuary Business Park next to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. It has sold around 50% of the units at the 82,000 sq ft park. It is also working on Crown Business Park in Rochdale where some 105,000 sq ft has been completed and a further 90,000 is under construction.
CBRE and Jones Lang LaSalle Liverpool are the joint letting agents at Speke.
