Lettings latest: Bruntwood, Opus, Hurstwood

ENGINEERING group Ramboll has taken what has been described as the largest letting in Chester this year.

The business is moving from an office in Nicholas Street after taking 8,218 sq ft on a new five-year lease at The Exchange in St John Street.

The mixed use scheme is owned by Opus Land and has offices, hotel and retail accommodation. The office element provides approximately 25,000 sq ft over three floors and has been speculatively refurbished to a Grade A standard.

Chris Lloyd, associate director at DTZ, said: “The Exchange appealed to my client as it provided an efficient solution to their occupational requirements both in terms of the specification over a single floor and the pragmatic approach to negotiations by Opus Land.”

Ramboll director Chris Rhodes said: “Ramboll has been working in Chester for over 30 years supporting local, national and international projects. We continue to attract the brightest talent in the region across all engineering and scientific disciplines and we now need a larger and improved working space to house up to 90 of these highly skilled professionals, so we are looking forward to relocating to The Exchange.”

Bolton Birch and Legat Owen acted for Opus Land.

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THE office agency team at Deloitte Real Estate has completed a letting for Mines Advisory Group (MAG) at South Central, Peter Street, Manchester.

The mine clearance charity has taken 8,800 sq ft in the building owned by Bruntwood on a 12-year lease. They have relocated from Sackville Street in the city centre.

Adam Robson at Deloitte Real Estate said: “The quality and flexibility of the space at South Central is fantastic and lends itself well to MAG’s plans for the future. We conducted extensive market research in order to find the most suitable office premises and are sure that the charity will be happy in its new home.”

MAG director of finance Mick Darby said: “The move and the whole set-up at South Central is absolutely consistent with MAG values of value for money, professionalism, and transparency.

“The floor plan for the new office demonstrates what openness and integration look and feel like in practice. In the layout we are deliberately eliminating walls, divisions and silos, whilst facilitating communication and closer ways of working together.”

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OPEN source software engineer The Inviqa Group has signed up at Bruntwood’s Cotton Exchange in Liverpool.

The firm, made-up of three brands, Session Digital, SensioLabsUK and Inviqa, has taken almost 1,000 sq ft of refurbished space at the Bixteth Street building, which is a core point of presence on the Metronet (UK) high-speed internet network.

The Inviqa Group, which also has offices in Manchester and London, specialises in high quality web development for enterprise clients including BBC, Comic Relief, Radley, Dreams and William Hill.

Chief executive Yair Spitzer said: “Connectivity is a hugely important factor for our business and the advanced network

capability available at Cotton Exchange, plus the additional services on offer, made it a clear choice for our new Liverpool base.  

“We have ambitious growth plans for the region and the character and space of our new office will give us an ideal platform to support

those efforts.”

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HURSTWOD has let more than 12,000 sq ft of industrial space in Blackburn following two deals at Hurstwood Court on Shadsworth Business Park.

Manufacturer Ralspeed, a tenant at the estate since 2007, has expanded by taking 6,700 sq ft. HALO Education, a specialist supplier of educational furniture and equipment, has taken 6,000 sq ft.

Hurstwood has 75,000 sq ft of industrial space at Shadsworth, built by the company within the last ten years. Tenants include BMS Critical Care, Lancashire Police Authority, and Forest UK.

Sales director Mark Carling said: “Hurstwood Court offers great facilities with units benefitting from a mixture of warehouse and office space so it is no surprise that we are now fully let. The estate benefits from excellent transport links with M65 in easy reach and Preston, Blackburn and Burnley all within a 20 minute drive.

“This has been a major factor in attracting companies to the site. Demand for our industrial properties has been high in 2013 in general and we anticipate completing more deals at our estates across the North West over the summer.”