Property briefs: The Heath; 81 Fountain St; Capital & Centric; Millson Associates; Steve Hunt
SOG Ltd, the landlord of The Heath business park in Runcorn, is building an extra 9,350 sq ft for tenant Wood Group PSN.
The energy services firm has around 300 staff and the site and will move 180 into the new facility which will give it the space to expand. It has a further 7,500 staff at offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Hull.
Operations manager for the North Graham Jackson said: “The North has an abundance of highly qualified engineers and designers and we have been steadily increasing our network of personnel to service our growing number of North Sea contracts. Our recruitment campaigns from Runcorn have been extremely successful which means we require more space for our team here in the North West.”
SOG’s managing director John Lewis said: “The building we are now constructing for Wood Group PSN is the second phase of our extensive new-build programme underway at The Heath to keep pace with the demand for additional space from our resident businesses and potential new businesses wishing to relocate to The Heath.”
Work started earlier this month and should be finished by September.
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THE Duchy of Lancaster is to invest up to £400,000 upgrading 19,000 sq ft of office space at its Fountain Street property in Manchester city centre.
The estate, owned by the Queen, will refurbish four floors of the eight-storey property, stripping out and replacing all existing fittings.
Nathan Thompson, chief executive of the Duchy, said: “81 Fountain Street is in a prime city centre location which on completion will offer quality space in the heart of Manchester.”
The refurbishment will begin in February on the sixth floor, of 4,700 sq ft, and is expected to take five weeks to complete.
81 Fountain Street was purchased by the Duchy of Lancaster in 2008 and let to BUPA until 2012. Four floors of the 40,000 sq ft building have been let to law firm Hill Dickinson, engineering consultancy Jacobs, and national recruitment agency Blue Arrow.
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JOINT venture partners Capital & Centric and Barnfield Construction have launched their £3.5m Speke Business Park to the market.
The site, which has 50,000 sq ft of industrial units was launched at an event attended by around 30 agents last week.
Maria Eagle, MP for Speke and Halewood said: “Speke Business Park offers a fantastic opportunity for local businesses to take up brand new, energy efficient industrial and storage facilities which are ready for occupation.
“In the difficult economic circumstances that we’ve experienced in recent years, this sort of space has been in short supply and having these facilities on our doorstep will protect and create jobs, provide growth space and potentially attract investment into our area.”
The new units are being offered for sale or to let by Jones Lang LaSalle and CBRE.
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HYDE-based Millson Associates said it worked on the delivery of around 60 affordable homes in Tameside last year.
It project-managed developments across the borough at Birch Lane in Dukinfield, Wakefield Road in Stalybridge and Wellington Works in Ashton-Under-Lyne, which have been acquired by the housing association New Charter Housing Trust.
Director Joe Millson said: “We have worked in Tameside for more than 30 years and have focused on helping those in need of property services within the borough. We have created jobs for local people and created this specialism in helping deliver new homes.
“One of our strengths is our ability to identify sites, obtain planning consent and deliver the homes on-site. This has great implications for the speed of delivery and is a better proposition for those who need a quicker turnaround of asset value.”
Millson Associates employs 23 people.
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LIVERPOOL-based building services engineering specialist Steven Hunt Associates has picked up three project wins.
The company has been awarded the building services design contract for the University of Liverpool’s new £6m management suite, a £4m sports hall extension and a sports sciences block at Hope University, and a £2m sports facility for Halton Borough Council.
Managing director Steve Hunt said: “These three project wins mean that we have made a really dynamic start to 2014 and they will kick start growth as we look to build on an excellent year in 2013.
“The new projects demonstrate the diversity of our portfolio and the solutions-driven nature of our approach.”
