Property news: Kuits move into new office; WHR & more
MANCHESTER commercial law firm Kuits has taken an additional 3,800sq ft of space in Blackfriars House, Parsonage, to support its continued growth.
The new space, which is a two-minute walk from the firm’s existing office, has been fitted-out as a meetings and conferencing suite.
The state-of-the-art suite will house all of the firm’s client meetings and seminars.
Clients will be able to enjoy a comfortable and welcoming lounge area, with complimentary refreshments, smart TVs, and work areas with free Wi-Fi and charging equipment.
The space within Blackfriars House will free up the ground floor of the firm’s existing office building, enabling this space to be converted into offices.
This additional office space will support the growth of the firm generally and, in particular, the corporate and commercial team.
Steve Eccleston, managing partner of Kuits, said: “Over the last 12 months, we have recruited an additional 10 lawyers and 15 business staff to support our increasing caseload and new clients.
“During this time, our fee income has increased by 16% in comparison with the previous 12 months. This growth has come as a result of our focus on client service and fulfilling the role of trusted advisors to our clients.”
Mike Millward, Building Consultancy lead of OBI Property, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity and a pleasure to work so closely with the team at Kuits throughout the whole design stage and through to completion on-site.”
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BURY-based Harrington’s Advisory, a specialist in payment protection insurance claims, has space at 39 Deansgate in Manchester city centre.
WHR Property Consultants has secured Harrington’s as the occupant of the second floor of the nine-storey building, totalling 4,587sq ft on a three-year lease.
Joint agent Cushman and Wakefield has also completed a recent letting to Investar Investment.
Investar has taken 2,289 sq ft on a five- ear lease having moved from Clipper Quay.
Quoting rents for the building are £14.50 per sq ft for refurbished specification and £12 for non-refurbished.
Target Real Estate acquired the 41, 000sq ft. building from RLAM in November. The landmark building, which forms part of a gateway in to the city centre is home to a number of occupiers including Doctor Net and The Flight Centre, which also occupies the retail ground floor.
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A SCHEME to install insulation to 23 Park Homes at Castle Hill Park, Woodley, near Stockport, has been completed, and residents celebrated this milestone with an event with the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport.
Park Homes are ‘bungalow-style’ mobile properties, with their ‘lightweight construction’ and elevated position meaning they have very poor thermal properties and high levels of heat loss. This in turn results in the residents having high heating bills and difficulty to keep warm in the winter.
The scheme was initiated through the Greater Manchester Retrofit Programme and Stockport Council, working in partnership with Wates Living Space & Caribou Green Warmth LLP to carry out the work on the 23 Park homes.
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THE painting division of Bolton-based builder and developer Seddon has been appointed to a £225,000 framework by Oasis Community Learning.
Established in 2004, Oasis Community Learning governs 47 academy schools throughout the UK.
Seddon, which also has offices in Birmingham, Stoke and North Wales, has been appointed to the charity’s three-year painting framework, which includes internal decoration works to 14 of the organisation’s North West based academies.
The framework commenced in February 2016, and is worth up to £75,000 each year.
Kelly Dew, business development manager for Seddon’s Small Works Division, said: “We have extensive experience of delivering painting projects in live educational facilities with our own dedicated workforce and are delighted to have been appointed to this framework.”
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KINGSPAN Renewables, part of the Kingspan Group, has disposed of a small surplus factory in Old Trafford, Manchester through its commercial agent TFC.
The freehold on the 16,000 sq ft industrial unit at Lund Street was sold for circa £100,000 to property developer George Robinson Ltd.
David Rowley, director, TFC, said: “The property had been on the market for some time prior to our appointment as agents last autumn but we were able to attract a number of interested parties and it went to best bids”.
TFC acted for Kingspan Renewables and the purchaser was unrepresented.
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A PLANNING application for a new junction which would offer improved access and traffic flow to the proposed Barrow Marina Village housing site has been submitted by Cumbria County Council.
The junction development will involve widening the existing carriageway on the south side of Salthouse Road between Rawlinson Street and Ruskin Terrace, to accommodate a new right turning lane onto the site.
The infrastructure project forms an integral part of the multi-million pound Barrow Waterfront Master Plan, the investment for which has been secured by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership from the Local Growth Fund.
The council’s preferred option is for a new priority junction with a right turning lane from the main road, as well as new landscaping and grass verges, earthworks and perimeter fencing. Capita Property and Infrastructure Ltd are the designers of the plans.
A short section of new carriageway will lead off Salthouse Road and onto the Marina Village site.
The proposals also include relocating the pedestrian pavement on the south side to realign with the new carriageway. Both drivers and pedestrians will benefit from a new kerbed traffic island for safer road crossing, improved road lighting, surfacing, road markings and traffic signs.
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MANCHESTER Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel has received a Greener Path award for ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’.
The Greener Path Awards celebrate the great work businesses across the UK are doing to reduce their impact on the environment.
The four-star hotel on Water Street was commended for demonstrating exemplary effort and achievement in minimising waste, boosting recycling and increasing landfill diversion, while seeking out innovative and sustainable ways to handle waste streams.
maintenance manager, Hassen Lakhel, who has worked at the venue for three years, helped the hotel achieve the award with the introduction of several initiatives, including use of colour coded bins to separate different waste materials and ensure maximal recycling of cardboard and glass.
General manager, Frederico Ciampi, said: “We pride ourselves on doing what we can to reduce our impact on the environment and Hassen has done a brilliant job in implementing various initiatives to ensure we achieve this.”
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STUDENTS using Lancaster University’s library will now have a unique backdrop to their studies, following the installation of an eight-metre-high Ficus tree inside the building’s newly-created atrium study space.
The live tree, which enhances the environment, forms the centrepiece of a renovation scheme designed by Sheppard Robson and delivered by Styles&Wood, integrated property service group.
In addition to installing the tree, the 69-week project saw the creation of a flexible, technology-enabled environment offering a range of individual and group work spaces. The team also installed new fixtures and furnishings and reconfigured stairs and lifts across the 14,500 sq m building to create more intuitive and accessible user experience for students.
The existing library, situated on Alexandra Square, comprises the original library building constructed in 1967 and an extension added in 1997 to the west. The new design now unites these two structures for the first time, with the focus of the remodelling effort on the original library building.
The renewed 24/7 facility reaffirms the library at the heart of the university’s campus, creating spaces befitting one of the top ten universities in the UK.
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PRESTON-based Conlon Construction has kicked off the New Year with a raft of award shortlists, with five trophies in its sights.
Three projects are finalists in this year’s prestigious RICS Awards, organised by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
In the North West, the impressive multi-million pound office scheme, Jubilee House in Lytham is up for both the Commercial and Regeneration accolade. Home to Danbro, the project saw Conlon transform a former land registry building into a modern multi-storey office development.
In addition, Avro Heritage Museum, situated at Woodford Aerodrome in Stockport and designed by fellow Preston firm, Cassidy + Ashton, is in line for the Tourism & Leisure award having been converted into a modern facility from an existing fire station.
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SUTTON Kersh’s February auction was the largest the Liverpool city region has seen in more than 10 years.
There were over 160 lots at auction and sales figures topped £9m, with close to 80% of properties sold on the day.
Bidding was intense, with a room packed with over 300 buyers and some properties selling for almost double the guide price.
Cathy Holt, director at Sutton Kersh said: “It’s been a huge auction, a record breaker for Liverpool.
“Sales pre-auction have also been extremely strong with £2.7m of property sold in the last few weeks, including some truly unique properties, such as a Victorian water tower in Ormskirk, with planning consent for a four bedroom dwelling, which sold for £135,000.”
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LIVERPOOL-based HE Services specialist HE Simm has won its fourth student accommodation contract in 12 months for Downing Construction, bringing in repeat business worth more than £18m.
Under a £4m contract, HE Simm will provide mechanical, electrical, public health works for Downing’s Belgrade Plaza project in Coventry.
The student accommodation development is due to commence in October 2016 and comprises a 600 bed scheme as part of a mixed retail, residential and student accommodation complex.
It is the fourth student accommodation contract to be secured by HE Simm for Downing in a 12 month period.
The firm is already delivering on a £3.2m contract at the 474-bed University of Leeds Central Village development, which will complete in August 2016.
It is also on-site at Downing’s University of Newcastle 521-bed scheme, a contract worth £2.9m and is due to start MEPH works at South Lambert Road, an iconic 32 storey, purpose built student development in the heart of Vauxhall, London, worth £7.7m.
To-date HE Simm has been contracted to support on 15 Downing student accommodation projects since developing a relationship with the construction company.
::THE collaboration of three teams from national commercial property advisers Matthews & Goodman has resulted in the successful letting of 274 Deansgate Manchester to real time communication IT company Parker Software.
Based in Stoke-on-Trent, Parker Software sought to expand to Manchester due to growth of the business across the North West. They have committed to the ground floor of the building for a term of five years.
Matthews & Goodman’s national business space team acted on behalf of private investor, Shefford Ltd & Daytona Ltd in securing the letting. As part of the transactional process, Matthews & Goodman’s building consultancy team was brought on board to refurbish and project manage the accommodation.
