Prominent office building set for £4m refurbishment
A Coventry office building is set to undergo a £4m refurbishment as the city gears up for a fresh wave of investment following its selection as the 2021 UK City of Culture.
FI Real Estate Management said the new investment was intended to capitalise on the influx of tenants Friars House (below) attracted following phase one of its refurbishment last year.
More than 20,000 sq ft of space across three floors has already been leased at the 11-storey commercial development on Manor House Drive in the six months since Coventry launched its City of Culture bid.
Serviced office provider, Fig Offices, High Education service provider, Keypath Education and Coventry University have joined existing tenants including global recruitment group, Hays, taking advantage of the building’s prominent location adjacent to Coventry train station.
Friars House is also situated alongside the new £100m Friargate masterplan, which is creating new office space, hotels, homes, retail units and restaurants in Coventry’s largest regeneration project for several decades.
Following the completion of phase one of the refurbishment, which included the upgrade of the ground floor reception area and communal areas along with three of the 10 available floors, FI Real Estate Management said it would now renovate the remaining vacant floors within the 70,000 sq ft building. Phase two is set to complete in June.
David Thwaites, Senior Asset Manager at FI Real Estate Management, said: “We have been really encouraged by the increased levels of occupation at Friars House over the past six months. The building has always enjoyed an unrivalled strategic location but the quality of accommodation has historically been comprised due to a lack of investment.
“The refurbishment programme we have undertaken now enables occupiers to benefit from high quality office space at affordable rents.
“Coventry’s position as UK City of Culture 2021 has further increased the city’s appeal as a professional home to a range of sectors from creative and technology to education. This is now being realised through office developments like Friars House.”
He said the company had received strong interest in the remaining floors and it was confident of announcing further new tenants in the coming months.
The joint letting agents for Friars House are Holt Commercial and Cushman & Wakefield.
Friars House
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