Office of the Month: 10 South Parade
IT’S one of the success stories of the past 12 months in the regional office market. Ian Briggs reports on Wilton Developments’ transformation of 10 South Parade.
JASON Stowe is excited. And he’s excited about a wall feature that many people would normally not even notice, never mind comment upon.
The managing director of Wilton Developments is explaining how fossilised ammonites which adorn the lobby of each floor of the company’s landmark 10 South Parade building have been flown in from a site in Germany.
The prehistoric feature, coupled with the mood lighting and stylish chairs, give each landing area the feel of a boutique hotel more akin to New York than a Leeds city centre office building.
But everything about the transformation of 10 South Parade – from the communal toilets to reception area – reeks of quality.
And these touches of class are one of the major reasons why Wilton has been able to speculatively develop 10 South Parade and successfully let 50% of its space, achieving record rents.
Achieving this feat without even heavily marketing the building is even more impressive, especially in the current economic environment.
10 South Parade, which was originally built in 1971 but bought by Wilton in 2009, was the only speculative office scheme in Leeds to get off the ground in 2010 and such is the confidence – coupled with the business acumen – of Wilton following its success that the company has now embarked on its next project, the speculative development of nearby 28 Bond Court, which it recently acquired.
At the 36,350 sq ft 10 South Parade office development, Wilton has secured a pre-let of 9,400 sq ft to Xafinity Consulting, 3,200 sq ft of second floor office space to Odgers Berndtson and 2,640 sq ft on the top floor to Lockton Insurance at a new Leeds record rent of £28 sq ft.
Mr Stowe says there is interest in the remainder of the site – Wilton has moved its staff from Harrogate to occupy part of the top floor as the company’s head office – and believes that will only increase once promotional banners marketing the space are put up in its windows shortly.
“This scheme has really been Yorkshire managed,” Mr Stowe told TheBusinessDesk.com. “We’ve used a Yorkshire contractor, Yorkshire architect and Yorkshire quantity surveyor.
“It’s been very much a home spun development and that’s the way we do business. we feel we get the best results out of people who really understand the local market.”
DTZ, Knight Frank and WSB are marketing Wilton Developments, which is the property development vehicle of the Moore family’s interests, on the scheme.
Eamon Fox, of the Leeds office of DTZ, said the building’s location in the heart of Leeds city centre has been a real factor in its popularity.
He praised the Wilton team for “having the balls” to carry out the project and transform “an ugly duckling” when others wouldn’t take the risk.
“The lights are on there and it’s been delivered,” he added.
Speaking about the future, Mr Stowe says Wilton, which has been involved in a number of schemes across the North of England, is keen to build on its Leeds portfolio.
“We’ve been looking around for other investments and projects,” he said. “We have large cash reserves that if we can spend on the right projects we will do for the benefit of the fund we manage. But it’s harder than it looks to have the money and spend it correctly.
“It’s taken us six to seven years to get to the position where we feel part of the Yorkshire establishment and community and now we intend to be here by a factor of 10 of that.”
