In brief: Gent Visick, Ryden, Sunny Bank Mills

NEW tenants have signed on at Monckton Road Industrial Estate in Wakefield.

Farming equipment manufacturer John Deere have signed on for a 10,000 sq ft showroom, to be operated by franchisee Balmers GM to complement their Lancashire site.

German Autocare, Arets Graphics, Heyner UK, and Nate and Science Agriculture have also signed up, leading to 33,000 sq ft being let in total over the summer.

Richard Henley of Gent Visick acted as letting agent for the site, along with Jones Lang LaSalel, which was recently acquired by Blackrock Industrial Trust, a joint venture between Blackrock and Canmoor.

He said: “Monckton Road continues to enhance its reputation as a trade counter location. We are delighted with the recent lettings and in particular with the new John Deere showroom.”

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10 INDUSTRIAL lettings have been completed by Ryden, with three industrial estates from the Ross Portfolio in the East Midlands.

Their client was Industrials.co.uk, a joint venture between C2 Capital and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing.

25,000 sq ft of industrial accommodation has been filled in 10 separate lettings within the last six months. New tenants include BA Installations, Key Fasteners Ltd and Shop ATM/Teknovation Ltd.

Associate Dan Hodge said: “This is an excellent result given that we only acquired the industrial estates in January 2015. We worked closely with existing and new occupiers to have 100% occupancy. We now have a waiting list of occupiers eager to take occupation of units on all three estates.”

Rents at the portfolio range from £4.75 to £5.35 per square foot, with the recent lettings setting record rents at each estate.

Julian Carey, managing director of C2 Capital, said “We are delighted with Ryden’s success in letting all the vacant industrial accommodation across these estates, especially as they have managed to increase the target rents up by up to 15% in some instances. Their proactive approach, coupled with an efficient legal process, has meant that interested parties have been able to quickly take occupation of units with minimal incentives and/or loss of income.”

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FORMER family-owned Sunny Bank Mills, now an office development, has reached a milestone, with 300 jobs being created on site since its refurbishment.

The site, where ITV’s Emmerdale and Heartbeat were filmed is now home to 60 companies.

William Gaunt, joint managing director of Edwin Woodhouse, the owners of Sunny Bank Mills, commented: “We feel very proud to have broken the 300 jobs barrier, especially as we began the multi-million pound regeneration of the mill in a very challenging market for commercial property. We are well on our way to reclaiming our status as the prime employer in the area

“We are seeing a steady flow of new tenants into Sunny Bank Mills, breathing new life into an historic complex. They are all excellent examples of successful companies being attracted to a quality business environment and their arrival underlines the versatility and flexibility of space at Sunny Bank Mills, which is attracting an exciting breadth of occupiers,” he explained.

Managing director Jonny Picot explained: “We first moved to Sunny Bank Mills in 2010, when John and William Gaunt’s brave vision for their mill was in its infancy. We bought into that vision and have been absolutely delighted to see how the mill complex has blossomed into a thriving business centre and a focal point for life in Farsley.

Mike Haigh of Leeds property consultancy Dove Haigh Phillips, who are marketing Sunny Bank Mills with the Leeds office of JLL, added: “. The astounding success of Sunny Bank Mills, exemplified by the story of The Yorkshire Physiotherapy Network, vindicates the capital expenditure and attention to detail the inspirational regeneration of the mill complex has created”.