Building Briefs
GUY Gilfillan, of Lambert Smith Hampton’s Sheffield office, believes Yorkshire towns like Barnsley are well placed to attract occupiers from the Government.
“There are genuine signs that enquiry rates in satellite towns such as Barnsley are holding up well despite the difficult market conditions,” Mr Gilfillan said.
“The major cities witnessed early booms and have subsequently been affected most heavily by the current economic downturn. When the likes of Leeds, York, Sheffield and Newcastle were successful in securing deals with major relocating Government departments, the cost benefits were far greater than they are today.
“With rentals now much higher in excess of around £22 sq ft in these areas, it is the towns such as Barnsley, Wakefield and Chesterfield that present greater cost advantages with rental figures at around £14.75 sq ft at leading developments like Gateway Plaza in Barnsley.”
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REIT Asset Management, advised by DTZ, has secured a raft of lettings at Albion Park in Leeds.
Units three, four and five, a terrace of newly refurbished industrial units, have been let to Sanctuary Bathrooms, Total Trade Frames and Carousel Envelopes. The units were let off a quoting rental of £3.75 sq ft.
The deals follow closely on the heels of four other deals at the industrial park. Other recent in-going occupiers include Morfitts, Underworld and Warehouse Systems, in a unit comprising 14,825 sq ft at a rent equivalent to £5 sq ft.
Philip Caspell, senior surveyor at DTZ, said: “Albion Park benefits from a varied size range of units, which has allowed us to offer units from 1,200 sq ft to 40,000 sq ft. The recent spate of lettings has brought the occupancy levels on the estate to 90%, which is exceptional given the current challenging market conditions. The only remaining unit on the estate totals 20,000 sq ft.”
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A 200 acre development site in Doncaster has been sold in a multi-million pound investment deal.
Lazarus Properties has bought the land in Finningley, Doncaster, which is located close to Robin Hood Airport and is currently used for agriculture and mineral extraction.
The deal sees Doncaster-based Lazarus Properties take over AMG Pearson, owner of the land, having secured funding from Yorkshire Bank.
Lawyers from the Sheffield office of DLA Piper acted on behalf of Yorkshire Bank in reviewing the contracts and title and arranging the bank’s security for the deal.
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AS part of a relocation and expansion programme, Wales-based lifting equipment engineering firm Rope and Sling Specialists (RSS) is to open its first northern depot at Aspen Court, Centurion Business Park in Rotherham.
Acting on behalf of Northern Trust Company, national commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton agreed the new five-year lease on the 5,193 sq ft unit at a rental of £5.26 sq ft per year.
The new depot will be fitted out with all the testing facilities required to ensure the safe use of lifting equipment and will carry a large stock so the company
will be able to provide a one stop shop for all its customers’ lifting equipment needs. It will also have the facilities to manufacture wire rope slings up to 50 tonnes.
Joint agents on the scheme are LSH and Whittle Jones.
