Commercial Property News

New research by Britain's biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax has shown that the number of first-time homebuyers has hit a record low in 2005 in the last quarter of a century. The report says that about 320,000 people made some purchases last year, but this figure was 10 percent less than that of 2004 and 40 percent less than that of 2002.

The report said that a person needs to deposit £24,000 for his/her first home and is aged 33 on average when doing so. The number of first time buyers slid to the lowest level since 1980, but there was a marginal rise in the latter half of the year. As far as the deposit is concerned, the Halifax report said that it was 76 percent of average earnings in 2005 as compared to 42 percent of average earnings in 2000.

Halifax also said that most first time buyers are "priced out" of the market. This was true with regard to semi-detached property in 87 percent of the towns as compared to 41 percent of the towns three years ago. Expectedly areas in London and the South East were the most expensive, while Nelson in Lancashire was the most affordable.

Glasgow based developer, Palisade Properties plc, has sold a prime retail unit, on Great George Street, at the foot of Ashton Lane, off Byres Road, to property investment company Kingfisher equities Ltd for £2.8m.

The deal comes as Marks & Spencer takes up occupancy of the unit, spanning 5,000 sq ft, introducing the first Simply Food city centre food store concept to the West End.

The tenancy agreement is based on a twenty-year lease, at an annual rental of £150,000.

The sale to Kingfisher Equities Ltd represents a net initial yield of 5.3%. An adjacent retail unit of approximately 670 sq ft, is also available for lease.

The retail sale completes a larger landmark scheme created by Palisade Properties, which has also set a precedent for its complex and creative engineering solution for this challenging site.

Formerly a garden centre, Palisade Properties has transformed the land into a mixed development comprising ground floor retail accommodation and a collection of 16 apartments, including a penthouse, on the upper floors. The apartments, which were priced from £225,000, sold within a matter of weeks and the penthouse is now available for sale.

Three teams from commercial property law firm Bell & Scott acted on behalf of Lindores Limited in the £14m purchase of a complex site at Dundee Harbour from Forth Ports plc.

Bell & Scott's Corporate Team, Retail & Leisure Team and Housebuilding Team were engaged to negotiate the acquisition of the substantial site, which will provide four development sites with consent for 250 residential units, as well as three further sites marked for office and residential development.

Iain MacDonald, Managing Partner at Bell & Scott, commented: "Deals of this nature are precisely what we're geared up for. Pulling together the specialist skills from our expert teams means we can successfully deliver on every part of this type of complex property investment. We are excited to be working on this project for Lindores. Dundee harbour is anticipated to be one of the most popular destinations in Dundee."

In addition, the teams acted in the acquisition and onward sale of the successful City Quay Retail Village.

One of Scotland's longest-established housebuilders, Dickie Homes, has acquired planning permission to build an exclusive new development of detached homes in the conservation village of Carmunnock, the most southerly village within the boundary of the city of Glasgow. Comprising a total of 35 new four and five bedroom detached homes, Dickie's development, called Picketlaw, is located on the site of the former Picketlaw Farm on the southwest edge of the village on Busby Road.


Dickie, who have been building homes in the Glasgow area for over 125 years, have created a new portfolio of house designs specifically for this attractive rural location, in keeping with the integrity of the village and enhancing its special character and appearance. There will be a choice of seven different house types, ranging in size from approximately 1,932 to approximately 2,798 square feet and providing a range of layouts for contemporary living.

Dickie will launch first sales at Picketlaw in the spring, with prices from circa £490,000, and a showhome of the Newburgh design will open in the summer. A mailing list is now open and for further information, contact Dickie's sales hotline on: 0141 633 6060.

Sanctuary Housing has been awarded a £30 million contract to build halls of residence at the new Queen Margaret University College campus.

The firm is one of the UK's largest non-profit housing associations and will create the accommodation for 800 people at the 35-acre site in Craighall, near Musselburgh.

Sanctuary has appointed contractor Miller Construction to carry out the building work. They will also provide day-to-day maintenance services for the halls of residence over a 35-year contract term.

The new QMUC campus will see more than 4000 staff and students move from its existing bases at Corstorphine and Leith. The move is expected to be completed by autumn 2007.

House prices rose for the second consecutive month after fifteen months of falls, says the latest housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

An increase in buyer activity and property sales has boosted surveyor confidence. Eight per cent more surveyors reported a rise in prices over the last three months than a fall compared to four per cent in November. Modest price rises are expected to continue into the year. Surveyors are reporting the return of first time buyers, who now believe the market will fall no further.

Price rises, led by London and Scotland, are evident across the country. The Midlands and East Anglia are the only regions still seeing mild falls.

The quarter to December saw the largest increase in completed sales (eight per cent) in over two years, despite being a traditionally quiet time of year. Surveyors are expressing concern that an influx of properties to the market in December may not satisfy renewed demand.

Low levels of housing supply are continuing to keep first time buyers off the property ladder. Prices for first time buyer properties continue to rise ahead of wages and the rest of the housing market, growing 18 per cent compared to a 15 per cent average since January 2004.

RICS residential spokesman Jeremy Leaf commented: "The housing market is definitely seeing signs of a recovery. We expect the positive activity at the end of last year to continue over the coming months.

Home buying and selling is being supported by a healthy job market and business climate, which looks set to continue for now though one potential obstacle to growth could be a shortage of available properties to meet growing demand.

First time buyers are in an increasingly difficult position as property prices at their end of the market grow at a disproportionate rate, partially due to continued competition from buy-to-let investors."

Hunters, one of Scotland's leading estate agency groups, clocked up a record year for 2005 - boosting year-on-year home sales by 35 per cent to £156 million, helped by "second generation" Fifers.

Despite an alleged slowdown in the wider residential property market the firm, which has operations in Edinburgh, Dunfermline and Falkirk sold around 1000 properties for clients.

More than 900 homes were sold in the area covered by the Edinburgh Solicitors' Property Centre - a rise of 230 on the previous year - in a spurt that pushed the firm into second spot from third in the ESPC annual house sales league behind Warners. A further 95 homes were also sold from the group's Falkirk office, which opened in October 2004.

From its head office in Morningside, Hunters grew sales from £77.53m to £86.9m. Sales from its Falkirk operation, launched in October 2004, hit £14m. But the biggest growth area was seen from its Dunfermline office, where sales were up by 70 per cent to £55.1m.

The latest ESPC sales report reveals the traditionally quiet month of December proved to be anything but, with sales in east-central Scotland up by 17 per cent to 1500 properties.

The Scottish Executive is funding Highland and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) to buy-out the contract from the PFI owners Inverness Airport Terminal Ltd (IATL). The buy-out price is £27.5 million if HIAL provide a tax guarantee to cover the estimated tax liability of up to £8.4 million. If the PFI contract had run its full term to 2024 the cost is projected to have been £73 million.

At the time the deal was signed it was envisaged that the costs of the passenger charges would be largely offset by growth in landing charges. However, the advent of no frills carriers has meant that all airport operators have had to accept little or no growth in landing charges and instead look to increased growth in retail concession and parking income arising for the operation of air terminals. In the case of Inverness the car parking and retail income has fallen to the PFI operator under the terms of the contract.

The PFI structure was based on a volume-based per passenger charge and HIAL, with the assistance of their financial advisers and the Executive PFI Unit, concluded that the current structure of the deal was an active disincentive to the development of new services from Inverness.

The projected passenger total for the 12 months ending March 31, 2024 is circa 625,000 passengers and the projected total PFI charge for the same period would have been over £2 million.

FOSSE PARK, one of Britain's biggest out-of-town shopping parks, is set to change hands for about £360 million in the biggest sale of a single retail investment property for seven years.

The sale will be the biggest since British Land bought Sheffield's Meadowhall centre for more than £1 billion in 1999.

The 416,536 sq ft shopping park, three miles south of Leicester, is being sold by REIT Asset Management, the private property company, and Apollo Real Estate to a group of private Irish investors.

REIT Asset Management bought the centre only last year for about £300 million but retail property values have soared, enticing the company to cash in after receiving a string of speculative offers for the centre before Christmas.

DM Hall, one of Scotland's largest Chartered Surveying partnerships, is starting the New Year with a new look.


Brian Allison, the present Senior Partner retired at the end of the year.

Keith Jones from the Aberdeen office will take over from Brian as Senior Partner and will head up a new management team, with Bill Knight from Cumbernauld succeeding Keith as Managing Partner.


Commenting on the management changeover Keith Jones said, 'As far as our clients are concerned, the transition from the former to the present management team will be seamless. To all intents and purposes, the management strategy will remain the same as we seek to continue to pursue the progress made under the direction of the previous management team which was so successful.'

D M Hall has offices located throughout the length and breadth of Scotland.

Retail giants Next and Primark have begun the fit out of their new stores at Ayr Central Shopping Centre, south west Scotland which is set to open in Spring 2006.

Fashion favourite Next is expected to create approximately 30 jobs - including full and part time staff, while it is anticipated that Primark will create 80 jobs. In total the development is set to attract new inward investment and bring an additional 600 new jobs to the coastal town.

The scheme, which is anchored by Debenhams in a 7,432 sq m (80,000 sq ft) department store over 2 levels, has also secured lettings with H&M, Au Naturale, HMV with further announcements expected shortly. Integral to the scheme is the largest single level underground car park in the UK with 495 dedicated spaces.

Alan Kinloch, regional development manager of Henry Boot Developments comments: "Two major high street fashion retailers taking access highlights a significant milestone in the development and shows the huge demand for space at Ayr Central.

"Currently only 24% of Ayrshire residents shop in Ayr on a regular basis and following research we had carried out by London retail specialists, 74% of Ayrshire residents will be drawn back into Ayr town centre following the opening of Ayr Central. This will mean that an extra 250,000 people are expected to return to Ayr."

Evelyn McCann, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire said, "Ayr has already had some success in the retail sector, but with big name, quality outlets committed to this project, Ayr Central will build on that, and ensure that the town competes with some of the other modern shopping centres such as Braehead."

A Five-acre site next to Aberdeen Airport, with planning permission for a large hotel, has gone on sale. There is also permission for a restaurant on the Dyce Drive site, which is been put up for sale by the Airport Property Partnership.

Selling agent Cameron Stott, of Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "We are confident that market conditions are good for this site and believe it will attract widespread interest."

The move links in with £50 million investment plans for the airport, intended to make it into a major hub over the next decade. Central to the project is a £10 million runway extension to attract long-haul flights.

A new era for Glasgow's Pacific Quay has been signalled with Glasgow City Council's approval of a £150 million masterplan which will redevelop the former Glasgow Garden Festival site along the south bank of the River Clyde.

The masterplan, which was submitted by Pacific Quay Developments Ltd and designed by Glasgow based Parr Architects, could see as many as 5,000 jobs created, and combines 500,000 sq ft of high quality office space as well as some 300 homes and a 150-bed hotel on the 800,000 sq ft site. Pacific Quay Developments Ltd is represented by Jones Lang LaSalle and CB Richard Ellis.

There are also plans to re-landscape the 10-acre Festival Park, the last remnant of the Garden Festival site, making it an integral part of the new development and creating an accessible link to the Govan and Kinning Park areas of Glasgow.
Pacific Quay Developments own some 25 acres of the Pacific Quay site, of which 15 acres will be used within this next development phase.

Director, Alan Somerville, commented: "The consent signals a new era of revitalisation for the whole area, which will result in a greater diversity of jobs and a vibrant community through a wide mix of uses. This will be in keeping with the current tempo of the place set by the range of high profile companies which are now making Pacific Quay their home such as the BBC and Scottish TV.

"The former Garden Festival site has had many incarnations and the masterplan approval now signifies a new coming of age for the area, which I believe will help open access to the riverfront and make Govan an integral part of the city. We anticipate that the planning application will move forward this summer, with construction of offices and the hotel scheduled to commence at the end of this year.

"The opening of the new £20 million Finnieston bridge this summer will also be a significant milestone in the regeneration of the Pacific Quay area, playing a major role in the revitalisation of Glasgow's Clydeside and act as the gateway to the new project, opening up the entire area to new development and investment opportunities. We aim to ensure that the development fuses seamlessly with the local communities of Govan and Kinning Park and the project will involve community groups as it moves forward."

The approved masterplan is designed to provide the framework for a mixed development for the area - combining high quality offices, residential accommodation, retail and leisure facilities. Offices will form the largest component of the scheme with all having dedicated parking spaces. Each office site is designed to be flexible and capable to responding to market demands. Buildings will range from 50,000 to 110,000 sq ft and will vary from three to eight storeys.

A wide, tree-lined boulevard, supported by water features, will run through the centre of the development providing an accessible north to south link. Most of the housing, mixing family accommodation and city-style apartments, will be located to the south of the development, bordering Festival Park. The park will itself be redeveloped and landscaped to create an accessible and attractive 10-acre green space.

Drivers Jonas, acting on behalf of Gillespie Investments, is proud to announce that Ingram House at 227 Ingram Street, Glasgow, is now fully occupied. The ornate Victorian building, which comprises approximately 28,000 sq ft of office accommodation over five floors, has enjoyed a spate of recent letting success.

Drivers Jonas and joint marketing agents Donaldsons, believe that recent refurbishment to the common areas, along with the good quality accommodation on offer in such an excellent city centre location, are all contributable to attracting new tenants to the building.

The last remaining suite, situated on the fifth floor, extends to 1,600 sq ft of mostly open plan space and includes air conditioning. The suite was let to Meridian Business Support Ltd on a five year lease. Ingram House provides several small suites on each floor ranging from 500 to 2,300 sq ft.

CB Richard Ellis announces some internal promotions and changes within its North West offices.

Rob Donnelly previously covering Industrial Agency in Liverpool has expanded his role to cover the whole of the North West.

Michael Robinson of Building Consultancy based in Manchester has been promoted to Senior Director.

Tim Dean in the Planning department based in Manchester has been promoted to Director.

In the Professional department Chris Weights has been promoted to Associate Director and Darren Neild in Manchester to Senior Surveyor.

Christine Hanson, North West Managing Director comments, "These promotions and structure changes reflect CBRE's ambitious plans for growth in the North West. Whilst we have excellent teams both in Manchester and Liverpool we are looking to still further expand the team in the coming year to match our business growth aspirations."

Maria Francké, Planning Partner at Drivers Jonas, has taken over the Vice-Chair role of the Central Scotland Branch from Jocelyn Brown of Anderson Strathern. Maria is responsible for the development of the Drivers Jonas planning business in Scotland and has 14 years experience in private sector planning and management consultancy work. As planning adviser to Glasgow Harbour Ltd, Maria is playing a crucial role in the redevelopment of Glasgow's Clyde Waterfront environment.

Maria ( right ) said "Women in Property provides great opportunities for women to make new business contacts and keep up to date with professional matters.

The Central Scotland branch is going from strength to strength and I'm looking forward to playing a greater part in running the branch."

Chairman Ann MacLean commented; "We are delighted that Maria has taken up the position of Vice Chair and we are confident that her professionalism and knowledge of the property and construction industry in Scotland will be a great asset to the Association. We are very grateful to Jocelyn for all her hard work on behalf of our branch and wish her well in her new life in Australia."

The Association of Women in Property is a non-profit organisation established in 1987 and currently has a membership of approximately 1200 senior professionals in nine regions across the UK.

CB Richard Ellis, acting on behalf of CBRE Investors, has announced the letting of 526sq m (5,659sq ft) of industrial space at Piccadilly Trading Estate, Ancoats in Manchester, to Thomas Kneale Ltd.

The industrial space has been let to the pension fund provider at a rental of £48 per sq m (£4.50 per sq ft) on a 10-year lease with a break option at 5 years. The end terrace industrial unit was let as a shell to ESN with a six month rent free period.

CB Richard Ellis was retained as sole agent on the site by CBRE Investors with Simon Salisbury acting on behalf of Thomas Kneale & Co.

CB Richard Ellis, acting on behalf of Menzies Distribution, has announced the successful negotiation of 1,971sq m (21,226sq ft) of industrial space with The Prudential at Guinness Road Trading Estate, Trafford Park, in Manchester in order to let to Jex Engineering.

The existing leasehold contract, which had approximately 8 years remaining, was surrendered by Menzies Distribution Ltd on the basis that a new lease was agreed with Jex Engineering.

The northern based engineering company, specialising in food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries occupy the industrial space at a rental of £45 per sq m (£4.15 per sq ft) on a 15-year lease with a break option in years 5 and 10.

CB Richard Ellis was retained as sole agent on the site by Menzies Distribution.

Work on Kirkintilloch's new £7.6million leisure centre will start early in the new year, after plans were approved by councillors. The state-of-the-art centre should be completed by spring 2007.

Councillor Rhondda Geekie said: "This is one of the most important developments for Kirkintilloch's Initiative (KI) and I'm delighted that we have got to this stage.
"People are really looking forward to the leisure centre going ahead. The community has played a great role in shaping the plans and it's great to see approval has been granted for all the facilities they wanted and many more."

Council leader John Morrison said: "This is the first in a range of KI projects leading to a £56million investment in the regeneration of Kirkintilloch.
"We are committed to delivering this investment to the town and the plans that have been approved will provide a first class leisure facility that will benefit everybody."

The centre will include a 25metre swimming pool, training pool, sports hall with spectator seating, all-weather five-a-side football pitches and tennis courts.
Plans also include a gym with consultation rooms and an exercise studio, sauna cabins and a steam room, a 'changing village', cafe and creche.

Duncan Hamilton, Project Director of KI, said: "We are pleased to have received detailed planning consent. "We are currently pulling together information required to meet the planning consent conditions and are still working to our original timescales. "We expect to be starting the building work on site in January 2006."

The latest edition of the Lloyds TSB Business Monitor for the three months ending November 2005 shows 38 per cent of firms surveyed reporting an increase in turnover, 32 per cent reporting static turnover and 30 per cent reporting a decrease, giving a net balance of +8 per cent, significantly down from the previous quarter's +17 per cent and the +32 per cent of the same quarter a year ago.

Notably, service businesses have experienced the same slowdown as production businesses. The net balance figure for turnover for service businesses for the latest three months was +9 per cent compared with +5 per cent for production businesses. In the previous quarter the figure for services stood at +23 per cent and for manufacturing +17 per cent.

Expectations for turnover for the next six months have fallen markedly in the service sector. With a net balance of just +6 per cent, this is the fifth lowest level of expectation in service businesses in almost eight years of the Business Monitor. Production businesses were in fact rather more positive with a net balance of +19 per cent.