Commercial Property News

F&C; Property Asset Management has acquired a brand new 30,000 sq ft office property in Nottingham for £9.1m. Purchased from Miller Birch developers, the deal reflects a net initial yield of 5.3%

The three-storey property forms part of the ng2 suburban business park at Queen's Drive in Nottingham. It is prelet to Halifax plc at £17 per sq ft on a 15-year lease expiring in 2021.

ng2 is part of a 38-acre mixed-use scheme currently being developed by Miller Birch, which, when complete will provide 1 million sq ft of commercial accommodation. The park benefits from close access to the city centre and the proposed expansion of the Express Transit tram network will include a stop at ng2 and a link to the central railway station.

Daniel Plummer, Head of Regional Offices at F&C; Property, says; "This is a quality edge of town Business Park with the added benefit of a future tram stop. The rent at £17 per sq ft looked cheap and with rental levels already moving towards £20 per sq ft, we expect to see further rental growth as more occupiers relocate to the park."

Other occupiers at the park include: Experian, Homebase, Mercedes Benz and commercial law firm Edwards Geldard.

F&C; Property Asset Management, on behalf of the FPLAL fund, was advised by Jones Lang LaSalle. Capital Business represented Miller Birch.

Alfred McAlpine, the support services group, have announced new contract wins worth over £100m.

The first win sees Alfred McAlpine awarded a £44m contract to design and build Bluestone, the first of a new generation of eco-friendly destination holiday villages, in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Construction is scheduled to complete in May 2008.

Separately, Alfred McAlpine has secured a series of other new contracts worth over £60m, including a contract to design, develop and build a new headquarters and operations control facility for Huntingdon District Council and two bridge renovation contracts with Network Rail. Work on the projects will commence in 2007. In addition, Alfred McAlpine has been awarded a 5 year support contract to provide IT desktop and network infrastructure services to one of BAE Systems core businesses and a 5 year managed service contract to run easyJet's voice and data network.

Ian Grice, Group Chief Executive of Alfred McAlpine said: "We have ended the year strongly and these new contract wins again demonstrate that market conditions remain good for all our businesses. We are particularly pleased with the award of the contract to design and build Bluestone, where we have been developing the scheme with the local community for 5 years. This project will draw on our experience of delivering major eco-friendly projects, such as the Eden Project, Powergen's renewable bio-mass facility in Lockerbie and the Braes of Doune wind-farm."

With over 100,000 sq ft of new lettings Teesside Shopping Park has firmly established itself as a retail destination and given a major boost to shopping choice in Teesside.

Marks & Spencer has anchored the shopping park with a 50,000 sq ft full line store selling food, fashion and furniture. Other traditional high street retailers who have opened at the shopping park include:

TK Maxx has opened a 27,000 sq ft store selling designer fashion and brand name clothing at discounted prices. Fashion shoe retailer Lilley & Skinner has a new 3,200 sq ft store providing a wide range of footwear & accessories; Music, DVDs and books on the shopping park have trebled as both Borders and Virgin open new stores. Borders provides 18,000 sq ft of books, stationery and music with a Starbucks café and Virgin has opened 4,200 sq ft of music, DVDs and games; Mamas & Papas has taken over 8,000 sq ft showcasing its Mother and Baby ranges and leading health and beauty retailer Superdrug has opened a new 5,000 sq ft store; Finally Sports World has upsized its existing store by 10,000 sq ft to create an 18,000 sq ft sports and leisure emporium.

Andrew Jones, Head of British Land Retail, said: "Teesside Shopping Park is an important asset within the British Land portfolio and we are pleased to be achieving such first-rate lettings, enabling us to continue to develop the scheme as a major shopping park destination. We are investing further in the scheme to enhance the retailer mix and shoppers will continue to see improvements being made which will include new catering facilities."

Existing retailers include Next, Outfit, Boots, Clarks, Mothercare, Currys, and JD Sports on what is one of the largest shopping parks in the North East, providing 340,000 sq ft of Open A1 retail space, and attracting over seven million shoppers each year

Easter Group has completed its latest North West scheme, Centenary Park, and announces the letting of the first two units.

Centenary Park is prominently situated at the gateway to Trafford Park on the north side of the Ship Canal, adjacent to the Centenary Bridge. The scheme comprises six detached industrial/warehouse buildings totalling 165,000 sq ft and ranging from 17,000 to 54,000 sq ft, each with a secure private yard.

Easter?s Director for the North West, Mark Braithwaite, comments, "We are delighted to announce the completion of one of our largest North West schemes to date on which two units have been let." Mark Braithwaite continues, "The scheme occupies a prominent site which has excellent access to the motorway network. As a result, we are experiencing strong levels of demand for the remaining units."

The lettings are to the electrical distributor Stearn Electric, who has acquired unit 4 19,000 sq ft and to Bodycote Testing, who has acquired unit 6 22,000 sq ft. Both lettings are on ten year leases.

Sean Kerr, Managing Director of Bodycote Testing MTET Europe, comments: "Since our establishment in West Manchester in 1990, we had outgrown our two existing premises and it was vital that we secured top quality new premises in the area to facilitate our expansion. The additional space allows us to ergonomically design a layout that will optimise operational efficiency and enhance service to our customer base throughout the region as well as nationally and internationally. The new building will provide a base for a number of Bodycote Testing Group directors and an important training and conference facility to serve Bodycote across Europe."

Easter's agents for Centenary Park are Davies Harrison, Fuller Peiser and DGI Davis George.

Savills and Hepher Dixon combine to create the largest planning team of any major property consultancy.

Savills announces the acquisition of Hepher Dixon, the award winning national planning and regeneration specialists. Established in 1995, Hepher Dixon has over 80 employees in four office locations; London, Milton Keynes, Cardiff and Leeds. Savills planning and urban design team is currently around the same size and operates from 9 locations nationally.

Once the formalities are completed in January Savills combined with Hepher Dixon will be the leading firm in UK planning, development and regeneration consultancy, and offers:

A combined team of over 100 chartered town planners and 160 planning professionals in total *

Unparalleled experience of serving major corporate and public sector clients

Professional expertise and experience of the highest quality in 12 offices covering all regions

One of the largest planning and regeneration teams in the UK, and the largest within a major property services company

* Source: Planning magazine Consultants Survey 17th November 2006

Rupert Sebag-Montefiore, Chairman and Chief Executive of Savills (L&P;) said; "Planning is a key part of our business. It complements our housing, mixed use, commercial, development and other professional teams, adding greatly to the service we offer to our clients. Hepher Dixon has a tremendous reputation for dealing with complex and challenging planning situations. Their strengths and client-centred approach to their work fit well with ours. By bringing together Hepher Dixon and Savills, we have created the largest planning business of its kind".

Richard Shaw, Savills Head of National Planning Group, said: "From early in our discussions, it was clear just how well the businesses would fit together. The combined planning businesses will be a major force in London and across the regions. We have an exceptionally strong blend of planning, environmental, regeneration and urban design skills, focussed on delivering commercially informed solutions. This meets exactly the current requirements of the national planning, development and regeneration agendas."

Roger Hepher, one of the founders of Hepher Dixon, said: "Joining forces with Savills will enable us to further develop the service that we offer to our clients. Our mission has been to be the natural choice for the most complex and challenging planning projects, and combining with Savills is another step towards that goal".

Peter Dixon, co-founder of Hepher Dixon, added: "This is a significant step for us, made possible by the fact that there is such a good match between the cultures and the people in the two businesses."

A revolutionary £25m residential development incorporating innovative year-round gardens and pioneering space saving designs is to transform a city centre landscape.

Work will start within the next few weeks to regenerate a run-down piece of land in Leeds and transform it into the new Verto development incorporating 104 ultra-modern apartments.

The project is being spearheaded by Morris Properties Group which has a wealth of experience in identifying often run-down, prime inner city locations with high economic potential and regenerating them.

People entering Leeds from the north won't be able to miss the new statement piece of architecture. Strong visual links will make it an unquestionable landmark in rapidly evolving part of the city centre.

Verto lies on the edge of the the 'Northern Quarter' - a £700m development proposal brought forward by Leeds Partnership which is set to transform the northern edge of the city.

Key features of the pioneering Verto development include:

-Full-height glazing and winter gardens.

-Built-in terrace barbecue for two-bedroomed apartments.

-Whole house automation.

-Full-width terraces and full height sliding glass screens offer users flexibility in how the space can be manipulated, bringing the outside in.

From the minute you enter Verto, the theme becomes very apparent. Its focus is on crisp, clean lines, maximising natural light and a generous feeling of space. An individual urban retreat, with uncompromised identity.

Communal areas are deliberately generous; from the spacious main entrance through into the courtyard split over two levels. Each floor is lobbied from the vertical garden via controlled access doors.

Natural light spills into the main circulation corridor which separates the double-banked apartments.

The glass-fronted lift is positioned within the vertical garden, a cascading screen of evergreen plants connected back to each floor level across sky walkways. With the lift in this position, the garden becomes a part of each resident?s experience as they enter and leave the development.

The panoramic lift is strategically positioned to ensure the vertical garden and courtyard becomes a part of residents' day-to-day experience.

Each apartment is a careful arrangement of component parts. At its heart sits the pod ? a high quality, prefabricated combined kitchen and bathroom unit equipped with the highest quality, modern, chic fixtures and fittings.

With a turnover of £200m and heading towards £400m Morris Properties Group is one of the UK's fastest growing companies.

The company's specialist team packages investments from start to finish. Over the past ten years the company has used its unrivalled knowledge and expertise to turn hundreds of novices into wealthy, successful property investors.

Morris Properties Group currently has investment opportunities in London, Leeds, Bradford, Derby, Hull, Nottingham, Leicester, Bristol, Sunderland and Cardiff.