Sale of mixed-use property points to investor appetite

Sale of mixed-use property points to investor appetite

The Huntingdon office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews references the recent sale of mixed-use premises in Sandy, Bedfordshire as reinforcing its view that property investor appetite endures as the second quarter of the year (2021) is underway.

Eddisons acted as joint agents in marketing the sale of the freehold of Shannon Court – a mixed-use commercial property with planning permission for a residential element – on High Street in Sandy.

Shannon Court is a three storey building, totalling 1,372 sq m (14,770 sq ft), and comprises a ground floor retail arcade and first and second floor offices.

The property has been sold to an investor buyer and Eddisons confirmed that while the sale price remains undisclosed, it achieved in excess of its guide price of £1.05 million.

Eddisons’ Matthew Hunt said, “Shannon Court attracted strong interest from a number of potential investors. We were successful in achieving a sale price in excess of the guide price and that demonstrates that demand for property investment has held during recent, difficult economic trading conditions.”

For more information on other current freehold property opportunities, contact Matthew Hunt at the Huntingdon office, tel 01480 451578, [email protected] or see eddisons.com/barker-storey-matthews.

Find out more 

For any press queries, please contact:
Richard Jones, Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, 01733 897722, [email protected].

Business growth prompts property sale for interior design studio owner

Business growth prompts property sale for interior design studio owner

The freehold of Cambridge office studio premises and apartment home of an interior design specialist are for sale through Eddisons now incorporating Barker Storey Matthews who is the sole agent under instruction.

The properties at 17 and 17a Emmanuel Road, in the historic heart of Cambridge, overlooking Christ’s Pieces, are the commercial studio of Angel + Blume as well as the home of the interior design business’s owner, Cate Burren.

The property was formerly the Cambridge office of fine art valuer and auctioneer, Bonhams. Angel + Blume had been operating from a number of offices in the city for a decade before moving to 17 Emmanuel Road.

The first floor (Number 17a) was converted by Cate Burren for her own residential use with her interior design business occupying the ground floor (Number 17).

The mixed-use property instruction sees Eddisons marketing the freehold sale of the whole property of 1,458 sq ft (135 sq m) which includes two undercroft parking spaces and with planning permission for the property’s conversion to single residential use.

The guide price is £750,000.

The sale is prompted by the changing commercial and domestic needs of Angel + Blume.

Owner Cate Burren said, “We have simply outgrown both properties. We are looking to relocate in Cambridge because the business has expanded so much in the time we have been living ‘above-the-shop’ at Emmanuel Road.

“The success of the business is, I believe, due in no small part of the character and location of the building but it’s time to move on.”

Ben Green, who is leading the marketing of the property anticipates great interest in the property which is being offered for sale with vacant possession.

He said, ”It’s a unique property opportunity in the Cambridge marketplace at the moment and it’s a real fillip for Eddisons to have this high profile instruction.

“Our reading and sense of the current market gives us the confidence to look to achieve a sale that will satisfy our client and the next owner.”

Viewing of 17 & 17a Emmanuel Road, Cambridge is strictly by appointment only through Eddisons as the sole agent.

To arrange a viewing or for more information, contact Ben Green at the Cambridge office of Eddisons, tel 01223 467155, [email protected].

For any press queries, please contact:
Richard Jones, Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, 01733 897722, [email protected].

The Planning Bill: spotlight welcome but focus misses the obvious

The Planning Bill: spotlight welcome but focus misses the obvious

The forthcoming Planning Bill as outlined in the Queen’s Speech earlier this month (11 May) flags up the importance of planning to the economic re-build post-pandemic but fails to address the main obstacles to delivery.

That’s the view of professional planners at Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews who in reviewing the purpose and benefits of the Planning Bill – as outlined in the latest speech – point to the resourcing of local authorities and the valuing of planning skills as the key to delivery.

Eddisons planners have a number of concerns and counterpoints in response to the ‘headlines’ of the Bill. Not the least of which is its focus on housing.

On matters of more emphasis on design and faster planning permissions, Eddisons agrees that these are important considerations. However, Eddisons believes that the way in which the Government proposes to address these through the Bill only builds on codes and policies – many of which are already in place.

According to Kate Wood, Chartered Planner and Director, Eddisons, the Planning Bill, as outlined presently, looks set to be another missed opportunity to unlock the planning system to the benefit of all interested parties and communities alike.

She said, “While acknowledging that housing is the entry point of lay audiences’ understanding of planning, it is disappointing that there no equivalent focus on employment development.

“Jobs and housing go hand in hand. Key to unlocking economic prosperity through development is a realistic and robust approach to land and planning.

“This approach can only be realised by addressing the obstacles the planning system itself puts in the way of delivery.

“This is, chiefly, failure to resource local authority planning departments to the point where they can work with their communities and the private sector to deliver development in a timely fashion.

“Now, more than ever, post-pandemic, all those in the planning and development professions need to be resourced to deliver what is needed.

“However, as it stands, the proposed Planning Bill looks set to avoid the heart of the matter in concentrating on regulation rather than valuing and resourcing the skills of planners – to the detriment of actual outcomes.”

Industrial units sold in Suffolk

Industrial units sold in Suffolk

The sale of two sets of industrial premises in Suffolk has been confirmed by the local office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, which is based in Bury St Edmunds.

On the Mildenhall Industrial Estate, 20 Merlin Park – a 1,708 sq ft (158.71 sq m) trade counter unit with offices – was, initially, marketed by Eddisons to let or for sale following the relocation of the owner’s business.

Offered for sale with a guide price of £125,000, the sale of 20 Merlin Park was concluded via best bids. While the final sale prices remain undisclosed, Eddisons confirmed that the unit achieved in excess of the asking price.

The industrial unit sold in Brandon, 1,116 sq ft (103.68 sq m) open plan warehouse premises at 12c Wimbledon Avenue, attracted interest from a range of interested parties looking to rent or buy, with a sale guide price of £110,000.

With the vendor of 12c Wimbledon Avenue relocating to another county, the warehouse unit has been sold to an owner occupier with other premises in Brandon. The final sale price remains commercially confidential.

Commenting on the sale of the industrial units, Steven Mudd of Eddisons said, “The industrial property market in Suffolk reflects regional and national commercial property market trends during the first quarter of the year (2021).

“The Mildenhall and the Brandon units attracted solid interest and achieved good prices on sale because there is a limited stock of available units of similar sizes available for freehold sale in the area, currently.

“Both units were sold to new owner occupiers who already have local property interests in each of the Suffolk locations.”

Eddisons was the sole agent acting on behalf of the vendors in both sales.

For more information on industrial premises for sale or to let in Suffolk and the surrounding areas, contact Steven Mudd at Eddisons, tel 01284 702655, [email protected] or see eddisons.com/barker-storey-matthews.

Eddisons’ insight invited on annual business survey

Eddisons’ insight invited on annual business survey

Eddisons’ commercial property expertise has been called upon in Peterborough by regional business insiders who, once again, invited the firm’s Julian Welch to contribute to the 2021 Greater Peterborough Business Survey.

The annual survey is organised by Azets, the UK’s largest regional accountancy and business advisor to SMEs, in association with Opportunity Peterborough.

The survey canvasses the opinions and experience of a cross section of companies in the Greater Peterborough area about trading conditions in the previous twelve months.

Responses are collated and summarised, and a panel of local business services professionals offer sector-specific insights on matters including recruitment, skills, corporate finance, climate emergency and commercial property, among other disciplines.

Eddisons Director, Julian Welch, has been a member of the expert panel for a number of years.

In this latest survey he offers insight on the resilience of Greater Peterborough’s industrial and manufacturing sectors, the changing nature of the retail and leisure markets in the area’s market towns and the city centre, as well as the evolution of the office as a workspace.

Speaking about his longstanding association with the annual Greater Peterborough Business Survey, Julian Welch said, “It is a privilege to be invited to contribute to this vital piece of business research as part of the panel of professionals.

“It will be no surprise to business audiences in the Greater Peterborough area that, on the whole, the 2021 survey reports that our companies have faced the twin pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic and BREXIT with fortitude.

“Peterborough remains well placed to respond to market demands for commercial property, reflecting its position within the UK Fast Growth Cities Group, alongside Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Norwich, Oxford and Swindon.”

To view the 2021 Greater Peterborough Survey please click here or go to https://hubs.la/H0MCD0k0.

RICS Q1 2021: UK Commercial Property Market Survey – Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews comments

RICS Q1 2021: UK Commercial Property Market Survey – Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews comments

The RICS has just published its latest quarterly UK Commercial Property Market Survey (Q1 2021), headlined, ‘More respondents now sensing a recovery is underway, although conditions remain tough for offices and retail’.

Quoted in the latest survey, among other RICS chartered surveyors in East Anglia, is Ben Green of Eddisons now incorporating Barker Storey Matthews whose regional offices are in Peterborough, Huntingdon, Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds.

In the survey, Ben Green shares his experience of the Cambridge market during the first quarter of this year (2021) which echoes the sentiment of the RICS’s wider, nationwide survey.

He commented, “The industrial market is very strong with high demand and a shortage of available units. There are tentative signs of office market recovery with new enquiries on the rise.

“Secondary retail is faring better than prime and there is strong investor interest for all property types in and around Cambridge.”

For the full RICS survey, see rics.org/uk/news-insight/research/market-surveys/global-commercial-property-monitors.

Eddisons, incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, has 20 offices operating in the UK including 4 in the Eastern Region with offices in Peterborough, Cambridge, Huntingdon and Bury St Edmunds.

Ends

For any press queries, please contact:
Richard Jones, Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, 01733 897722, [email protected].

Former bank sold following change of use

Former bank sold following change of use

The freehold of a former bank in the village of Great Shelford, Cambridge has been sold following the granting of planning permission for change of use to a children’s day nursey, confirmed Eddisons now incorporating Barker Storey Matthews who acted as sole agent on behalf of the vendor.

The 2,617 sq ft (243 sq m) property at 3 High Green, Great Shelford has been sold to Shelford Day Nursey for an undisclosed sum.

The property is in the commercial centre of the popular village and was offered for sale with parking and immediate availability.

The sale was agreed subject to change of use which was granted by the local authority in February (2021) enabling the completion of the transaction last month (March).

Shelford Day Nursey confirmed that the renovation works at 3 High Green are well underway and that the 60-place nursery – which will specialise in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) – is scheduled to open in January 2022.

For more information on freehold premises for sale in the Cambridge area, contact Laurence Gercke at Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, tel 01223 456155, [email protected] or through eddisons.com/barker-storey-matthews.

Mill suite secured for innovative education centre

Mill suite secured for innovative education centre

A not for profit organisation is the latest Cambridge office occupier to be confirmed by Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews.

The organisation Cambridge Centre for Learning Spaces Innovation  (CCLSI) – a collaborative project between Gratnells Learning Rooms, A4LE and Ecophon – has taken a five year lease on the second floor office suite at Newnham Mill on Newnham Road, Cambridge.

A waterside landmark building beside Mill Common, within the historic city centre and bordering one of Cambridge’s high profile residential areas, Newnham, the 145 sq m (1,562 sq ft) self-contained office suite, will be the education specialist’s first venue in Cambridge from where it will launch this summer (June 2021).

As the first in a network of innovative education facilities centred on the importance of planning and design in the provision of learning spaces and educational environments, the founders of CCLSI – and authors of the publication, Planning Learning Spaces – had not been seeking premises for long before selecting Newnham Mill.

Murray Hudson, of CCSLI – and co-author of the book on whose principles the not for profit organisation is founded, explained, “Cambridge was always going to be the choice for the first of our centres for obvious reasons.

“As soon as we saw the Mill we were captivated. It is light and airy and full of character, as well as set in a picturesque yet accessible location.

“There are acoustic challenges in the Mill but this will allow us to show how drawbacks in a learning space can be overcome.”

Commenting on the announcement by Eddisons of the latest office letting in Cambridge, Ben Green, Director, said, “There is much talk of the role of ‘the office’ post-pandemic by commentators and this is, naturally, beginning to feature in the minds of occupiers.

“Cambridge is not immune to this and we are still seeing new office occupiers – such as CCLS – coming to the city with bespoke property requirements.

“Also, indigenous Cambridge companies are reviewing their requirements as business grows or leases expire in the natural churn of business, setting aside any post-pandemic considerations.

“But Cambridge remains a good place for doing business and the expansion of its office stock during the past decade can only serve to reinforce this position.”

Eddisons and Carter Jonas act on behalf of the landlord at Newnham Mill, Cambridge where a first floor office suite of 2,638 sq ft, with a feature terrace, is available to let.

Viewing is strictly by appointment through the agents.

For more information on the available suite at Newnham Mill or other office space to let in central Cambridge, contact Ben Green at Eddisons, tel 01223 467155, [email protected].

Find out more 

For any press queries, please contact:
Richard Jones, Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, 01733 897722, [email protected].

Former city centre restaurant premises available for short term let

19 Regent Street

Former city centre restaurant premises available for short term let

The premises of the former Pizza Hut restaurant on Regent Street in central Cambridge are now available for short term let following their acquisition by a Cambridge college.

This has been confirmed by the city office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews who acted on behalf of its college client in the acquisition of the property and has now been appointed as the sole letting agent.

At 19 Regent Street, the 295.97 sq m (3,185 sq ft) premises are in the historic city centre at a prominent location on the corner of the interchange between the busy thoroughfare and the landmark Parker’s Piece, close to the University Arms Hotel.

While the identity of the college remains undisclosed – as does the price paid for the property – due to commercial confidentiality, Eddisons’ Ben Green advised that the acquisition is part of the college’s long term strategic property investment programme and so the premises are being marketed to let now with a short term lease.

He added, “The property is in a prominent location and while appealing to a range of retailers, the short term let could favour an independent trader or community organisation looking for pop-up retail premises or, equally, a charity occupier.”

For more information on 19 Regent Street, Cambridge, contact Ben Green at Eddisons, tel 01223 467155, [email protected].

New commercial property supplement available

New commercial property supplement available

Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews has published the latest edition of its commercial property supplement.

The Spring 2021 issue is the fourteenth edition in the series.

It contains detail market commentary on the four core market locations in the Eastern region – Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Huntingdon and Peterborough – as well as showcasing a selection of recent and current agency instructions in each location.

Market commentaries address sector strength and trends in each geographic locale and examine the early effects of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic as each market emerges from the latest phase of business lockdown.

This latest edition also profiles the expertise of the firm’s professional services teams in the region in which sit experienced professionals across a range of property disciplines including planning & development, property management and building surveying.

The commercial property supplement is mailed to circa 10,000 businesses and occupiers and investors with interests in the Eastern region.

The Spring 2021 edition can be read online or downloaded from the website here.

To request a hard copy, please contact any of the offices  Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Huntingdon or Peterborough.