Automotive supplier secures Huntingdon warehouse facility

Acting on behalf of the estate owners, Eddisons has completed the letting of a modern industrial and warehouse facility at Ermine Business Park, Huntingdon to Activate Parts.

The building, which extends to 8,568 sq ft was recently refurbished with additional first floor offices and its own allocated parking area. Spitfire Close upon the Ermine Business Park is a well established development home to a number of well-known local businesses.

Activate Parts are a national company that offer an automotive parts network and bespoke vehicle consumables solutions for large, multi-site fleet operators.

Jamie Sopp, Executive Director for Activate Parts, comments: “Activate Parts is a wholesale vehicle parts supplier offering great value, high-quality parts with 24 hour delivery times across the UK.

“Significant growth over the past two years, coupled with a major contract win meant that we had outgrown our existing premises. The spacious 9,000 sq. ft. warehouse and excellent facilities make Spitfire Close the perfect location for us, and we’re looking forward to continued business success in our new home.”

Eddisons Director, Richard Adam, who handled the letting comments “We are pleased to assist Activate Parts in securing this building and we are sure it will assist in their continued expansion. We have recently leased a nearby building within the same development and have a further 4,000 sq ft unit now just coming to the market. We are constantly seeking new instructions to satisfy various applicant requirements”.

For more information on warehouse premises to let in Huntingdon, contact Richard Adam at Eddisons on 01480 451578 or [email protected].

Specialist car parts distributor move into Thetford

The Bury St Edmunds office of Eddisons has confirmed that a specialist car parts distributor is the new occupier of industrial/warehouse premises in Thetford.

Eddisons acted as the sole agent for the landlord in the letting of Unit 4 Mundford Road Trading Estate – an established industrial location occupying a prominent position close to the entrance of the estate.

The new tenant, D&L International Ltd, has taken a new 5 year lease on the 7,248 sq ft unit which provides refurbished warehouse/industrial space and office accommodation.

Commenting on the letting of the warehouse unit, Simon Burton, Director at Eddisons, said, “We are pleased to have assisted D&L International Ltd in its move to Thetford. This was a good opportunity to secure a mixed-use warehouse premises in time where few units are available.”

For more information on warehouse units to let in Thetford, contact Simon Burton at Eddisons on 01284 715005 or [email protected].

Eddisons secures £3m for north London school to become one of the UK’s greenest

Property consultant Eddisons has secured £3m funding that will enable an Enfield school to undergo a wholesale decarbonisation process as part of a Government pilot scheme to slash public sector carbon emissions.

The 1,500-student Kingsmead School and Sixth Form, which employs 150 staff, will see a complete overhaul of its heating, lighting and insulation systems, saving more than 300 tonnes of carbon a year, and more than 6,000 tonnes of carbon over the 20-year life of the air source heat pumps that will heat the buildings.

Gary Benn, associate director of Eddisons and part of the firm’s Cambridge building and project consultancy team, said: “We carried out a complete survey of the school to establish the carbon saving potential that would be achieved by each of the green measures.

“We’re really pleased that our work has resulted in Kingsmead becoming one of only a handful of schools across the country to be selected to take part in the Department for Education’s decarbonisation pilot scheme, with £3m of funding secured for the works.

“It’s great news for the whole school community and is truly pioneering in terms of the very positive environmental impact this project will have.”

As part of the decarbonisation process, the school’s gas boilers will be removed and replaced with a battery of state-of-the-art air source heat pumps, windows will be changed for thermo-efficient replacements and LED lighting will be installed throughout the school. The buildings’ roofs will also become home to a large solar-panel system, generating electricity for the school and the grid.

While this project is a Department for Education pilot, the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is part of its push to meet the UK’s net zero goal by 2050 and aims to cut carbon emissions from schools and other public buildings.

Gary added: “Schools are one of the types of public buildings identified as eligible for funding via the scheme and we’re working with a number of academy trusts and maintained schools to advise them on how they can secure funding to become greener and to improve their existing building infrastructure. It’s exciting to be part of this essential move towards a greener future.”

New warehouse unit for Forage & Season

A Bury St Edmunds-based company whose business successfully pivoted during the Covid-19 pandemic has relocated to new premises at Moreton Hill Retail Park.

Eddisons acted as sole agents on behalf of the landlord in negotiating a new 6 year lease at 3 Cratfield Road to Forage & Season.

The company, which owns fine dining restaurant Forage Kitchen in Bury St Edmunds, were forced to temporarily close its doors in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Now, the company have moved premises to a 2718 sq ft warehouse trade counter to facilitate their new range of artisan food subscription boxes and cookery courses.

Mel Evans, Director at Forage & Season Limited, comments:

“The pandemic has had a profound effect on many businesses with the hospitality industry one of the worst affected. With near on 100% of our business shutting down overnight we had to look at what else we could do, simply for business survival. Adversity created early initial successes which soon led to new opportunities presenting themselves, opportunities that we were keen to push and invest in positively with the hope of life returning to something near to normality.

“Eddisons helped us find a new unit in Bury St Edmunds that was perfect for our requirements and has enabled us to start developing a production kitchen, storage facility and dispatch centre to help us to continue and grow our business.

“We’re ready and looking forward to everything that 2022 can throw at us!”

For more information on retail units to let in Bury St Edmunds, contact Simon Burton at Eddisons on 01284 715005 or [email protected].

Eddisons agents secure top rankings in 2021 EG Radius awards

Eddisons’ East of England agency team is celebrating a trio of award successes in the latest EG Radius Rankings.

For the sixth year in succession, Eddisons has secured the top spot in the ‘Top 10’ Individual Dealmaker Rankings for the East of England, having acted on 158 transactions totalling 470,839 sq ft in 2021.

Three commercial agents have been recognised as the top three individual dealmakers by property research specialists, EG Radius.

The annual competition is open to commercial agents, including national firms, who complete commercial property transactions and is assessed on the number of transactions in a particular region, across all sectors.

Eddisons’ agent Richard Jones takes the top spot with 62 deals, Julian Welch secures second place with 52 and Matthew Hunt takes third place with 44 deals. In addition, Cambridge agent Laurence Gercke secures 9th place with 29 deals.

Commenting on Eddisons’ repeated award success, Richard Jones, Director at Eddisons, said, “‘I am pleased our team have been recognised once again by the Estates Gazette. Our hard work to achieve lettings and sales continues to be rewarded.”

Eddisons comments on Q4 2021 RICS Commercial Property Market Survey

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has recently published its latest quarterly UK Commercial Property Market Survey (Q4 2021) with the strap line ‘Twelve-month expectations hit fresh highs for the industrial sector’. The office market is still being impacted by Covid-19 with tenant demand stifled during Q4 despite 66% of survey participants feeling that office space is essential for a company to operate successfully.

Commenting on the latest findings, Phil Shopland-Reed, Associate Director of Eddisons said ‘In terms of the Leeds/ Yorkshire Market the office market has shown a steady improvement in city centre take-up as Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted and relaxation of the governments work from home guidance. Leeds City Centre take up will finish at approximately 625,000 sq ft for the year which despite being below the 5 yearly average is an encouraging position given the restrictions and uncertainty around office occupation. Our experience in Leeds and Yorkshire is broadly in line with the UK picture reported by RICS. The office market is still hampered by covid restrictions and the ‘return to normal’ taking time for occupiers to establish and implement.

Office enquires have increased over the quarter largely due to occupiers now encouraging a return to the office in on a flexible/hybrid arrangement. The general view in the region on office space is broadly in line with the finding from the RICS survey stating that 66% of survey participants felt that office space is essential although our view is figure is slightly higher with more occupiers returning to a hybrid model for staff.

Generally across the other sectors the outlook in Yorkshire is positive with the Industrial sector continuing to perform strongly with excellent demand and continued rental growth and yield compression however the shortage of supply is the biggest risk t the sector. The retail sector is experiencing a steady recovery in terms of the enquiry numbers however this is on small retail units that appeal to fledgling companies establishing out of lockdown. Larger retail units continue to struggle. Investor demand remains high in areas of growth or opportunities for asset management.’

To read the full RICS survey visit: https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/news/news–opinion/uk-commercial-property-market-survey—q4-2021.pdf

Eddisons (incorporating Daniells) Harrison instrumental in acquisition of Southampton nursery group chain

Eddisons (incorporating Daniells Harrison) played an instrumental role in the recent acquisition of an award-winning nursery group chain in Southampton.

Daniells Harrison, who have been recently acquired by Eddisons, acted on behalf of Launchpad Early Years, an independent charity group formed by the Portsmouth Diocese and chaired by the Bishop of Winchester.

In acquiring Paint Pots Pre-school and Nursery – a group with ten buildings in the Southampton region, the nurseries join Launchpad’s three existing settings in the villages of Barton Stacey, near Winchester, Appleshaw, near Andover, and Boldre near Lymington.

The Chartered Surveying team, led by Chris Daniells at Eddisons (incorporating Daniells Harrison), provided the complex valuation and lease advisory work for the portfolio of buildings for Launchpad. This was complemented by the initial condition surveys and schedules prepared by the Building Surveying team at Eddisons (incorporating Daniells Harrison), led by Nick Eames.

The client has been delighted by the service provided by Eddisons incorporating Daniells Harrison. Executive Director of Launchpad, The Revd Canon Nick Ralph, Diocese of Portsmouth comments:

“I have been very clear with the board how valuable has been the professional help has been that we have received from Chris, Nick and the team, in the due diligence process, all of which has made an important impact on decisions and made a difference to the Share Purchase Agreement and Lease terms. It has been a steep learning curve for me, but we could not possibly have achieved it without this extremely helpful and significant advice. I greatly appreciate it.”

Paint Pots Pre-school & Nursery was founded 29 years ago by David and Anna Wright, who are now retiring. The settings, all of which are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, will continue to be run by the social enterprise under the Paint Pots brand.

Social enterprise Launchpad Early Years was established in 2019 with three pre-schools, which have a broad Christian ethos similar to church schools and are based on the Church of England’s Vision for Education. The settings are open to all children of all faiths.

 

Image by Teri Pengilley via www.teripengilley.com

Industrial and Logistics remains 2021 leading commercial sector

The industrial and logistics sector remained the leading commercial property performer in the Eastern region during 2021 and has made a very robust start to 2022. This probably comes as no surprise with the ongoing problems associated with Covid but there were encouraging signs with the office sector despite media coverage suggesting there would be no future for this property class.

That, in summary, is the experience of the past twelve months by leading chartered surveyors and commercial property experts, Eddisons. In reviewing the activities of its agency reach across the Eastern region from offices in Peterborough, Huntingdon, Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds, Eddisons (incorporating Barker Storey Matthews), points to the increasing shortage of space for the industrial and logistics sector to expand, which will become a problem in 2022 and 2023 forcing prices and rents in an already extremely competitive marketplace.

Steve Hawkins, Partner and Head of Commercial Agency for Eddisons comments: “Stock levels remain at an all-time low in the region as a whole and this in itself has resulted in a continual rise in both rents and prices. This is an issue that has arisen in most regions of the country with, unsurprisingly, the Midlands and South-east regions hardest hit. If you look at say the Peterborough market, stock levels are at a painfully low level with an estimated vacant floor space of less than 125,000 sq ft out of a built stock in the city of around 24 million sq ft, in other words we are 99.5% full !” There is only one building over 30,000 sq ft vacant so occupiers are going to have to plan well in advance if they are looking for more space – bringing forward a number of new developments”.

“The other issue is in relation to new build prices forging ahead as a reflection of both a squeeze in the labour supply to the construction sector and rapidly rising materials costs. Admittedly some materials prices have now stabilised but they are not coming down to any great extent”.

The supply of new build opportunities has slowed with the problems associated with materials pricing but also delays to the delivery of certain products such as cladding, the cladding problem exasperated further by the need to reclad residential buildings so pricing pressures are enhanced.

Hawkins adds “we don’t see any real let up in pricing in the short to medium term so this is not really that good for occupiers. On the other hand, investors in this sector have seen stellar returns on capital, with an improvement in rental return and further enhancement in yield compression. The market for industrial and logistics investment property is as strong as it ever has been and we also see little change in demand in the short to medium term with a wide variety of purchasers requirements unsatisfied and the weight of capital still at record levels”.

While the office market stagnated during 2020/2021 office occupiers have been reviewing their requirements and the sector is not all doom and gloom. Occupiers are becoming increasingly interested in getting back to the office. Plan B put a temporary halt to this process but most companies are now keen to get staff back to the office environment despite offering a bit more “flex” with regard to home working for some. Staff are weary of the isolation issues so it does appear that prime office areas are holding up. Supply remains tight, but despite this, occupiers are looking for more flexibility.

Across the whole Eastern region and to date, deals concluded with occupiers across 2021 were up on 2020 by around 15% which actually counteracts the fall of about the same percentage in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Last year we pointed to the steadiness of investment in bricks and mortar in retaining its long term investment appeal and this has proved to be the case during 2021.

We are the same view for 2022 and predict that in overall terms commercial property will continue to perform well. The retail and leisure sectors will continue to adjust but signs are promising if we can get past the first quarter of 2022 relatively unscathed. Again there will inevitably be casualties but we are probably still in one of the best, if not the best, region in which to be located.”

Retail unit let to new therapy and training centre

Eddisons Suffolk Agency team have completed the letting of a modern retail unit in Mildenhall to a new therapy and training centre.

Unit 5 Holborn Avenue is a 1055 sq ft (98 sq m) retail unit with parking, formerly occupied by a local salon. The property is located in a busy commercial area in Mildenhall and is adjacent to the main commercial estate with good access to the nearby A11.

Eddisons acted on behalf of the landlord to agree a new year lease to two private clients with existing businesses.

Steven Mudd, Surveyor at Eddisons comments: “Through our network of contacts we were able to successfully market this property to a wide audience which resulted in us receiving multiple proposals.

Appetite for retail stock continues to grow and the completion of this letting concludes our last remaining retail unit in the area.”

For more information on retail premises to in Suffolk, contact Steven Mudd at the Bury St Edmunds office at [email protected] or 01284 702655.

Warehouse expansion in Huntingdon

Eddisons, acting on behalf of the owners, have successfully leased a warehouse unit at Washingley Road, Huntingdon to laboratory relocation specialists Benchmark Services Ltd.

The building, which extends to 22,282 sq ft with a self-contained and fenced yard, is located adjacent to the Vantage Park development just off Spittals Way.

Benchmark Services Ltd who are based locally are in the process of fitting out the warehouse to provide additional storage for their expanding business.  Benchmark’s Managing Director, Clive Laing, comments: “We are a specialist logistics and storage provider to the scientific and laboratory sector, this facility demonstrates a significant and further expansion of our business and once the refurbishment is complete allows us to offer a state of the art storage facility to our customers, this will also become our UK head office.”

Eddisons’ Director, Richard Adam, who handled the letting commented “We were pleased to assist Benchmark in securing this warehouse and we are sure it will assist in their continued expansion.  The last few years have seen good demand for industrial buildings particularly modern, good quality units such as this and we are constantly seeking new instructions to satisfy applicant’s requirements”.

For more information on warehouse premises to let in Huntingdon, contact Richard Adam at Eddisons on 01480 451578 or [email protected].