Frustrated by a slow internet connection?  Super fast fibre optic broadband has been installed at Laurie House providing an excellent connection to serve all requirements that may be needed in the building. This has helped secure Citibase as the first tenant who have taken the 4^th floor providing a brand new serviced office centre in the City.  Laurie House can now offer accommodation from one desk upwards to a total of nearly 30,000 ft².  Citibase are now the largest independent operator in the sector providing fully serviced business centres for cost conscious SME’s.

James Richards from owners of the building, Clowes Developments says, “we have invested a very significant sum in refurbishing and upgrading the property including the fibre optic broadband connection, feature illuminated frontage, Italian stone cladding and internal fit-out”.

Tim Richardson from FHP Property Consultants, adds “We are delighted that Citibase saw the advantages offered by the building including broadband, refurbishment and City Centre location.  Further space is available and we welcome all enquiries ranging from a single office to requirements for 300 people.”

Laurie House is situated in the City Centre close to Victoria Street and is therefore readily accessible to restaurants, cafés and shops, as well as being easy to get to from the Inner Ring Road.  Car parking is available in the adjoining multi-storey.

For further information please contact Tim Richardson at FHP or joint Agents Knight Frank.

As a result of changes in the private education sector, Grosvenor School on Melton Road in Edwalton was forced to close its doors back in the summer of 2014.

The owners of the school instructed FHP to handle the marketing of the property which has resulted in a sale of the main school building and the nursery building to the well-established nursery operator, Child’s Time Limited.

David Hargreaves, who acted on behalf of the Vendors, confirmed that the proposal is to demolish the existing nursery building and turn it into a playground, whilst moving the nursery school into the main school building.

Matthew Liggins of Musson Liggins, who represented the Purchasers, said:-

“By relocating the nursery into the main school building it will provide my clients with significant scope to develop the nursery over the coming years and build on the strong brand and reputation they already have.”

David Hargreaves said that FHP and FHP Living have now been instructed to sell the remaining land which comprised the Grosvenor School and which is capable of being developed to provide 3 substantial detached houses on a subject to Planning basis.  FHP expect to secure offers in excess of £1million.

FHP acted on behalf of the Oldershaw family, whilst Musson Liggins acted on behalf of Child’s Time Limited.

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to announce the sale of the ground floor offices at 2.2 Clarendon Business Park to GeoDyne Limited, an independent Geotechnical and environmental consulting engineers with offices in Nottingham and Derby.

This marks an expansion of GeoDyne’s Nottingham office following positive performance and expansion over the last few years.

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants who acted on behalf of the vendor in the sale commented:-

“GeoDyne had been in the market for some time looking for freehold office accommodation and the difficulty has been the lack of options available to purchase in Nottingham and also the general lack of car parking provided with the majority of the options.”

“Clarendon Business Park offered a high level of car parking (approximately 5 spaces per 1,000ft²) and the accommodation suited GeoDyne’s needs well.”

“There remains a lack of accommodation For Sale on the market and enquiries looking to purchase within this size bracket only have a handful of options in the whole of greater Nottingham, which is resulting in a steady increase in freehold values being achieved and vendors are now becoming ever more bullish when looking at freehold quoting figures.”

END

FHP have handled Waterfront House, a 74,000ft² self contained office building, since it was constructed in 2006 and Shakespeares join a high profile line up which includes BWB Consulting, Coca Cola, Ikano, Grant Thornton, Shoosmiths and Brewin Dolphin.

The move continues Shakespeares relocation of their regional offices into modern open plan single floor plate office buildings.

John Proctor of FHP confirmed:-

“Our Clients took the bull by the horns to refurbish the space to provide good quality open plan offices and have reaped the rewards.

Southside continues to strengthen as a business district and the letting continues the theme of good quality refurbished space letting quickly.

We finally seem to be seeing the economic recovery leading to increased confidence in the Nottingham office take up and I hope that this will continue and lead to us finally seeing new speculative development to provide much needed new Grade A stock”.

4^th February 2015

John Proctor

For further information contact John Proctor at FHP on 0115 950 7577

FHP have confirmed that detailed planning consent has been granted by Nottingham City Council allowing an exciting new development to be brought forward on the remaining 3.5 acres at Davidsons’ Portal site on Queens Drive in Nottingham.

The scheme will develop a new 43,000ft² Dunelm Soft Furnishings Store to allow them to relocate from their existing store on Radford Boulevard to a more prominent and more central location.

Davidsons will also be delivering a prestigious two storey car showroom at the entrance of the scheme and there will be a self contained three storey office building of approximately 14,000ft².

John Proctor at FHP has been advising on the scheme and agreed a letting to Dunelm and confirmed:-

“We are delighted to receive the green light to this scheme which will redevelop one of Nottingham’s most prominent undeveloped sites on the Queens Drive entrance into the City Centre.  Davidsons have worked hard at introducing high quality design and elevations to both the retail and car showroom element and we look forward to seeing the scheme take shape over the forthcoming months”.

27^th January 2015

John Proctor

For further information contact John Proctor at FHP on 0115 950 7577

Derbyshire based commercial property developer and investor PMW Property Developments have recently purchased 4 office units at The Village Office Scheme in South Normanton.

Unit 22 – 28 are all of approximately 2,000 ft² each.  Unit 22 is now under offer, whilst Units 24 and 26 area available to let although a sale will be considered.  Units are available individually or combined totalling approximately 4,000ft².  The units are finished to an excellent standard including raised floors, feature lighting, suspended ceilings, high quality fixtures and fitting including kitchens with integral white goods, air conditioning and on-site parking.  There is a manned security gatehouse at the entrance to the estate which is a managed courtyard environment.

Mike Wrigley of PMW commented:

“The Village has faired well over the last few years and we were pleased to secure a purchase of these final units to add to our investment portfolio.  We have received good early interest in the premises”.

Unit 28 is currently occupied.

Letting Agents on the scheme are FHP Property Consultants through both their Derby and Nottingham offices.

Tim Richardson of FHP commented:

“These are good quality offices in a very accessible location off Junction 28 of the M1 and ideal for businesses in the area who prefer to have good road connections which are available through both the M1 and A38 dual carriageway”.

For further information please contact Tim Richardson at FHP on 01332 224 857.

FHP acting on behalf of CUK Clothing Limited have completed a letting of some 50,000 sq ft to Torch Academy Gateway Trust for a Free School.

The School, which opened to new pupils in September at Haydn Road, is in the former Courtaulds factory.

FHP introduced the opportunity to Torch Academy Gateway Trust, whilst Matt Robertson at JLL’s Nottingham Office acted on their behalf.

FHP in conjunction with Innes England have been retained by CUK Clothing Limited to seek tenants for the remaining accommodation occupied by Courtaulds totaling approximately 25,000 sq ft at ground and first floors.

David Hargreaves of FHP said: “The ground floor will be appropriate for retail use, sitting next to the 25,000 sq ft Courtaulds Factory Shop, whilst the first floor provides first class open plan office accommodation with a variety of individual meeting rooms.  The vacant accommodation benefits from some 150 on site car parking spaces to the rear of the building.

FHP and Innes England will be bringing the accommodation to the market in the New Year.

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to have been instructed as joint agents with Innes England to offer an interesting opportunity to acquire business space premises within the Beeston Business Park.

The building extends to a total of 12,522 ft² capable of division into 2 units from 5,659 ft².

The building is situated within a secure business park environment.  Beeston Business Park is an excellent location and environment especially for hi-tech industries has the benefit of a security manned gatehouse, securing fencing and CCTV.  The site benefits from enterprise zone status bringing benefits such as reduced rates for eligible projects.

The site is also well located, with Beeston Railway Station being situated directly adjacent to the park, and there being easy road access to the M1 motorway at Junction 25 via the A50 and, also the City Centre.

The property itself comprises a mixture of offices/lab space and storage but would be readily capable of adaptation and conversation to provide an alternative mix of space including traditional warehousing if required.

For further information please contact Tim Richardson at FHP on 01332 343 222 or Mark Tomlinson on 0115 950 7577.

I joined FHP in 2014 having previously worked for a surveying practice in West London focusing on office and industrial instructions within close proximity of Heathrow Airport.

I now form part of FHP’s Office and Industrial Team working from the Derby office where I focus on the sale, leasing and acquisition of office and Industrial premises in strategic locations along the M1, A50 and A38 corridor across Derbyshire and the East/West Midlands.

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to announce the letting the Unit 5 Innovate Mews to Braiswick Photography, a specialist photography company relocating from Mansfield.  This has resulted in full occupancy being achieved at Innovate Mews following decent levels of interest being received in the unit.

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants commented:-

“Towards the end of 2014 we have noticed a marked increase in enquiries being received for offices below 3,000ft² with various parties in the market for modern office accommodation such as the units provided at Innovate Mews on Sherwood Park”.  “We are currently bringing forwards good levels of interest on similar units at Junction 26 and Junction 28 of the M1 Motorway which could further reduce the availability of good quality office space in the market”.

END

Acting on behalf of private property investor clients, Tim Gilbertson is pleased to announce the completion of a substantial office letting in Mansfield extending to just over 6,000ft². 

The deal concluded sees Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services take high calibre first floor space at Phoenix House on Oak Tree Lane in Mansfield for their expansion and relocation. 

Tim Gilbertson brokered the deal and commented: 

“This is a substantial letting for our clients who have owned this property for some time with the ground floor already occupied.  This deal sees the building now completely occupied and provides an excellent return for our clients. 

We wish Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services well in their base and know they will enjoy taking advantage of this excellently positioned and very well presented building.” 

The deal again shows how in late 2014 the commercial property market in the region was strengthening and we hope to see similarly improving market conditions in 2015 where the biggest difficulty to overcome will be a lack of stock rather than lack of demand. 

Hopefully though a strengthening in economy in the New Year will provide an equally strengthening commercial property market.

The Nottingham office of top 50 law firm, Gateley, has demonstrated its continued commitment to remaining within the heart of the city’s business community by moving on a long-term lease to centrally located Park View House.

Prominently positioned at 58 The Ropewalk, the move, scheduled for early December, will allow the operation to continue its growth plans within Nottingham’s professional quarter.

John Proctor of FHP acted for Gateley on the deal, whilst the landlord was represented by James Keeton of JLL and James Hall of Geo Hallam & Sons.

Led by Real Estate partner and head of office, Andy Matthews, the Nottingham operation is a key player in the city’s professional services community, providing clients with expertise across Banking & Finance, Commerce, Technology & Media, Property Litigation, Contentious Construction, Corporate, Corporate Recovery, Employment and Real Estate.

Andy Matthews commented: “The Park View House move will provide modern, professional office space in an easy to find location.

“We made a number of key hires and promotions during 2014 across our service offerings. The move reflects our investment in developing the team further”.

Simon McIntosh of F&C Reit who represented the landlord added “Following the speculative refurbishment, F&C REIT are delighted to have secured Gateley, another blue chip tenant. This letting reinforces the demand and flight by tenants to modern, Grade A refurbished office buildings in Nottingham.”

This news follows a successful twelve months for Gateley’s East Midlands teams. In May 2014, the Nottingham and Leicester Corporate team was named Legal Team of the Year at the Insider East Midlands Dealmakers Dinner. In addition, in the most recent Experian Corpfin Advisor league table, the firm achieved a first place ranking by deal volume in the Midlands as well as nationally.

FHP have recently concluded the sale of Unit 13 Churchill Business Park in the Colwick area of Nottingham to Reprotec, a long established printing and document management company already based within the Colwick area.

Following strong trading Reprotec have expanded their operations, purchasing this good quality property to house further office staff as part of their expansion plans.

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants, who acted on behalf of the Vendor in the sale, commented:-

“Reprotec have been active within the market for some time looking for a suitable opportunity to accommodate their expansion plans.  I am delighted that they have now found the right solution to accommodate this growth.

This property has sold relatively quickly and this is a trend we are seeing on many freehold opportunities in the market at this time.  For prospective Purchasers there are not many freehold opportunities on the market and therefore we are seeing increased competition for the properties which are being offered for sale.  This is resulting in a steady increase in values and vastly reduced marketing periods for Vendors.

Hopefully this trend continues and I am confident that we will see freehold appetite in the office market continue, therefore values can continue to climb back up to levels seen prior to the recession.  We are some way from that stage at the moment but progress is certainly being made”.

I joined FHP several years ago as one of the dominant agencies in the region, attracted by a shared ethos of quality of service, in depth market knowledge, adding value, teamwork and proactive approach. Having qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1996 I have worked for both national and regional practices across the Midlands, with the last 20 years or so based from Derby. I have and continue to deal with a wide range of properties and sectors including industrial and distribution, offices, development land, and retail. Following many years of experience in the transactional side of the business, I now focus largely on property valuation for a variety of purposes including loan security, pension fund, company accounts, Charities Act, taxation and insurance reinstatement, although I still get involved in matters such as rent reviews, lease renewals, acquisitions and strategic advice. My hands on market knowledge enables me to provide the best advice for clients. Our in depth knowledge in the market combined with a practical approach and wide resources allow us to provide sound advice.

I am predominantly involved in the office and industrial occupier and investment sectors advising in the leasing, sale and acquisition of property across the East Midlands and more specifically Nottinghamshire. I also advise on industrial developments and office to residential conversion opportunities.

Within the Professional Services Department, my day-to-day role involves dealing principally in Property Valuations and Investment Acquisition. I’m also trained as a Level 4 EPC Energy Professor to add to the range of services we’re able to provide our customers.

I’ve been part of the Nottingham Property Market for many years and am also now actively involved in the Newark Retail Market. As such I have many contacts and have advised clients in Investment Acquisition and in the Letting and Investment sale of Fat Face on Middlegate in 2010.

I qualified as a Level 4 Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Surveyor in 2008 and now undertake a range of assessments on all types of commercial buildings, ranging from a bar/restaurant complex to large and small industrial units, and a retail parade. My current role also includes bank Valuation Work, Investment Sales and advising in Property Litigation.

As a Director within FHP’s Professional Services Team my own work now focuses primarily on two areas. Business Rates to reduce liabilities whether a building is occupied or vacant and Lease Consultancy providing advice to both Landlords and Tenants at lease renewal, rent review and during lease re gear negotiations.

I am experienced in providing Expert Witness evidence at both Valuation Tribunal and during the course of dispute resolution regarding rent reviews and lease renewals.

I work across the Country for a wide variety of clients from institutional investors and pension funds to entrepreneurial businesses and developers.

I am also an APC Counsellor to a number of the FHP Graduates and I help co-ordinate in-house training sessions to support our APC candidates.

Valuation encompasses all aspects of professional work and it’s of paramount importance to have a broad depth of knowledge and experience in order to advise clients appropriately.

I provide extensive valuation advice, primarily within the East Midlands, for a variety of purposes. Key clients range from the majority of the major lending institutions to private individuals.

Within the Education sector, I am developing our work with Academy clients, where FHP Education has advised over 200 Academies since 2012.

Another key area of my work is in respect of Compensation and Compulsory Purchase, where in particular I have acted on behalf of a variety of claimants on schemes including the Nottingham Express Transit NET2 tram, A46 Newark to Widmerpool Trunk Road Improvement, Loughborough Inner Relief Road and the Nottingham Left Bank Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The property market is constantly changing and the economic events of recent years have clearly demonstrated the importance of open, analytical, market-informed appraisals which FHP prides itself on providing to our clients.

Looking back, I feel that I’ve learned considerably more in the last near decade or so that at any other time in my 46-year career. That’s because at FHP, I’m surrounded by surveyors who are highly intelligent, highly motivated and extremely knowledgeable.

I buy and sell commercial investments and now sell a number of residential investments, mainly within a 40 or 50 mile radius of Nottingham, although I have bought properties on the south coast and elsewhere. FHP has helped me broaden my investment knowledge in relation to other markets.

I have been able to advise certain wealthy individuals on a considerable amount of investment and development funding situations whereby we have provided the finance for small time developers to be involved in projects far greater than any bank would have allowed them. This has given us an unrivalled expertise in the funding and secondary market within the East Midlands area. A large number of those projects have been highly successful although, admittedly, during the present economic times one or two schemes have been “moth balled” but however other ones are ongoing and are, (despite the present market conditions), now letting out well. However we are now coming out of the recession and are looking at pre-letting these outstanding development sites.

We believe that the market is slowly improving and there are certain special opportunities where we are taking advantage of market conditions to be able to buy sites and go and carry out developments.

In more recent years we have confined the activities to purely selling and buying investments. During the last 12 months we have received a considerable number of instructions to sell investments and providing they are correctly priced they do sell readily well.

Throughout my 11 years at FHP I thoroughly enjoyed working here with the other Surveyors and have hopefully been able to add to the profile of FHP in terms of the investment market. Despite the present economic climate we probably do more investment work than any of the other agents in the Nottingham area.

Life changes through being in recession since August 2007 and recessions don’t go on forever. We are slowly coming out of recessions, there are lots more lettings albeit soft deals but soon the development cycle will start again even if it is some 12/24 months away and there are lots of opportunities. The current availability of all the main sectors i.e. retail, office and industrial is shrinking and this will consequently lead to an increase in hardening in rents, disappearing incentives as far as the tenants are concerned, which will lead to the development cycle starting again.

Without doubt, FHP is the dominant agent in the Industrial/Warehouse market throughout the East Midlands and I’m proud of the fact that the strength of this domination has been mirrored by my rise through the ranks at FHP.

Whilst still keeping my hand in with Office deals (both acquisitions and disposal) my time is spent mainly advising ‘big shed’ occupiers, landlords and developers, but still taking care of owner occupiers in both corporate and family-run businesses.

Always changing, always needing to think on your feet and respond, the property world is no different to any other strand of business. I’m proud of my involvement in the development of any number of new Industrial and Warehouse schemes during the heady days of 2007. But looking back, I am as equally proud now of deals completed during the recession and the very tough times we all faced, when smaller scale clients say a big ‘thank you’ for finding them an occupier for their pension-fund-owned unit.

Now with the market returning there is a real buzz in the sector again, design and build deals are being done, developers are talking, but as yet not acting upon, their desire to speculatively develop and I am shifting more ‘big sheds’ than ever. It seems for the next year or two lack of stock rather than lack of demand will be our key problem to solve.

Having the privilege of a strong Admin and Back Up Team means that whilst I am responsible for the strategic thinking of the business, I still spend the majority of my time doing what I love, which is property deals.

The team mentality of FHP and strength in depth and quality of the people that we have in each of the individual teams means that whilst I do not handle all of the day to day instructions I know that our Client’s properties are in good hands.  I am still in touch with what’s happening through our team meetings every week and by sitting in amongst the agency teams on a day to day basis.

We have retained our entrepreneurial skills and whilst our teams are sectorally based we encourage a broad depth of knowledge – this has been fundamental to FHP’s continued organic growth through the worst recession that I have personally experienced.

Somewhat perversely I was personally involved in some of my largest deals during the recessionary period.  We are now seeing a greater cross spread of activity and demand across all sectors and I sincerely hope that the global / European economic uncertainty does not hold us back from continuing to achieve steady growth.

I do see however a current challenge as to how the market can provide the range and breadth of new business space development that the regional markets require to meet the emerging demand from the indigenous markets.

FHP Property Consultants have recently secured a new tenant on behalf of Lukegate Limited, a local landlord for the office premises at 19 The Ropewalk in the Professional Quarter of Nottingham City Centre.  The new tenants are Trent Psychological and Therapy Services, who are servicing an NHS contract to provide their care services to the local population.

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants who concluded the letting commented: –

“We were instructed to market both 19 & 21 The Ropewalk by the landlords, Lukegate Limited, and I am delighted that we have now finalised lettings on both buildings.

The leasehold office market in Nottingham Professional Quarter remains challenging, with the majority of occupiers seeking freehold opportunities or the more open plan feel of offices located in The Lace Market of Business Park locations around the City.  However, I do believe this remains an excellent location for professional and medical occupiers especially.

The most recent lettings have resulted in a lack of supply in the area for offices below 4,000ft² and tenants now have fairly limited options when seeking premises in this area.”  

FHP have recently concluded the letting of the 3,500ft² former Service Point premises on Churchill Business Park in Colwick.  The premises was being marketed on an assignment or sublease on behalf of Service Point following the company being brought out by John E Wright some 18 months ago. 

The premises has been let to A Deal Greener Limited, a local company relocating from The Lace Market who specialise in providing energy efficiency savings through their green installation services.

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants who concluded the letting commented: –

“We were marketing the premises on an assignment or sublease but eventually given A Deal Greener’s requirements for greater security on lease terms going forwards, we agreed a new lease with the head landlord to give the new tenant greater autonomy. 

The unit provided 50% offices and 50% ancillary and storage accommodation, which is a rare split of accommodation.  As it happened it suited A Deal Greener perfectly given their high office requirement but also the need for onsite storage.

We are finding that the cost involved in installing office content within a more traditional industrial unit can be very onerous given the current building regulations and therefore this was a very good option for the tenant despite the rent being higher.

This letting follows the letting of Unit 11 Churchill Park in 2013 and we have also recently agreed a sale of Unit 13 Churchill Business Park which will mean that we no longer have any availability on the site for the first time in a long time.

More generally I can see that void periods on office buildings are decreasing and although Landlord’s still have to be competitive on rents, the outlook is somewhat more rosy given the general lack of good quality supply in the market as a whole.  Activity among prospective tenants has not necessarily increased over the last 2 years but certainly the steady take up of supply is putting landlords in a better position going forwards.” 

Refurbishment works are underway on the ground floor suite of Waterfront Plaza to turn the previous laser eye surgery unit into Grade A offices.

The building, that already boast tenants such as Shoosmiths, Brewin Dolphin, Coca Cola and Ikanos is set to unveil another floor of approximately 7,500ft² to the market once it completely overhauls and refurbishes the ground floor space to offices.

James Hartley of property consultants FHP commented:

“With such a shortage of high quality space currently available in the City it is great to see McAleer & Rushe taking a proactive step forward to return this space to its intended use.  The space will offer unrivalled ground floor Grade A space within Nottingham City Centre.  With such little Grade A space available at this present time in the City to have something ready and immediately available should help us gain good interest in the space.

We recently had the space come back to the landlord as a result of Ultralase going into receivership and whilst it was a shame to see the expensive high quality clinic fit out go to waste it has quickly become apparent that the demand is for office space rather than alternative uses.  In addition to that the existing fit out made it difficult for interested parties to appreciate the quality of the space on offer.  Once this works completes in September this will no longer be the case and I am confident that we will have no trouble gaining interest in the space.”

FHP Property Consultants have been instructed as sole agents on Unit 2 Redwing Court and interest is expected to be positive from the off due to a lack of supply of similar space in the area.

Mango One who recently purchased the office as part of a larger portfolio have instructed FHP to market the 1,981ft² office and are willing to listen to offers for both the freehold and leasehold interest in the space.

James Hartley of FHP property consultants commented:

“We are delighted to be instructed on this office along with the wider portfolio for Mango One and we are expecting to see a real positive response to the office coming to the market.  Being located close to Junction 24 of the M1 we are seeing good levels of demand for the area.  There is relatively little space on the market and as a result of this we expect to be receiving a number of enquiries for the space.

Redwing Court offers high quality self-contained office space and this office is no different and if anything has been improved by the previous tenant adding to the previous specification.  This means we are able to offer an office capable of immediate occupation to either a tenant or owner occupier.

We are seeing strong interest in Junction 24 at the moment relative to the wider office market and I think it is down to the strength of the location.  It is near enough equidistant from Derby, Leicester and Nottingham and close to East Midlands Airport and East Midlands Parkway train station.  This coupled with the current duelling of the A453 into Nottingham means that Junction 24 is incredibly well connected to the East Midlands core Cities but also the rest of the UK.”

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to report that recent activity in the market has shown a marked increase in freehold office enquiries and transactions among small to medium sized enterprises.  This trend, which has been steady for some time has recently flourished in activity over the last 6-9 months.

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants commented: –

“We have concluded and are due to conclude a number of freehold office transactions around Nottingham City Centre and the immediate city fringe following an increased appetite among local businesses to acquire freehold assets, many of whom looking to purchase through their Pensions.  Recent activity includes a conclusion of 3 sales at Poplars Court on Lenton Lane just off Nottingham Ring Road with no further freehold units now available.  We also achieved a sale in the professional quarter of Nottingham achieving 15% above the asking price following competitive bidding as well and concluding transactions on Clarendon Business Park, Churchill Business Park and have more properties due to be sold in the coming weeks.

This activity is not only fuelled by increased appetite among local businesses to purchase but also the lack of properties to buy generally.  This lack of supply coupled with a dearth of new development is allowing values to creep upwards and vendors can now afford to be far more bullish on pricing than at any point since the start of the recession.

If you have a requirement for an office to purchase in Nottingham City Centre or in the immediate fringe we can now only offer a handful of options varying in size in the whole market, whereas some 2 years and enquirer would have quite a number of options to choose from.”

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants has recently achieved the final letting of the multi occupied office space at 3 Hope Drive located within The Park Estate in Nottingham.  The latest tenants are Hallbrook Partners who have relocated from their premises on The Ropewalk who sought more flexible lease terms given their change in business strategy going forwards.

The offices on Hope Drive had recently been converted into a semi-serviced office premises offering all inclusive rental deals on flexible lease terms to suit small to medium sized companies in the City.  We have been delighted with the take up onsite and have now filled this 4,000ft² building over the course of 8 or 9 lettings over the last 12 months.  This shows a marked increase in the office market within the local sector, showing a greater appetite for flexibility in lease terms and certainty on occupation costs given the state of change for small business at this time. 

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to announce completion of the sale of the Former Johnston Press premises on the High Street in Grantham.  The property comprised a retail shop along with circa 10,000ft² of offices and warehousing to the rear and housed Johnston Press for quite a number of years in the town. 

The Publishing Group have now relocated to more suitable premises again in Grantham Town Centre while the property has been sold to a local investor who will be seeking to redevelop the premises. 

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants, who concluded the sale, commented: –

“We worked alongside Rapleys Property Consultants in achieving an overall property strategy for Johnston Press who sought more modern accommodation as they no longer required the main road frontage that this property offered.  We are delighted to have secured Johnston Press new premises and to have simultaneously achieved a sale of their existing premises in such a short period of time considering the size of the premises and the lack of commercial activity in the market generally.”

FHP Property Consultants are pleased to announce that they have completed a letting on Brunel Park, Pride Park to Health Management.  In a move that has seen the company double the amount of space they occupy on Pride Park and help facilitate their growth 41 Brunel Parkway totals approximately 3,077ft² within a self contained office building.

Health Management is the UK’s leading occupational healthcare provider.  They work with more than 400 public and private sector businesses to reduce workplace absence by helping their staff to be healthier, fitter and more productive.  They have over 40 offices via growth over the last 10 years and this Derby move shows the company is going from strength to strength within the East Midlands.

James Hartley of FHP property consultants commented:

“This letting goes a long way to show that the Pride Park office market is performing strongly at the moment.  The office was ‘under offer’ very quickly after putting it on the market.  In fact in the time that this office has been ‘under offer’ we have brought the adjoining building to the market and have terms out to someone already. The tenant only vacated a month ago.

There has become a real shortage of space on the park between 3,000ft² and 10,000ft² and this is where we are seeing the highest levels of demand.  Pride Park is where the main focus of the Derby business community is based with thriving business of all different sizes but the real issue at the moment is a lack of stock or at least a lack of quality stock.

Pride Park’s occupancy levels are at the best they have been for some time and this means that in well presented good quality offices we are going to see rent incentives reduce and rents increasing and it won’t take much of an increase in demand to see a real pressure placed on the available properties and for rents to start to noticeably improve.”

A few months into the year and a hat trick of deals to Encore Estate Management, Boards Direct and a private investor have left East Midlands property firm Sladen Estates, FHP and Innes England celebrating after selling the last available unit on Poplars Court.

Poplars Court, a development by Sladen Estates, is a high quality sixteen unit self-contained office development in Lenton Lane, Nottingham.  The recent disposals offer further signs that the commercial property market is improving, with the final unit being sold to a private investor who is seeking a tenant.

Poplars Court offered a unique opportunity for SME’s to acquire their own premises and invest in an improving property market.  

Matt Sladen of Sladen Estates commented: 

“We have always had faith in the quality and appeal of the units and if it hadn’t been for the unprecedented economic times there is no doubt we would have been celebrating the sale of the last unit a lot sooner.

I would like to thank FHP and Innes England for all the effort that they have put in to get us to this point.  They have shown great dedication and have never stopped looking for new initiatives and marketing ideas to improve the level of interest and sales in the scheme.”

FHP and Innes England acted jointly on behalf of Sladen Estates to market the development.

James Hartley of FHP said:

“It has been a real pleasure working with Matt and everyone else at Sladen Estates.  They have been responsive to so many of our ideas and initiatives and I am pleased to see that they have now paid off and the scheme is sold out. 

We have only got two units left on the market now within the development which are on behalf of private investors who have purchased the offices for a long term investment.  These are already proving popular with good levels of demand being shown.  The development looks set to benefit from being set by the new NET tram line given excellent access to the Nottingham City Centre.”