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 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.” 

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.”  

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.”   

Vasek Insurance have expanded into the fifth floor of 30-34 Hounds Gate and FHP Property Consultants can confirm that they have completed a 7,500ft² part renewal and new letting to Vasek Insurance on the fourth and fifth floors of 30-34 Hounds Gate.

The letting agreed by James Hartley of FHP Property Consultants means that the fifth floor has been let within a matter of days of the space becoming vacant.

Sarah Cooper of the landlords commented:

“I am delighted to see one of our tenants showing such strong growth and wanting to commit their future to the property.”

Vasek who specialise in insurance for landlords was founded in 1998 and are one of the leading insurers in the UK within this field.  They initially moved into 30-34 Hounds Gate 3 years ago and the expansion sees them occupy the two upper floors within the building.

James Hartley of FHP added:

“One of the most satisfying parts of my job is to find tenants that you put into buildings wanting to expand and being successful.  Not only have they expanded within Hounds Gate but they have also committed to the building for another 7 years across both floors. 

Hounds Gate is situated in the Professional Quarter of the Nottingham City Centre and offers excellent proximity to public transport, car parking, shops, restaurants and coffee shops associated with such a strong central location.  This mixed with high quality office space at affordable rent means that Hounds Gate is an ideal location for an office within Nottingham City Centre.  There are a further two floors of vacant space currently available within the building ranging from 3,500ft² to 7,000ft².”

Tim Gilbertson of FHP and Phil Randle of Salloway are continuing to drive forward Clowes Developments prestigious Ivanhoe Business Park at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, with a fresh push on marketing coming off the back of continued strong interest. 

Benefitting from a superb central location just off the M42/A42 at Junction 13 in Leicestershire, the site has terrific links to Birmingham to the west and the M1 to the east whilst remaining within minutes access of local services in the thriving market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch.  Already the development has attracted substantial interest and now is the home to a range of occupiers in both the office, warehouse and manufacturing sectors.

Ivanhoe Business Park has thrived even during the darkest days of recession over the last few years and with property demand significantly increasing in early 2014 and supply of quality office and industrial space and indeed design and build opportunities throughout the County and the East Midlands as a whole in poor supply, the future seems bright for Ivanhoe which can offer office space to purchase or rent from as little as 3,000ft² and upwards and warehouse or manufacturing space from 7,000ft² and beyond, again to rent or purchase.

The joint agents are thrilled at the prospect of encouraging further new occupiers to this prime site.  Tim Gilbertson of FHP commented:

“For both myself and FHP as a whole it is great to continue our established working relationship with Clowes Developments on another of their schemes in the Midlands. 

Having brought significant success to other sites throughout the region I see no reason given the quality of location, product and design and build options for this site that we cannot bring continued success to this scheme also.

In recent years Ivanhoe has bucked the trend and seen terrific growth bringing both local and national occupiers to this prestigious scheme which sits in a prime location just off the A42, whilst remaining most importantly, within minutes of the local facilities that the thriving market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch can offer.

That may seem to be a minor point, but having banking and local facilities on the doorstep of the scheme is of key benefit to any occupier who is also seeking a destination which provides terrific links to the national motorway network, regional Cities of Nottingham, Derby and Leicester and also quick access to Birmingham and East Midlands Airport.

We have the ability on the scheme to offer office, production or distribution users prime product in a superb location and have existing office stock immediately ‘ready for occupation’ plus the ability to offer design and build warehouse or manufacturing space within a matter of months on either a purchase or rental basis.

The quality of location is coupled with the highest calibre of construction, with the specification of all the space on site unrivalled and for any occupier seeking a quality location and quality space for their business then Ivanhoe must surely be a first port of call. 

Occupiers only need to look at the testimonies of other existing occupiers on the scheme to recognise what a great opportunity Ivanhoe Business Park offers and we very much hope to be announcing details of further occupiers in the near future.”

James Richards of Clowes Developments commented:

“Ivanhoe Business Park has been a terrific success for Clowes Developments and we have no doubt that moving forward similar success will be encountered as we embark upon the next phase of development at the site. 

Our agents already have initial interest in both the remaining office space and design and build deals to purchase or rent on both industrial/warehouse and office accommodation.  However, as we have two office buildings remaining, each available to purchase or rent, and there is still a great opportunity for any interested party to secure one of these before deals are agreed elsewhere.

In terms of the future, given the level of interest on a build to suit basis for both industrial/warehouse and office space we very much hope that as the market continues to improve, demand rises and supply diminishes still further that design and build opportunities which can be delivered within a fantastically shorter time period will be the way forward on this scheme. 

For example, we already have a fully consented warehouse/industrial unit of 40,000ft² ‘ready to go’ which we could hand over the keys upon within 6 months of a deal being documented.

The ongoing lack of supply in the region suggests that design and build is the way forward and with our track record and ability to perform quickly, we very much hope that we will be announcing deals shortly.”

Joint agent on the scheme, Phil Randle of Salloway commented:

“The business park has bucked the trend during the recession with success achieved on the warehouse/industrial and office sectors.  Negotiations are progressing well with three companies for design and build facilities and I expect more good news to be delivered by early summer.”

For further information on the scheme or to discuss your office, manufacturing or warehouse needs then please contact Tim Gilbertson on 0115 9507577.

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to announce the sale of 3 St James Terrace, a 1,500ft² self contained office building located close to Nottingham Castle in the Professional Quarter of Nottingham City Centre.  The property has been sold to We Are Pure, a branding, packaging and communications experts already located in the City who are undertaking planned expansion following successful trading.

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

“3 St James Terrace was brought to the market at the end of 2013 to let with the possibility that the Landlord would consider a sale.  We received a number of freehold enquiries for the property which resulted in a competitive bidding process on the property and a very strong value was achieved.  This indicates a certain level of confidence is returning to the office market.  Of course properties in this area of the City are always in demand from owner occupiers but even I was surprised by the amount of interest that we received for the building.

We have now concluded a number of freehold transactions in the Professional Quarter of the City over the last 12 months and the general tone of values being achieved in the area is certainly increasing.”

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to announce the letting of the 4,000ft² office building at Park Place, Robey Close in Linby close to Junction 27 of the M1 Motorway.  The property has been let to Watlow Limited a company with Headquarters in the United States, a specialist in manufacture of custom commercial electric heating solutions.

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

“Offices in this location of Nottinghamshire have experienced high levels of vacancies coupled with supressed levels of demand for offices of this size.  However, we are seeing increasingly limited supply of genuinely good quality opportunities at this time with a complete lack of new development of offices opportunities.  Slowly but surely we are getting to a position where enquiries actually don’t have the choice that they once had and this is resulting in a more optimistic outlook on the office market as a whole.

Quite clearly we have some way to go before confidence returns to the market in such a way to enable speculative development but lettings such as this are certainly a positive sign.”

Acting on behalf of Fowler Smith & Jones Trust FHP Property Consultants have completed the renewal of a lease to Miller Homes at Centro Place, Pride Park, Derby. 

James Hartley, Associate Director at FHP Commented:

“Miller Homes had exercised their break clause when the landlords approached us to bring the space to the market. 

The initial advice within our marketing report and strategy was to approach Miller Homes to see if we could put a deal together to keep them within the building.  They have quite a history on Pride Park and have been in the Centro Place offices for such a long period of time that we were confident that something could be agreed to retain them and this proved to be the case.

I am delighted for the Trust to have secured Miller Homes and at the same time secured what is an important investment for them and an income stream for the Trust.”

Acting on behalf of Teleral Trillium FHP have sold the 17,500ft² former Job Centre on High Pavement within the town centre of Sutton-in-Ashfield to Foxhall Business Centres.

Foxhall Business Centres were established in 2002 with the ideology to create a flexible and versatile approach to office management.  This will be their fourth office within their portfolio adding to Foxhall Lodge on Radford Boulevard, 2 King Street overlooking Nottingham Market Square and Hamilton House on Hucknall Road in Sherwood.

Tom Wilton of Foxhall commented:

“High Pavement was an opportunity too good not to proceed with.  Expanding into Sutton-in-Ashfield and particularly into a building like this is a good fit for Foxhall and allows us to increase our operation.  Our intention is to benefit from the excellent town centre location and proximity to the Motorway by undertaking a full refurbishment to the office suites to bring them up to a very high standard in line with the rest of our offices.

We haven’t fully made up our minds as to the size and services of offices in the building so at this stage we are able to react to what the market wants be it one operator or a number of smaller operators.

James Hartley of FHP Property Consultants commented:

“This sale of High Pavement is the third former Job Centre that FHP have sold for Telereal Trillium and the second sale within the last 12 months alone.  Working alongside Trillium in these disposals is always enjoyable and offers a different challenge every time.  We have sold buildings to a Church in Nottingham City Centre, a Government funded project in Basford and now this one to Foxhall. 

We have also recently been instructed to market a former Job Centre in Derby that is drawing strong attention from restaurant users.  Each site is so unique because of its style, location and condition.”  

FHP Property Consultants are pleased to announce the sale of 2.1 Horizon Place on Nottingham Business Park to Bobby Kalar has now completed. 

Bobby intends to launch his new energy company from the site, YU Energy.

The sale is the latest in the line of a number of office deals on the park in the last 6 months. 

These have included David Wilson Homes who have leased 2.2 Horizon Place and Key Care Solutions who have taken an office within the Ash Tree Court area of the park.

The sale of 2.1 Horizon Place constitutes a significant deal in itself as it accounts for 10,000ft².

James Hartley of FHP Property Consultants commented: 

“We have seen some real momentum along the Motorway Junctions within the office market and at Nottingham Business Park a Junction 26 in particular.  I know Mr Kalar had been looking for the right offices for some time and once he had visited Nottingham Business Park he was won over by the quality of offices and working environment on offer within the 125 acre business park.”  

FHP is advising Peel Group on the development of the first phase of Unity Square, which will see 50,000ft² of BREEAM Excellent Grade A office space and a 160 bedroom hotel constructed directly opposite Nottingham Railway Station.

Peel has secured a deal which will see Nottingham City Council take 25,000Ft² of space in the building in order to help development get underway.

The scheme will benefit from the £60m investment in transforming the railway station into a transport interchange bringing together train services with the Nottingham tram network.

Confirmation of the Unity Square deal will follow the completion of due diligence, the finalising of Heads of Terms, and a successful GPF application, but all partners are confident these matters can be swiftly resolved.

Richard Mawdsley of The Peel Group, said:-

“We are delighted to confirm very positive recent progress on bringing forward our Unity Square scheme in Nottingham. These are still early days but we are confident that outstanding matters can be put to bed very soon, and a start made on this very exciting Grade A office development at this unique location, early next year”.

Councillor Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said:-

“We are really pleased to be part of this new flagship development right at the heart of the Southern Gateway regeneration area.  We have a need for some further quality office space near to our Loxley House headquarters, and it’s good to know that our action will help unlock other BREEAM Excellent offices in Nottingham, for which there is proven demand.”

FHP founding Director John Proctor is acting for Peel Group. He commented:-

“This is the centrepiece of Peel and the City Council’s vision to create a sense of arrival opposite the transport interchange.  They are delivering Grade A BREEAM Excellent offices and starting what can be a major business district. It is fantastic to see the City Council enabling this scheme to come forward at an ideal time when the economy is strengthening and enquiry levels are picking up.  It is vital that Nottingham is able to compete commercially with locations like Birmingham and this will give us an opportunity to do that.”

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to announce the sale of 2.3 Clarendon Business Park, a modern two storey office building just to the north of Nottingham City Centre.  The property has been purchased by Twist Digital, who provide tools and social support for internet marketing firms.  Twist Digital are relocating from serviced offices on Hucknall Road having rented offices since their incorporation.

Andrew Slack, Managing Director of Twist Digital commented: –

“I am delighted to be moving onto Clarendon Business Park which is just around the corner from our current offices. Having rented for a large number of years and been contributing to somebody else’s mortgage, I felt the time was right to purchase our own property.

The media are reporting that the property market is showing signs of recovery which suggests now is the right time to buy. I hope that the cost of legal fees, renovation work and relocation will be offset by the increase in value over the upcoming years. Most of all it means we can start paying off our own mortgage rather than somebody else’s.”

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

“Freehold offices around the City are in increasingly short supply at this time and prospective purchasers can choose from only a handful of options.  Due to this lack of supply we are seeing a steady improvement in freehold values being achieved which is a positive story for the office market which has been a very difficult sector over the last few years.

We are now seeing signs of improvements and this sale shows that there continues to be demand for good quality offices in the right locations.

We are now marketing the neighbouring property on Clarendon Business Park which is available both for sale or to let with options from 2,000ft² – 4,000ft².”

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to announce the letting of Kingfisher House in Ilkeston, a self contained two storey office building constructed approximately 10 years ago.  The building has been let to P3 Charity, an organisation who provide services for vulnerable and disadvantaged people creating routes out of homelessness and social exclusion.

This marks an expansion in the Charity who occupy the neighbouring property and have doubled their size requirement following significant increase in take up of their services.

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants commented: –

“The office market generally in this area of Nottinghamshire has been difficult over the recession years with the majority of activity in the area being from the industrial and distribution sectors which have been fairly positive for some time.  It now appears that the office market is slowly but surely catching up and I was very pleased with the amount of interest which we received in this building from the outset.  The property was marketed for 3 months, we undertook a number of viewings and completed the letting within 6 months of the initial instructions.  This is a very short time scale in the current market.

The main reason I can see for this is the lack of supply of good quality office accommodation in this area of Nottinghamshire, Kingfisher House offers modern open plan accommodation over two floors with decent levels of car parking onsite and these factors were not lost on the local office occupiers.

It is positive to see that the local occupiers were viewing the building and bringing forward serious proposals to expand their businesses.  I hope that this more progressive thinking among small to medium businesses continues into 2014.”

VF Corporation, which owns a range of iconic labels including Timberland, Vans, The North Face and Wrangler, is moving into The Curve, a 30,000 sq ft office building on the NG2 Business Park in Nottingham.

The move will bring 120 new jobs to Nottingham, with expansion also leading o the creation of a further 30 posts at another VF facility just outside the city. The Curve will become home to a customer service centre of excellence, with a multi-lingual team which is ultimately expected to grow to around 200 people.

The building is owned by Friends Life and managed on their behalf by F&C Reit. The Nottingham property consultancy FHP represented Friends Life in the transaction, which is being hailed as a significant inward investment win for the city.

John Proctor, who leads the office and industrial department at FHP, commented: “We are delighted to be part of the team which has brought VF to the city. F&C Reit takes a strategic long term view on its property assets and has the foresight and motivation to help deliver such an exciting move for the city and one which helps underpin Nottingham’s expertise in customer services.

“The Curve is a prominent Grade A building in one of the most prestigious addresses in the city, with VF Corporation joining a rage of blue chip occupiers including Experian, Speedo, Specsavers, Coutts and the Bank of England. It is a fitting location for a growing business which clearly has great ambitions.”

VF Corporation has had a presence at Calverton in Nottinghamshire for many years, where it already employs 200 people in warehousing and support functions. The new facility at The Curve will provide Europe-wide support for wholesale customers and for consumers buying through its expanding range of online stores.

A spokesperson for VF said: “We are pleased to expand in the Nottingham area, as VF has a strong history at our Calverton site – both in our operations and the ability to recruit quality employees to our growing company. We look forward to welcoming talented individuals, most of who will be multi-lingual with strong communication skills, who can help us continue to build strong relationships with our customers.”

One of the most significant inward investments in Nottingham for sometime, the deal has been welcomed by Lorraine Baggs, of Invest in Nottingham, the inward investment organisation for the city. She said: “VF is a valued employer in the city and county, and is making a significant contribution to our economy. We’ve been working together for some time to find the right solutions for the company to enable them to remain and expand in the area. We’re delighted to see them moving to The Curve and very much look forward to continuing to support them in the future.”

The complex transaction, which saw the tenant surrender its interest and Friends Life agree a new lease with VF, was secured by a team of consultants which also included Innes England and CBRE.

Craig Straw of Innes England acted for the outgoing tenant. He said: “This is a significant win for the city. The company has not only confirmed its commitment to retaining its presence in the county, it is planning to create further employment opportunities at both locations.”

Ashley Hancox, senior director at CBRE, acted for VF. He commented: “The letting to

VF Northern Europe is great news for Nottingham. The Curve was the perfect choice, not only because it can accommodate around 450 people, but also because of its close proximity to the city centre, access to the local skills base and the nearby transport links, and the quality of the accommodation.”

Councillor Nick McDonald, portfolio holder for jobs and growth at Nottingham City Council, welcomed VF to the city, commenting: “This new investment is great news for the city. It confirms the upward trend we are seeing for business in Nottingham currently.

“With recent news that our city is cited by the UK’s top firms for as a prime target for recruitment, deals on Grade A office space being up 130%, and £51m of business finance secured for the city, it’s becoming clear that Nottingham is more of a prime location for business than ever. Our aim is to keep the positive trend going and to ensure that local businesses and residents are the ones who benefit.”

Simon McIntosh of F & C Reit Asset Management added: “We are very pleased to have been able to work with VF – this is exactly the kind of proactive asset management approach that we seek to encourage across our entire property portfolio throughout the UK.”

PKF Cooper Parry is to open a new ‘super office’ in 25,000 sq ft of space at the Pegasus Business Park, Castle Donington, in a property formerly occupied by a subsidiary of the airline BMI.

It represents a major move for PKF Cooper Parry, with its 200 staff switching to the new strategic location from three different sites, bringing its teams together under one roof and enabling future growth. Work is now underway on a bespoke fit-out intended to provide its staff with an inspirational environment which reflects modern working practices.

PKF Cooper Parry is leasing its new headquarters from Commercial Estates Group (CEG), the national property investment and development company which has managed both this property and the adjacent trading estate since these properties were acquired as part of a national portfolio in January 2012.

John Proctor, who leads FHP’s office and industrial team, negotiated the letting on CEG’s behalf. He commented:  “CEG recognised the strategic importance and strength of the East Midlands Airport as a business location when they originally acquired the property.

“From the outset it was planned that the property, which was originally built in the early 1990s, would be extensively refurbished to provide Grade A office space. Securing the interest of PKF Cooper Parry at such an early stage has enabled their specific requirements to be incorporated into the main refurbishment project.”

Antonia Martin-Wright, investment manager at CEG, said: “A letting of this size shows improved market sentiment – this is the third letting within 12 months since our involvement with the site which is testament to the quality of accommodation and attractiveness of the estate.”

The project to amalgamate PKF Cooper Parry’s three current sites in Nottingham, Derby and Leicester into the new ‘super office’ has also involved commercial property consultancy Innes England and Paragon Interiors Group.

Innes England has a long-standing relationship with PKF Cooper Parry and was appointed to help the firm to secure its new premise. Its in-house building consultancy team was also employed to advise on the refurbishment of the building.

Robert Hartley, managing director at Innes England, said: “Having worked with PKF Cooper Parry for many years, I am very pleased to have been able to assist on what is a huge relocation project for the business.

“Moving three offices to one location is a challenge and it was essential to find the right premises for the company’s needs. This property offers the space and spec the firm was looking for in an ideal location, mid-way between the three previous offices and just off J24 of the M1.”

Nottingham-based Paragon Interiors Group will manage the office refurbishment and fit out of the new office.  Managing director Alan Hardy said: “We have worked very closely with the team at PKF Cooper Parry to develop a theme which will define the look and feel of the new office. We felt that a Google-style workplace with bright and bold colours would not only reflect the new branding but also bring the company’s dynamic culture to life.”

The new office will include themed meeting rooms on the ground floor as well as a modern and airy café and informal break-out work spaces for team members ‘on the go’. The first floor will accommodate all partners and employees in an open plan environment which will enable teams to easily and comfortably interact.

Jeremy Bowler, chairman, of PKF Cooper Parry, said: “There’s been so much planning involved in the move, it is very exciting to reach the next stage and see activity start on site. We are very thankful to the organisations we are working with who are helping us bring our vision for a bigger and stronger PKF Cooper Parry to fruition.”

One of the largest mix use developments in Nottingham City Centre, Chapel Quarter on Maid Marian Way, has secured its latest tenant and is now fully occupied with the letting of 15,700 sq ft offices to web design and marketing business Adtrak LLP.

The deal will see Adtrak occupy the remaining vacant office space in the building, which is also being linked in to the former Tonic bar and restaurant, to create a unique workplace for the business. Work has already started on the conversion, with the business expected to move in March.

Adtrak currently employ 80 people in the city and the move to new premises will enable them to not only significantly enhance their client experience, but also move forward with the rapid expansion plans that will hopefully see over 100 people employed from the offices initially.

Chapel Quarter is prominently located at the top of Maid Marian Way and is one of the largest mixed use schemes in the City. The building is now fully let with office occupiers including Thomson Reuters, Global Radio and Barclays. Restaurant and leisure occupiers include M10 Fitness, ASK, Mr Manns, Fat Cat, Las Iguanas and Holiday Inn Express.

Adtrak were represented by property consultants FHP, with James Hartley commenting:

“When Adtrak first approached us looking for a new office space, we knew that what they were looking for was going to challenge our acquisition skills to the full. Given the nature of what they do, they were after something unique that would stand out from the crowd. The space also had to be big enough to house their rapid expansions plans. It was not going to be easy.

Luckily enough, given our involvement in Chapel Quarter, we knew there was such an opportunity lurking in the Nottingham office market. With the kind of imagination and flare that Adtrak rely on in their day to day work, they were able to see what the combination of a traditional office mixed with a restaurant could offer them with the right amount of refurbishment work.

I can’t wait to see the space finished I think that it is going to offer Chris and his staff a fantastic working environment and something that their clients and visitors will only be impressed by.”

James Keeton of Jones Lang LaSalle, joint letting agents on the building commented:

“We managed to come up with an innovative solution to meet the requirements of Adtrak for a city centre location by combining two very different spaces to deliver the volume of space required, whilst at the same time, maintaining their requirement for high quality office and ancillary space.

Chapel Quarter already has a high quality of tenant mix and this will be very much complimented by the arrival of Adtrak. Their proposals will create unique office space in the city and a true reflection of the ethos of the business.”

Chris Robinson, Managing Director of Adtrak, added:

The new 15,700 square feet of inner city office space, which is spread over 3 floors, represents Adtrak’s commitment to further expanding our national web design and internet marketing operations from Nottingham.

We will be installing innovative work spaces, meeting areas, breakout zones, Gym facilities and new photography studio which will encapsulate a creative environment that reflects our business culture.

Once the offices have been fully redeveloped, they will offer our staff and clients a unique, modern environment to work from and allow us to further build on our success to date.

We hope to expand Adtrak’s staff levels from 80 to up to 130 over the next two to three years and the new office in Nottingham city centre will provide us with the perfect space to execute our expansion plans.

Adtrak will move in to Chapel Quarter at the beginning of March 2014.

I would like to say a big thank you to James Hartley from FHP, James Longden of the Stainton Group and to Structural Interiors for all their help in developing the Chapel Quarter and Tonic premises.

FHP Property Consultants are delighted to announce the letting of a period office property at 7 College Street in Nottingham City Centre. The property comprises a charming and refurbished self-contained office building with a large car park and is a short walk from Cast Café and Restaurant and many other cafes, restaurants and bars which this area of the City has to offer.

The property has been leased by AKA Case Management Limited, a company who are specialists in providing a high quality service of care the field of traumatic neurological conditions such as brain and spinal cord injury, as well as cerebral palsy. Surrounded by many other medical and serviced occupiers, this location will complement AKA Case Management’s Business Plan and growth aspirations.

Working with clients across the country, AKA Case Management Limited helps put meaning back into their lives by helping with cost-effective care planning for their present and future needs; providing a network of specialised therapy and support as well as ongoing rehabilitation for as long as is required.

This move marks an expansion following positive growth of the company over the last few years and the time had come for AKA Case Management to move out of a serviced office centre into their own premises in this well-established area of the City.

Angela Kerr, Managing Director of AKA Case Management commented: –

“We are thrilled to be moving into our new offices; this reflects the positive growth of our company and the new space will allow us to continue to thrive and grow. The expansion is due in part to the excellent professional networks AKA has facilitated over the last few years, along with the professionalism, expertise and determination of our staff. These new offices will provide a warm and welcoming environment for our staff and clients, and will enable us to provide Case Management for a greater number of people who require our services.”

Mark Tomlinson of FHP Property Consultants who are acting on behalf of the Landlord in this letting commented: –

“I am delighted that we have achieved this letting to AKA Case Management in this building which was one of the last few good quality buildings available in the area to service the local SME market.  We have seen high levels of take up in this area of the City over the last 2 years and this has resulted in the situation where opportunities such as this are in relatively short supply.  This building was marketed for 9 months before a suitable tenant was found, when you compare this with the marketing void periods which we were experiencing 2 years ago, which were in excess of 12 months, we are now seeing a more positive picture for Landlord’s in this area.

Apart from two much larger office buildings targeted at larger corporate occupiers there are now only a handful of good quality buildings in the area to service the local market – tenants should act quickly if they are to secure a building in this area on favourable terms over the next 6-12 months.”