IT firm One and All Limited
have taken a new 12‑month Licence of office premises at Wharton Park House,
Winsford. The property was chosen specifically
because of its broadband speed. Fifield
Glyn, as retained Agents, acted on behalf of their Landlord Clients.

MAY 2012   Fifield Glyn Commercial Update – A Busy 12 Months!

 

It has been a busy time all round, since we relocated our London Residential Management to our Mayfair office in June.  You may be surprised to learn about some of the work we have been involved in. Fifield Glyn Buys Spencer Lewis – A Residential Block Management Specialist At the end of January 2011 we acquired Spencer Lewis to strengthen our residential block management services.  Since then we have amalgamated the two London offices and moved to our offices in Carlos Place, Mayfair, which has enabled us to expand our service offer to include a comprehensive management service for mixed use schemes.  We are now able to provide additional building management services and are seeking to expand our management portfolio across all property sectors. Commercial Property Management Alongside the expansion of our residential management, our commercial property management has continued to grow, with the receipt of new instructions increasing total assets under our management.  The portfolio includes retail, office, industrial and roadside properties, convenience stores and car parks. Dilapidations We have continued to deal with an increased amount of dilapidation work for both landlords and tenants, with detailed knowledge of this specialist subject area helping us to achieve some great results for our clients.  We advised on claims with a total value in excess of £6.9m during 2011, with claims ranging in value from £5,000 to £5,000,000.  In our experience early consultation with the client is essential to obtain the best results. Project Management / Development Project management and development advice is another service we have been able to expand. We are currently advising Cats Protection on the development of a new headquarters in Padgate, Warrington.  Having identified a new site for development, advised on planning and arranged the demolition of the existing building, we are now project managing the construction of a new state of the art facility due to be opened in early 2013. We are also advising Tata Chemicals on their new 1,673 m2 (18,000 sq ft) office in Northwich.  Our instructions included assessing the client’s requirements, preparing a design brief, selecting a construction contractor and procuring finance by way of a forward sale and leaseback.  We are now acting as client’s representative during the course of construction and practical completion is expected before the end of the year. We are also advising clients on the development of a number of budget hotels and roadside schemes, where we have identified potential sites, produced development appraisals and advised on planning, forward funding and investment sales. Strategic Advice and Planning Stena Line have recently moved their ferry port facility to the new £200m deep water Loch Ryan Port at Cairnryan and Fifield Glyn have been instructed to advise on the redevelopment of their former base at Stranraer.  The relocation allows the regeneration of Stranraer’s waterfront area, in which Stena Line own a strategic 5.42 ha (13 acre) site, which is to be redeveloped with 9,294 m2  (100,000sq ft) of retail, together with housing and a new transport hub.  Fifield Glyn has been appointed by Stena to advise on the development, find a joint venture partner and liaise with Dumfries and Galloway Council. We also continue to provide strategic advice on property portfolios. Agency Whilst current market conditions remain challenging, we have managed to let and sell a number of properties. One resilient area has proved to be the central London retail market and we recently sold a shop lease on Mount Street for an £800,000 premium. We have also acquired a number of properties for both freehold and leasehold occupiers. Rating We are advising many occupiers on rating matters, making appeals in relation to current 2010 rating list assessments in order to reduce their business rates liability. We also advise in relation to minimising empty property rates liability and represent clients in discussions with the Valuation Office Agency and Billing Authorities. Valuation Our RICS Registered Valuers have remained busy, providing valuations for clients including family trusts, pension funds, property companies and commercial businesses, for a variety of purposes including loan security, purchase reports and financial reporting. In 2011 we provided valuations of properties across England, which ranged from single assets to portfolios, with an aggregate value of over £20m. Investment Agency No matter what the economic conditions, opportunities do arise and, despite another challenging market, we have been able to complete a number of transactions.  We also have a number of clients actively seeking new acquisitions, especially on an off market basis. Corporate Property Advice We have continued to provide corporate property advice for our clients, recently adding Tate & Lyle and Syngenta to our client list. Rent Reviews and Lease Renewals Economic conditions have continued to affect the number of instructions we have received in this area, but a number of our clients have benefited from taking early advice and planning ahead. Expert Witness / Arbitration Whilst rent review, independent expert and arbitration work has been reduced over the last few years, we continue to receive appointments.  We are also involved in acting as expert witness for service charge and valuation disputes. Another Fellow for Fifield Glyn We are pleased to report Edward Fifield has been elected a Fellow of RICS, joining John Fifield, Charles Fifield and Steve Jones, and confirming that Fifield Glyn continues to uphold the highest professional standards.   The above is a brief resumé of some of the work in which we have been involved. Please do not hesitate to contact one of the Directors to see how we could help you further. Fifield Glyn does and will always provide a personal professional service tailored to suit the individual needs of all our valued clients and delivered by senior personnel.   Further information is available on our updated website www.fifieldglyn.com. We grow by recommendation – please do not keep us a secret.

The Daily Telegraph has listed comments from the RICS Quarterly Commercial Property Market Surveyor which Charles Fifield contributes on behalf of Fifield Glyn.
Extract taken from Saturday 6th April 2012 Saturday Telegraph Business Section.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9190738/More-empty-shops-paint-grim-picture-of-UK-high-streets.html

Metal theft is a very serious problem and is considered the fastest growing crime in the UK.It is estimated to cost the UK economy £770million annually. An almost unbelievable 15,000 tonnes of metal was stolen last year affecting transport, utilities and the general public on an almost daily basis. Property has become a serious target, with this crime affecting all types of property especially empty buildings and in particular those that have been vacant for some time.

The following steps should assist when considering this problem:-
· Undertake a thorough risk assessment of your property – identifying higher risk items that could be targeted by thieves is a good starting point. 
  This process will enable you to determine what metal you have, where it is and how likely it will be a target.

· Remember that metal theft can affect any part of your premises, like roofs, cabling, boilers and plumbing, gates and fencing and manhole covers. 
  Thieves will take virtually anything with scrap value.

The next step is to take action to mitigate the risk and ensure high risk metal on your premises is better protected:-
· Secure the Perimeter – Keep intruders out with steel security screens, doors and fencing

· Install an Alarm – Nothing does more to detect and deter intruders 

· Patrol and Inspect Regularly – Especially at night!
 
· If possible – Maintain Good Lighting Around the Property

· Reduce, remove or replace any metal where possible – Replace with a substitute such as non-lead flashing or plastic pipes.  Consider if the overall level of metal stock can be reduced.

 

Acting on behalf of a private Client, Fifield Glyn have arranged a disposal of the Freehold interest of Morgan House, Winnington Avenue, Winnington to Direct Collections Bailiffs Limited for an undisclosed sum. Morgan House comprises a self-contained ground floor office totalling 6,650 sq.ft. inclusive of 28No. car parking spaces.

J&S Motorcycle Accessories have acquired the former Discover Leisure plc site at Oakmere, Cheshire, previously known as Harringtons Caravans, from the Administrators, KPMG.

The site comprises approximately 5½ acres including showrooms, café, workshops, parking and hardstanding, plus 6 acres of woodland.  J&S Motorcycle Accessories was established nearly 30 years ago starting with one small store in Northwich, which has now grown to twelve stores nationwide including a substantial online business.  They propose to relocate their Town Centre store on London Road and their workshops at Denton Drive, Northwich, to the Oakmere facility.  The sale of both properties is being handled by their retained Agents, Fifield Glyn, who also advised in connection with the purchase of the Chester Road site. 

Richard Smith, Director of Fifield Glyn, who advised J&S Accessories comments: “This acquisition was concluded in quick time following detailed negotiations with the Administrator in the face of fierce competition from, in particular, residential developers.  The site is in an excellent location for J&S Accessories being located in a prominent position on the A556, Chester Road, a main arterial route connecting Manchester with Chester and North Wales, as well as being situated nearby other attractions such as Oulton Park Race Track and, as such, will continue to provide local employment.”  The property was purchased for an undisclosed sum.

Fifield Glyn have been instructed by Stena Line to advise on their port at Stranraer. Stena Line have recently moved their port facility from Stranraer to a new £200m deep water port just north of Cairnryan, which will allow larger vessels and improve the travel time to Belfast. The ferry port move allows the regeneration of the waterfront area of Stranraer to proceed, Stena own 13 acres in the regeneration area which will be redeveloped.

The proposed development will include 100,000 sq.ft. of retail, housing and a new transport hub. Fifield Glyn have been appointed by Stena to advise on the development, find a Joint Venture Partner and liaise with Dumfries and Galloway Council. For further information contact Rod Welfare rod.welfare@fifieldglyn.comor Charles Fifield charles.fifield@fifieldglyn.com

Momentum is building for a town plan that will give the people of Northwich the power to shape their future. The only sticking point is the cost of producing the plan, which could be up to £29,000. Peter Herbert, director of sustainable communities for Ground Work Cheshire, gave a presentation to Northwich Town Council. He explained the town plan would be led by the community with the help of Groundwork and Cheshire Community Action.  

‘The steering group would run events and organise questionnaires in the town to get feedback from local people then come up with an action plan’, he said.  

‘All of this needs facilitation and organisation’.

He outlined three organisational options of steering groups working with a mixture of thematic and area groups to move the plan forward. The cheapest of these was £15,000 and the most expensive at £29,000.

John Fifield, founder and director of Fifield Glyn, attended the latest town council meeting and is keen for the community to be involved in plans for the future of Northwich from very beginning. He said “I have been in touch with the Department of Communities and Local Government who advise that if local people wish to produce a Neighbourhood Plan then this must be led by the town council. If they do, then Government money could be available to fund it. As you know, there are many of us, including the Northwich Independent Retailers Association, who are very opposed to Cheshire West and Chester’s present plans without the endorsement of local people. It is precisely that sort of circumstance that the coalition Government included in the legislation in the Localism Act so that local people can decide themselves what they would like to see in their neighbourhood”.

He said leading firm of Manchester planners could run a survey for half the cost. He added “The Barons Quay scheme will be with us for at least 50 years so it is vital that local people have their say”.

Town mayor Clr Alison Gerard said “It’s great that a business person has come forward to try to have some involvement with the town plan. With interest from traders, this should have a positive impact on the town plan as we start to steer it forward “.

(Taken from The Northwich Guardian 29.02.12 written by Gina Bebbington).

 

  

Fifield Glyn have agreed the letting of this 575 sq ft (953 sq m) property on a 6 year FRI lease at a rent of £16,000 per annum to an independent bakery. The property is located in the popular south Manchester / Stockport commuter suburb of Bramhall, popular with independent retailers and the property was previously a bakers for many years making it an ideal premises. Fifield Glyn acted for the private Landlord.

Further details about the new bakery for Bramhall can be found at the Tenant’s website: www.bramhallbakery.co.uk

Edward Fifield, Director of Chartered Surveyors Fifield Glyn, was elected a Fellow of the RICS on Thursday 2nd February 2012. Edward heads Property Management, Residential Management and Building Consultancy within the firm.
Within the Building Consultancy, he advises both Landlords and Tenants on Dilapidations, project management, Party Wall and Planned Maintenance.  Edward also advises on Service Charge Disputes.
Edward said ‘I am absolutely delighted to have been awarded Fellowship by Achievement. It is fantastic to be recognised by your professional body and to reach a significant career achievement and all before I am 40!’