Acting on behalf of Willan Developments, Fifield Glyn have arranged the sale of Unit 3, Royal Court on Gadbrook Park to Home & County Mortgages Ltd. who have relocated from Tabley in Cheshire. The newly constructed offices comprising approximately 4,650 sq.ft., together with 18 car spaces, was sold close to the asking price of £720,000.

Royal Court is located on Gadbrook Park and comprises two blocks of 5 self-contained offices which have recently been constructed and are available for sale or to let. Offices are available from 4,347 sq.ft. up to 20,299 sq.ft. plus parking. For further details go to the Available Properties page.

Acting on behalf of the stockbrokers, Morgan Stanley Quilter, Fifield Glyn have advised in connection with the surrender of their existing offices on St. John Street in central Manchester and the acquisition of the 4^th Floor at The Pinnacle on King Street. The Pinnacle, which was recently voted “Manchester’s Office Building of the Year”, was extensively rebuilt by Property Alliance Group and provides Grade A office accommodation.

The 4^th Floor forms part of a building that has fully glazed curtain walling and benefits from air conditioning with underfloor cable management systems, LG3 compliant lighting and a new impressive entrance lobby. Fifield Glyn were also retained to advise in connection with the Project Management of the fit-out of the new offices.

Subsequently, instructions have also been given to dispose and relocate Morgan Stanley Quilter’s Liverpool office.

Acting on behalf of Osborne House Ltd., Fifield Glyn have acquired a Freehold office building known as Drake House on Gadbrook Park. The building, which comprises 11,700 sq.ft., together with 50 car spaces, has recently been subject to a comprehensive refurbishment to provide new Grade A office accommodation.

Fifield Glyn were retained to advise in connection with the Project Management of the refurbishment and also disposing of the completed office on either a Freehold or Leasehold basis. For further details go to the Available Properties page.

Old Mutual International has signed a new lease at Thames Water Pension Fund’s Meridian Office Park at Osborn Way, Hook.

The South African originated global financial service provider agreed a flexible five year lease on the ground and first floors of the building, comprising 6,078 sq ft (565 sq m) at a reported rent of £106,365 per annum exclusive.

The company previously occupied space at Providence House on the Bartley Wood Business Park.

Vail Williams and Hollis Hockley jointly acted for CBRE Investors and Thames Water Pension Scheme. Fifield Glynn advised Old Mutual International.

Clive Willoughby & Associates of London W1 has merged into Fifield Glyn Chartered Surveyors of London and Cheshire.

Clive Willoughby FNAEA MRPAS is now a Consultant to Fifield Glyn and can be contacted on 0207 932 0505

Acting on behalf of a Family Trust, Fifield Glyn have arranged a letting of Durham House, 4 Castlecroft Court, Castlecroft Road, Bury to Legal Experts Ltd.

The fully refurbished, self contained office comprising 210m² (2,257 sq.ft.) plus 5 car parking spaces has been let on a new 9 year FRI lease with 3 yearly upward only rent reviews at an initial rental of £24,750 p.a. exclusive, equating to £118 per m² (£11 per sq.ft.).

Fifield Glyn also acted as Project Managers in relation to the refurbishment.

Express Park Development Company Limited have taken a new FRI Lease for a term of 4 years from October 2005 on this property at a rental of £30,500 pa. The unit comprised approximately 1,500 square feet.

The Landlords were represented by James Lewis & Co (0207 631 4565).

The Tenants were represented by Fifield Glyn (0207 932 0505).

For further information please contact:

Rod Welfare

Fifield Glyn

Express Park Plastics Limited have taken a new FRI Lease for a term of 15 years from 1 July 2005 on this property at a rental of £285,000 pa. The unit comprised approximately 42,460 sq ft

The Landlords were represented by Kemsley Whiteley & Ferris (0207 462 4354).

The Tenants were represented by Fifield Glyn (0207 932 0505)

Express Park Group, clients of Fifield Glyn, have been shortlisted for the Tropicana redevelopment scheme in Weston-super-Mare:

Weston-Super-Mare Press Release: April 14, 2005

A council working group met on Wednesday to consider a number of “expressions of interest” from developers in the Tropicana site in Weston-super-Mare.

In all nine were considered and three were shortlisted to go through to the next stage. They will now work up their initial proposals and make detailed presentations to a panel in June.

In coming to their recommendation to the Executive, the working group of seven councillors took into account evidence provided by the developers on a range of issues. This included their track record and experience, financial position, and viability of their proposals. This is a routine process for projects of this kind and all the companies concerned were asked to provide this basic information within their submission.

The decision making process was completely anonymous with the group making their decision solely on the quality of the evidence provided. It was not until after they had made their recommendations that the names of the preferred developers were revealed.

They are:

Express Park Group (EPG): based in London, the company’s first major development was the 105 acre business park in Bridgwater. It has worked with other local authorities including Somerset County and Sedgemoor District Councils.

Greenport Estates Ltd: based in London, the company’s developments include Ocean Plaza in Southport, a £32 million mixed retail and leisure development. The company has also worked with other local authorities and has delivered major schemes in Wandsworth and Hounslow.

Henry Boot Developments: based in Sheffield, in the last three years the company has delivered schemes involving more than one million square feet of commercial development.

David Lawrence, Assistant Director, Development and Environment Directorate said: “There was a big variation in the quality of information provided. The three shortlisted companies each demonstrated they had the relevant experience and financial backing to reach the next stage. They provided full submissions, providing evidence against strict criteria.

“It was disappointing however that some of the developers failed to provide even the most basic information which is required as a matter of routine and was specifically requested. ”

The group was particularly disappointed that no local developers provided enough evidence to reach the next stage, despite high public expectations about their schemes. One developer’s submission consisted of a 400-word letter, while another provided only one paragraph of information. This was insufficient to enable the working group to have any confidence in their ability to deliver a project of this size.

The shortlisted companies will now put together detailed proposals and will have to demonstrate that they have viable, realistic and appropriate schemes.

The former Laboratory and Office Facility known as Meridian House located at the 120-acre Gadbrook Park, Cheshire, which extends to approximately 24,500 sq.ft. gross (2,276m² gross) has been acquired from pharmaceutical company Avecia by ABS Bodyshop Services Ltd. for a consideration of £1.3m. Fifield Glyn, who advised in connection with the purchase, were retained as Project Managers in relation to a £750,000 strip-out of the laboratory, mechanical and ventilation systems, and the refurbishment and reinstatement to new offices, resulting in an increase in the net usable area from approximately 15,000 sq.ft. (1,393m²) to 19,000 sq.ft. (1,765m²). On-site parking was also increased from 61 to 78 car spaces.

ABS Bodyshop Services, who act as an intermediary between Vehicle Repair Centres and Car Owners on behalf of Insurers, subsequently instructed Fifield Glyn to act on their behalf in arranging a letting of 6,000 sq.ft. (557m²) of surplus office accommodation. 4TV, the digital television software company, have taken a 3-year Equivalent Full Repairing and Insuring Lease at a rent of £75,000 pa, equating to £12.50 psf (£134m²). Lambert Smith Hampton advised Avecia in connection with the sale.

Richard Smith of Chartered Surveyors Fifield Glyn comments:

“This has been an extremely successful acquisition for ABS Bodyshop Services in that they acquired what was, on the face of it, an extremely specialist property. The building had been fitted out as laboratories although the external fabric was, in essence, a traditionally brick-built two-storey office building. The competitive purchase price meant that there was a substantial budget for refurbishment and with careful planning and strict control over the Specification and the Contract, the Client has successfully acquired their own Headquarter office building that has now been fitted out to provide high quality new offices meeting their precise requirements. There was also the added bonus of increasing the net usable area by 25% and a pre-let of their surplus accommodation prior to Practical Completion!”