LIVERPOOL CITY REGION CHESHIRE MANCHESTER
Feb-Mar 2014
FREE Liverpool Commercial Office Market Review 2013
move CommerCial The north-west’s guide to property and business
Keeping a grip on growth Maintaining progress in the region
International Festival for Business Meet ambassador Henrietta Lovell
8 PAGE PULL OUT
Issue 35
AN UNMISTAKABLE PRESENCE INDIA-BUILDINGS.COM
WHERE BUSINESS BECOMES A PLEASURE EFFORTLESS STYLE MEETS MODERN EFFICIENCY IN ONE OF LIVERPOOL’S MOST ICONIC BUILDINGS
PREMIER FIRST CLASS ACCOMMODATION 8,000 – 66,000 SQ FT
In a city rich with architectural classics, India Buildings stands out as one of its best loved. Occupying an entire city-centre block, it provides unrivalled contemporary office accommodation to a mixed business community. Offices range from Grade A office and HQ space designed for large corporates, to smaller office suites designed for the dynamic SME community within its dedicated business centre – The Hub.
BUSINESS EFFICIENT & ECONOMIC WORKSPACE 400 – 33,000 SQ FT
THE HUB A MANAGED OFFICE COMMUNITY FOR SMEs FROM 400 SQ FT
MARK WORTHINGTON mark.worthington@cbre.com NEIL KIRKHAM neil.kirkham@cbre.com
CHRIS MULCAHY chris.mulcahy@eu.jll.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT
INDIA-BUILDINGS.COM
IT’S WHERE work IS A pleasure
MARRIOTT
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Day Delegate rates
£26 STARTING FROM
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Marriott Manchester Victoria & Albert Hotel Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ
telephone: 0161838 4100 www.manchestermarriottva.co.uk
Issue thirty-five Move Commercial
Contents News 06 DTZ's 2014 outlook 07 Upgrade in listing for India Building 08 Latest on lettings 09 Sutton Kersh auction success 10 Giants promise economy boost 12 Anfield regeneration 13 The Space Project revealed 14 New supermarket for Croxteth 15 Apprentice graduation and awards 21 Major investment for city
Features
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Welcome to Move Commercial Welcome to the first Move Commercial of 2014. Complete with this issue, we bring you the Liverpool Commercial Office Market Review, highlighting the take-up across the city over the past year as confidence has begun to return to the market. And from reflection on the past 12 months to looking to the future, we’ve got plenty of expert insight into how to maintain growth across the North West and what the future holds for various commercial property and business sectors.
With Liverpool’s return to MIPIM and the International Business Festival 2014 (IFB) providing the perfect platforms to showcase the North West in the coming months, we’ve also got the latest news on the major events and an interview with IFB Ambassador and entrepreneur, Henrietta Lovell. Plus, our lunch debate looks at the impact of the rising hospitality sector across the region at the moment, and as always, we’ve got all the biggest news and events coverage from the area’s business and property industry.
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26 move publishing ltd Advertising Director Fiona Barnet. Tel: 0151 709 3871 Advertising Manager Catherine McCarthy. Tel: 0151 709 3871 Editor Christine Toner. Tel: 0151 709 3871 Editorial Team Natasha Young, Stephen Hurrell, Rob Dewis and Damian Leonard. Tel: 0151 709 3871 post@movepublishing.co.uk
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Design The Design Foundry. Email: mail@design-foundry.co.uk Published by Move Publishing Ltd Directors David O’Brien, Kim O’Brien, Fiona Barnet Printed by Precision Colour Printers Ltd Distribution Liaison Manager Barbara Troughton Tel: 0151 733 5492 Mobile: 077148 14662 Credits: Peter Kelly – Key Event.
18 Bitesize Thinking Food for thought 20 Appointments New Year movers 22 Increasing commercial growth Preventing another crash 25 Apprentice Ship Cup Key businesses support event 26 Rising Star DTZs Josaphine Ford 29 Special Pull-out Commercial Office Market Review 2013 38 Entrepreneur IFB Ambassador, Henrietta Lovell 40 What's next for? Experts predict 42 Lunch debate Can we sustain the region’s hotels 46 India Buildings Launch New office space in iconic building 48 Mover and Shaker James Heather of Argent Group 50 Key Event The Fab Four at CLA 52 Founding Building The new Everyman Theatre 54 Opinion The rise of multi-use buildings and their benefits 56 Regional round-up North West's big deals 59 Business diary The region’s best events 60 Cities Outlook Our region on the rise 63 Ask the Panel Experts have their say
Copyright Move Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced copied or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in any information storage or retrieval system without the publishers written permission. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published, Move Publishing can accept no responsibility for the veracity of the claims made by advertisers.
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News Latest
Industrial take-up indicates ‘steady progress’ , says Peel MERSEYSIDE IS said to be making “steady progress” given the amount of industrial space take-up in the area, according to Peel Land and Property. The firm alone saw 32 lettings in Liverpool and Wirral during 2013, with many falling into the Mersey Water Enterprise Zone. A spokesperson for Peel Land and Property, which claims its superfast broadband and business rate discounts have been a draw for occupants, says: “If the amount of industrial space taken up can be seen as a litmus test of the commercial health of a region then Merseyside, it seems, is making steady progress. “The right spaces, in the right locations, with the right business-friendly packages are available for those who want to capitalise on these opportunities in Merseyside. The only challenge for businesses is moving fast enough to make sure they’re a part of it.” Despite its take-up success, Peel Land and Property still has industrial accommodation opportunities available, including 790-4,400 sq ft site at Woodside Business Park in Birkenhead, and units of 6754,200 sq ft at the Uveco Business Centre on the Dock Road in Wallasey, For more information about Peel’s industrial portfolio, call 0161 629 8200.
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DTZ calls for property developers to ‘be bold’ in 2013 as market shows optimism PROPERTY SERVICES provider DTZ delivered a message of “cautious optimism” during the firm’s 2014 Market Outlook presentation. More than 200 members of the North West’s property industry gathered at Salford’s Lowry Hotel on January 30 to hear UK and regional experts from the firm speak about what the year ahead holds. After a rise in deals during 2013, the theme of DTZ’s findings of how the commercial market has performed over the past year and how it should move forward, in sectors ranging from office space to retail, was “now is the time to be bold” to bring new developments. According to the company, sites such as the iconic Sunlight House, which is said to have attracted half a billion pounds worth of offers, shows there is “no shortage of appetite” amongst businesses wanting to invest in Manchester office space, and that it is
DTZ hosted its 2014 Market Outlook
one of the “bigger cities in a good position to react to the shortfall in supply” of Grade A office space. Meanwhile the city’s One St Peter’s Square is set to add more than
200,000 sq ft of available space to the existing supply when it is completed in 2014, and financial services firm KPMG has already pre-let 63,000 sq ft of the 275,000 sq ft development.
IFB orgANIsers CALL For MANChester suPPort
IFB organisers and city leaders at the Manchester launch
PREPARATIONS MAY be well underway for Liverpool to host the bulk of this summer’s International Festival for Business (IFB), but the festivities will also be spreading to Manchester. Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson was joined by Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese to launch the
The Exchange, Chester
50-day event’s offering in the city. They were joined by IFB Ambassador Sir Terry Leahy at Manchester Town Hall, along with other key festival figures, business leaders and Max Steinberg CBE, chair of IFB 2014 and chief executive of Liverpool Vision. Max Steinberg set out the vision for
the IFB 2014 and also urged city businesses to sign up to the festival, as Manchester gets set to host three festival events. Theey include the Graphene Commercialisation & Applications seminar and exhibition, the Aerotropolis EMEA a conference and exhibition; and the International Business of Sport Congress, a global event unlocking the commercial and social power of sport. Sir Richard Lees says: “It is vital if we are to create real growth in the north that Manchester and Liverpool work together where possible and I am sure that IFB’s success will shine a light, not only on our two cities, but on the North West and the north of England too.” As this issue of Move Commercial went to press, IFB 2014 organisers began to launch a more in-depth programme of the whole festival. For more information visit www.ifb2014.com.
Latest News
India Buildings’ ‘Bright future’ for architecture recognised Cotton house after with listing upgrade Bruntwood revamp the ICoNIC architecture of Liverpool’s India Buildings has been recognised with an upgrade to the site’s listing. Previously a grade II listed building, the site has now been listed as grade II* bringing the latest recognition and success for the stunning office development. the historic building is going from strength to strength following a recent £2m refurbishment by green Property to breathe new life into it. Meanwhile, coffee shop operator Chemistry is set to provide a further facility for office occupants in the building, having been granted India Buildings
approval to open a new branch within the arcade. Further announcements of new occupiers are said to be expected shortly too as advanced discussions are taking place, according to Mark Worthington, director of commercial property consultants CBre. New tenants will join current occupiers DLA Piper in the building, which now provides three differing space options including grade A premier office space from 8,00066,000 sq ft; business standard office space to a budget to suit all requirements; and flexible, managed office suites within the hub.
The Cotton Yard
the grouND FLoor of Liverpool’s historic Cotton house is being brought back to the market following a major refurbishment by Bruntwood. Now known as the Cotton Yard, the 14,000 sq ft space is already said to be attracting interest as it comes with a “high profile” entrance on old hall street leading to a private courtyard, and is in close proximity to a coffee shop, transport links and the amenities of the city’s commercial district. the space has previously been home to Liverpool’s registry office and a vibrant nerve centre for international cotton trading, but Bruntwood’s director of property
marketing, Colin sinclair, says: “We are well underway with transforming this historic space into a stunning contemporary commercial environment, perfect for any growing business with an eye for something special. “We have been very careful to preserve the building’s glorious history while ensuring that it is well positioned to enjoy a bright future and meets the needs of today’s occupiers. “We have had several enquiries already and we are doing our utmost as custodians of the building to ensure the right organisation becomes the next resident of this iconic space.”
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News Sales & Lettings
Riverside office development ready to let
Columbus Quay
A £50,000 refurbishment of a Liverpool waterfront property is complete and 3,900 sq ft of commercial office space is now available to let, according to developer Pebworth Property Management. Columbus Quay on Riverside Drive was built nearly 20 years ago and the refurbishment is aimed at modernising the office building. New features include a new stairwell, kitchen, toilet facilities and more modern carpet and décor. While current tenants EAD Housing, Curtins Consulting and Arena Housing remain in the building, there is now nearly 4,000 sq ft available to let and Hitchcock Wright and Partners has been appointed as the agent responsible for the offices. Brian Ricketts of Hitchcock Wright and Partners, says: “The hope is that the unit will prove suitable to an independent or smaller Liverpool business, helping bolster the North West economy from the ground up. We acknowledge that the competition smaller businesses face is tough, particularly during periods of uncertainty” “The property represents an excellent ‘ready-made’ opportunity that is available for immediate occupation for an image conscious business that wants high quality space without the assumed price tag” The offices are available from £5 per square foot, according to Brian. For more information call 0151 227 3400.
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strong 2014 start as Downing welcomes new Port of Liverpool tenant BusINess CoNsuLtANCY firm, Quantum of Value has taken 1,000 sq ft of space within the iconic Port of Liverpool Building. the deal, which will see the London headquartered company locate its operations centre in the city, creating eight to 10 new jobs, provides a strong start to the year for property group Downing. having refurbished the building, which is one of Liverpool’s worldrenowned ‘three graces’, Downing already rounded off 2013 by welcoming tenants to the site including legal firm Forrester’s, the Mediterranean shipping Company, the Liverpool Lifestyle Lounge and Fairtrades. New tenant Quantum of Value has a client base which is spread internationally and across the uK, and director Allison Bacher says: “We really felt compelled by the fantastic atmosphere in Liverpool
Allison and Josef Bacher from Quantum of Value with Downing’s Kate Morris
and the positive, can-do attitude here, which is why we decided to open our new operations centre here.” robin ellis, senior agency surveyor at Downing, adds: “It’s encouraging to see companies of
this calibre moving into the city and we’re sure this will be a positive move for the business.” Downing still has a mix of Flexioffices and larger spaces to let within the landmark building.
Trio of new occupants at Meridian Business Village Just A FeW units remain at Prospect gB’s Meridian Business Village development, after three new tenants have moved to the site. epica health & safety, screenik technology and IDCard Ltd have all taken up space in the hunts Cross site as they develop their businesses further. elizabeth sinclair, director at epica health & safety, says: “We moved from our original base at st helens Chamber to provide more facilities, including new meeting and training rooms which now service a growing list of clients across all sectors.” Commenting on IDCard Ltd’s move to Meridian Business Village, the firm’s managing director Mike Price says: “We have developed a base of around 3,500 clients, providing
Meridian Business Village
corporate identity card solutions for major names such as DhL and oCs. New mobile ID card production technology is a major area of growth for us and we now have room for further expansion at Meridian Business Village.” Meanwhile Ian sellman, managing director at promotional software and
screens firm screenik technology, says the company chose to launch at the development as it “projects the right image to clients and is conveniently close to the motorways and airport”. Details on Meridian Business Village are available at prospectgb.com
Commercial News
Survey reveals positive outlook for property sector A SURVEY of industry professionals conducted by chartered surveyors Eddisons has revealed growing confidence in the property market, compared to recent years. Of those people questioned 75% have more confidence in the market than in 2012. Confidence compared to 2010 is even higher, at 85%. There is also positive news for landlords and developers with over 65% of those questioned predicting an increase in occupier demand and 58% expecting this to result in an increase in pre-let activity. John Padgett, head of agency at Eddisons, says: “Today there are more cranes and scaffolding poles than the previous six years put together, demonstrating the emerging confidence. “An increase in demand will see prices hardening in the short term along with a reduction in the incentives being offered, particularly on modern purpose built space, with resultant uplifts in rents. “Demand is likely to manifest itself in a move towards Grade A space, which in turn will create a shortage. The reverse will be true of lower quality stock which is likely to come under pressure as occupiers demand better quality space.”
Frances Day, Chris Bromsgrove, Cliff Simpson and Kay Murphy (all of Suttons & Robertsons)
John Padgett, head of agency at Eddisons
suttoN Kersh ‘outseLLs rIVALs’
The Sutton Kersh auction team
suttoN Kersh sold 84% of its lots across its seven auctions in 2013, 30% more than its three nearest rivals combined, according to figures from the ei group. the auction house sold 604 of the 718 lots offered. Cathy holt, auction manageress at sutton Kersh, says: “2013 was an exceptional year, highlighted by the fact that we attracted 23% more lots than in 2012 and increased the income generated for
our clients by over £10,000,000. “the growth in the number of lots year on year shows that more and more vendors are choosing us as the auction firm they can rely on to dispose of property quickly, whilst achieving favourable prices.” sutton Kersh starts its 2014 auction campaign on Wednesday, 12 February, when 116 lots are scheduled to go under the hammer. highlights include Birch house,
Suttons & Robertsons hosts networking event
a two storey period property on green Lane in the Mossley hill area of Liverpool, which occupies a site of around 0.69 acres. the guide price is £650,000. the auction takes place at the Liverpool City Centre Marriott hotel at 12 noon. sutton Kersh is also inviting instructions for its auction on 9 April, for which the catalogue closes on 22 March.
WORKERS FROM the business district attended a ‘meet your neighbour’ networking event at pawnbroker Sutton & Robertsons’ North John Street store. Members of the City Central BID organisation and Liverpool Chamber of Commerce attended the lunch event, while local businesses were represented by visitors from Morecrofts Solicitors, Johnny Goggles Opticians and Vissap. The event ran from 12pm and 2pm and gave workers in the business district a chance to meet with others in the area, as well as enjoy some food and drink provided by a local restaurant. Spanish food restaurant La Viña, of North John Street, cooked a giant paella dish outside the store and drinks were served to guests as part of the networking lunch. Cliff Simpson, branch manager at Suttons & Robertsons, says: “The delicious paella caused a few people to come and have a look. This was the second event we’ve held in store this year and it was a great chance to network with local businesses and office workers.”
Christian Carden, Kevin Whittaker and Alvaro Sanchez (all of City Central BID) MOVE COMMERCIAL
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News Leisure
New facility could put oldham on ‘national sporting map’ NeW ProPosALs for a £15m flagship leisure facility in oldham town centre have been unveiled. oldham Council is expected to submit a planning application in early February for a state-of-the-art development, which would replace the existing oldham sports Centre in 2015. If given the go-ahead the new centre, which is being planned by the local authority and its delivery partner Willmott Dixon, will aim to host regional and televised competitions. A 25-metre eight-lane swimming pool of county-level competition standard, along with a 250-seat gallery for spectators and 150 competitor poolside seats, is among the features within the proposals. An eight-court sports hall with a further 250-seat spectator area is also included, in addition to
The proposed Oldham Sports Centre
studios, changing facilities, a cafeteria, improved landscaping and a 122-space car park. oldham Council leader, Councillor Jim McMahon, says: “the new oldham facility would be able to host much larger events
than ever before, like sky sports boxing, and put us on the national sporting map. “the swimming pool would also be a major improvement on what we already have, bringing us up to county standard, with enhanced
spectator facilities. “We have been working closely with Willmott Dixon and oCL, plus national sporting governing bodies of sport and specialist leisure consultants, to get to this exciting stage.”
GIANTS SPECTACULAR TO BOOST LIVERPOOL ECONOMY
Albert Dock
Visitor boost at Albert Dock The Little Girl Giant and Xolo to return
THE RETURN of Royal De Luxe’s spectacular giant puppets will provide a “huge boost” for Liverpool’s economy. The French theatre company’s Little Girl Giant and her canine companion Xolo attracted around 800,000 spectators and generated an estimated £32m as they walked around the city in 2012’s Sea Odyssey event, which honoured those who had lost their lives in the Titanic. Following the announcement that the puppets will return from 23-27 July as part of the country’s commemorations of the 100th anniversary of WWI, Bill Addy, chief 10 MOVE COMMERCIAL
executive of the Liverpool BID Company, says: ''The return of the giants is going to be an amazing weekend for Liverpool. “As a spectacle it is utterly spellbinding, and as we saw in 2012 the event gives the city a huge boost - be it profile from all the media attention, to the economic impact with all the hotels, restaurants and shops reporting fantastic sales. “As the national event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI it will certainly put the city in the limelight and once again showcase what an amazing place it is to live, work and play in.''
ALBert DoCK Liverpool has reported a 5% increase in visitor figures for 2013, the fourth consecutive year on year growth. During 2013 the attraction marked a milestone 25 years since it reopened to the public with a number of special events including a birthday weekend celebration in the summer, the return of ItV’s this Morning, which broadcast live from the dock in october, and the arrival of three new businesses, the smugglers Cove restaurant and bar, Docklands Fish & Chips and independent coffee shop chain, rubens. Last year also saw Arrowcroft, launch its new Dockside office
concept, offering prospective tenants newly restyled office space located within the Colonnades while personal injury law firm, hampson hughes, acquired the edward Pavilion building in the summer, moving in all 270 of its staff. Peter Cronin, director of development and marketing for Albert Dock Liverpool, says: “this is extremely positive news for Albert Dock Liverpool – and an encouraging way to start 2014. Albert Dock is a remarkable venue with its culture and strong maritime history, but the strong figures demonstrate that we have such a unique offer which can attract high footfall.”
News Developments
Proposed £260m Anfield regeneration takes further steps PROPOSALS FOR a new training hotel, business and retail premises and an expansion of Liverpool FC’s stadium in Anfield have taken a step closer towards coming to fruition. A draft document, called the Anfield Spatial Regeneration Framework (SRF), has been published, and could pave the way for planning applications to deliver a 260m scheme into the North Liverpool area. New housing, public space and community facilities are also included in the overall scheme, which is being put forward by a consortium led by Liverpool City Council with support from Liverpool FC and other partners. The draft will go before the city council’s cabinet on 7 February and, if approved in draft form, local businesses will be among those asked to take part in a four-week public consultation. It could then be finalised and submitted to cabinet again to be officially and finally adopted as a supplementary
The proposed Anfield regeneration site
planning document in April. If given the go ahead, planning applications could be submitted this year, with the proposed developments being delivered by 2018.
According to the SRF, the training hotel would include 100 rooms and create 50 jobs, with the capacity to provide hospitality training for 10 people at any given time.
Meanwhile, new commercial and office premises would create the “environment for new enterprises” in Anfield. For more information visit www.anfieldproject.co.uk.
recruitment drive for Mersey gateway bridge construction
Proposed Mersey Gateway Bridge 12 MOVE COMMERCIAL
the MerseY gAteWAY Project will be a “catalyst for job creation” as construction starts in earnest this spring. Merseylink, the consortium named as the preferred bidder for the £600m scheme by halton Borough Council, has launched a recruitment drive to fill key positions within the early delivery team. Preparatory work on the project, which will see the new Mersey gateway bridge being developed over the river between runcorn and Widnes, has already begun and as the scheme progresses further, steve Cardwell, project director of Merseylink, says: "this will be one of the largest civil engineering projects in europe over the next three years, and I'm
confident we will be able to bring together highly motivated staff to bring the project to fruition. At our peak we will be employing more than 500 people to work on the project." With opportunities available across a number of disciplines, Councillor rob Polhill, leader of halton Borough Council, adds: “We have said all along that Mersey gateway can be a catalyst for job creation and will help encourage inward investment to the whole region. the scale of this project is huge and there will be high-quality opportunities in lots of different areas." the cable stay bridge is due to be completed in 2017. For more information visit www.merseygateway.co.uk
Developments News
Chester’s cultural centre development given ‘fitting’ name
Cllr Stuart Parker (right) and project director Graham Lister with the RE: NEW banner at the site
Chester’s £37.5M transformation of a former odeon into a theatre, library and cinema has been given a “fitting” name as the development takes place. the scheme will go by the name of re: NeW until the Northgate street facility is formally opened in 2016. the title can already be seen on the Commerce house demolition site and is set to be used in “imaginative” ways as the development continues to gather pace, according to Councillor stuart Parker, Cheshire West and Chester Council’s executive member for culture and economy. he adds: “re: NeW is a fitting name given this project is all about breathing new life into an iconic 1930s building.
New Manchester drama development named The Space Project
“the name also signifies the enormous regeneration potential of the new cultural centre. We estimate its economic impact to be £21m per year creating jobs and bringing wealth into the region.” the 800-seat theatre will be housed in a new building, linked to the existing by open foyer spaces. the grade II listed odeon itself is to be restored and converted into a contemporary city library with a café, study spaces and a 120-seat screen. the main theatre auditorium will also convert into a 500-seat venue to support Chester-based productions, and a separate 150-seat studio will provide flexible rehearsal and education space.
event marks completion and launch of speke Business Park
How The Space Project will look
Tim Heatley of Capital & Centric Plc, Tim Webber of Barnfield Construction and Rob Monaghan of Liverpool City Council at the launch
A NEW 360,000 sq ft ‘drama hub’ which is currently being built in Manchester’s West Gorton area has been named The Space Project. Developed by The Sharp Project team, Alastair Weir at PRP Architects and graphic designer Malcolm Garrett, the new facility will feature 55,000 sq ft of dedicated studio space, split into five purpose built, sound-proofed production stages. It will also include flexible office space for short and long-term production rentals, construction workshops, and prop stores. When fully let, up to 500 people will be employed on site by production companies and tenants. Due to open in May this year, the
development’s name is said to reflect the amount of space on offer. The Sharp Project’s director, Sue Woodward OBE, is overseeing all aspects of construction, management and delivery of the development, which will also include 24/7 security, a purpose-built canteen, landscaped outdoor amenity, and screening and conference rooms. According to Sue: “The Space Project creates a new offer for the north of England that will generate interest from producers and broadcasters both in the UK and overseas. With so much high spec production and back stage space available it seemed fitting to call the building The Space Project”. For more information on the new site visit www.thespaceproject.tv.
the sPeCuLAtIVeLY built £3.5m speke Business Park has now been completed and launched to the market. A special event attended by around 30 agents was held to mark the new stage of the venture, by Capital & Centric Plc and Barnfield Construction. the development, which is situated on a 3.5-acre site adjacent to Mersey retail Park and off speke Boulevard, consists of 50,910 sq ft of B2 and B8 industrial units. having reached completion in December the scheme, which has been built to a BreeAM excellent standard, is said to have attracted healthy interest amongst potential occupiers so far. It is Capital & Centric’s fifth development in Liverpool in three years and Maria eagle, MP for speke and halewood, says: “In the difficult economic circumstances that we’ve experienced in recent years, this sort of space has been in short supply and having these facilities on our doorstep will protect and create jobs, provide growth space and potentially attract investment into our area. I’m pleased that Capital & Centric chose to invest here in speke, which is emerging much stronger for business and the community after the successful regeneration programme spanning more than 10 years.” the development was partly funded by £1.4m of erDF funding, and the new units are being offered for sale or to let by Jones Lang Lasalle and CBre. MOVE COMMERCIAL 13
News Retail
Liverpool oNe follows successful year with new food offering retro-AMerICAN restaurant ed’s easy Diner is to be the latest new catering brand to arrive in Liverpool oNe when it opens in March. the diner, to be situated on Lord street, will feature a strong sense of 1950’s style, with retro booth seating, checkerboard flooring and jukeboxes. the Americanised diner joins fellow recent additions hotel Chocolat Cocoa Bar Café and home. It is set to open on the ground floor and first floor initially, but is expected to expand over a number of levels. Andrew guy, Ceo of ed’s easy Diner, says: “We wanted a prime location with high footfall for our first diner in Liverpool and Lord street was perfect. We are very excited about the opening, as Liverpool oNe is one of the most popular destinations in the North West. “the space will allow us to grow our offer over different levels and
create a complete retro 1950s experience for all our customers.” Liverpool oNe is at the heart of the city centre, and is home to over 160 stores, bars and restaurants.
estate Director for Liverpool oNe, Chris Bliss, says: “ed’s will be a great addition to our dining offer at Liverpool one, reinforcing our appeal as a leisure destination as
well as a place to shop. “the news coincides with a positive year for Liverpool oNe with a total of 24 brands opening stores in the last 12 months.”
Ed’s Easy Diner
Croxteth supermarket takes a step closer to development
Joe Anderson
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A NEW 6,6000m sq Croxteth supermarket is set to create 300 jobs after Liverpool City Council’s cabinet paved the way for plans to move forward. The cabinet agreed the local authority could complete the purchase of land at Stonebridge Business Park, which will allow the development of a previously approved new food store and petrol filling station. Completing the land acquisition will allow the council to finalise talks with a “major chain” for the proposed supermarket, along with associated small shops, a cafe and restaurants. The store is part of a wider on-going regeneration in the area which is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs overall. The land is currently owned by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the council’s acquisition will see it transferred to Regeneration
Liverpool, the council’s regeneration joint venture with Sigma Inpartnership. According to Liverpool City Council the deal will enable Regeneration Liverpool to crystalise current interest from a major foodstore operator by entering into legal agreements, so that development and construction can begin on site. Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, says: “The acquisition of this land at Stonebridge Park for a new supermarket is another important milestone for the area, and supports our plans to provide much-needed jobs, along with improved shopping, leisure and education facilities for local people.” The plans support the wider regeneration of the 90-acre Stonebridge Cross development site, which will also include a major distribution centre, a health centre, community hub and a new building to house St John Bosco Arts College.
Training News
Call for apprentices to attend region’s first graduation event The graduation event will be held at Liverpool Cathedral
the North West’s first apprenticeship graduation ceremony is being held this spring, and employers are being urged to support the event. Whilst graduations are commonplace for universities, the Apprenticeship graduation (greater Merseyside) event is unique in being the first for apprentices in the region, and the biggest of its kind in the uK. the 29 April event, taking place over two sessions at Liverpool Cathedral, is open to 2012/2013 level 3 and 4 NVQ apprentices across Merseyside’s six boroughs. employers are being asked to encourage their apprentices to attend the event, which will see 1,000 people recognised for their achievements.
Knowsley to host second Apprenticeship Awards
Last Year’s Apprenticeship Awards
THE APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS (Greater Merseyside) returns for its second year on the 20 June. The first Apprenticeship Awards took place in early 2013 with an inaugural ceremony at St George’s Hall and organisers say this year’s event, which will take place on Lord Derby’s estate in Knowsley, is set to be even bigger. The awards ceremony, which celebrates the region’s most promising apprentices along with the most committed employers, will be coinciding with the Liverpool International Festival for Business in June. Greater Merseyside Learning Providers Federation (GMLPF) will be the main sponsor of the event for the second year running. Chair
Debbie Tagoe says the GMLPF wants to establish the Apprenticeship Awards (Greater Merseyside) as a key date in Liverpool’s commercial calendar. She says: “The awards are a very important event for our region as they bring the local community together and allow us to celebrate the hardworking, high achieving individuals in our area.” Patrick McCarten, head of employment and skills at Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, says: “The Liverpool City Region Apprenticeship Hub is proud that this year’s apprenticeship awards are being held in Knowsley in June this year. This is the second year of the event and promises to be even bigger and better than last year.”
Councillor Nick small, Liverpool’s cabinet member for employment, enterprise and skills, says: “the Liverpool City region Apprenticeship hub is very proud to announce the launch of the region's first ever apprenticeships graduation event, celebrating the achievements of committed young people from the Merseyside area who have successfully completed a higher level apprenticeship over the last year.” Apprentices can take a maximum of two guests to the ceremony and tickets are free. register for the 2.30pm ceremony at www.apprenitcegrad1.eventbrite.co.uk, and to register for the 6.30pm evening session go to www.apprenticegrad2.eventbrite.co.uk.
Don’t be deterred by funding change, urges city lawyer A LIVerPooL law firm is urging employers not to avoid apprenticeship schemes as a result of the changes to funding. the government recently announced that the current frameworks are to be replaced by new standards. Joe Davison one of the most significant changes, which george osborne revealed in his autumn statement, is that funding for apprentices will now go directly through the employer rather than training providers. Currently, a training provider will identify suitable apprenticeship candidates for an employer and then look after the administrative burden of claiming funding and the responsibility for the programme's quality. the chancellor also announced in his statement that employers will also need to make a significant cash contribution to their apprentices' external training costs. Joe Davison, employment lawyer at Paul Crowley & Co, says: “employers should not be deterred from using apprenticeship schemes despite the major changes that will be coming in to effect. “Apprenticeship schemes are hugely beneficial to businesses within the construction and building industry. Companies that hire apprentices see an immediate return on investment as apprentices put their skills into action whilst on the job. “the new framework is expected to be introduced in 2015 and will be completed in 2018, therefore employers have a year in which they can carefully plan and adapt to the changes before they come into effect.” MOVE COMMERCIAL 15
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Bitesize thinking
Tony Reed
associate, Keppie Massie
In my crystal ball... The commercial property sector had a really positive year in 2013 and, after a difficult few years, Liverpool has experienced significant growth in take-up and volume of deals across all sectors. There has been a lot of transactions in the hotel and student residential sectors and this year we’re likely to see increased activity in the traditional residential conversion market. The lack of apartment stock in the city centre and an increase in the demand for city centre living has resulted in an increase in developers seeking vacant office opportunities suitable for residential conversion. In terms of the office market there are still likely to be some twists and turns ahead with a number of buildings likely to change ownership. The city centre office market has had a period of readjustment and landlords have had to adapt to these changes by offering smaller suites on flexible deals. I still expect to see a steady flow of deals of circa 2,500 sq ft or less, however, there has been an increase in enquiries from large outsourcing companies who are attracted by Liverpool’s availability of skilled low cost labour and lower operating costs.
If only I’d known… Many things have happened over the last five to 10 years that have had a major impact on the city, however there is no doubt that Liverpool ONE has been one of the most impressive regeneration projects ever seen. Having worked and lived in Liverpool for over 20 years I never realised how one single regeneration project could transform a city. Twenty or so years ago I was a marketing assistant at the Daily Post & Echo and the key areas of the city, such as the business district, retail area, Albert Dock and Ropewalks felt completely unconnected. Liverpool ONE changed all this and it has brought the city centre together and contributed to the resurgence of the Albert Dock, the revival of the tourism industry and the ongoing revitalisation of the Ropewalks and Baltic Triangle areas. For all the CGI’s, press releases and public exhibitions I never thought it would reenergise the city in the way that it did.
My favourite building with... Kevin Horton
architect director at K2 Architects
Engineering Building, Leicester University Dissatisfied with the diluted modern architecture of post-war 1950s Britain, Glasgow-born and Liverpool educated James Stirling sought to recharge and enrich the scene through contact with earlier national traditions. In this case the tough northern industrial architecture of the Liverpool waterfront of his youth. The extraordinary Leicester University Engineering Building is brutal and honest in its approach. A slender tower housing a 100 ft hydraulic supply on splayed legs, rising above the overhanging form of two auditoriums are linked to a lower block, accommodating an engineering workshop with a saw-tooth factory glazed roof laid out on a 45 degree angle. Programmatic logic was only the starting point in a deliberate display of sculptural dynamics that creates tension and instability in which individual elements are played off against one another. Formal and functional considerations are then transcended by a preoccupation with the industrial skyline of his upbringing. The overall effect is as cheeky, brash and witty as the city that inspired it.
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“The overall effect is as cheeky, brash and witty as the city that inspired it.”
Bitesize thinking
Tony Cahill executive director of commercial services, Vivark
Curriculum vITae Main duties: My duties are to generate long term business growth, social value and brand recognition and to inspire innovation and diversification across the group through the creation of new products and services. Education: I left school at 16 and studied with the Open University whilst working.
Commercial
STaTS 6,776
The number of new businesses registered in Warrington in 2012, according to the latest figures by Start Up Britain. Regionally, Warrington was only bettered by Manchester, which reached 11,765 registrations.
52% The increase in trading at Liverpool ONE since the retail and leisure complex opened in 2008. In 2013 the city centre destination saw its fifth year-on-year increase.
First job: Apprenticeship in electronic security with Chubb. Shortest job: Newspaper round after school and weekends. What’s the secret to your success? Discovering what customers really need and designing a service around them and not what is easy to provide. What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received? 80% of people who have a plan succeed, 80% of people who don’t have a plan fail. What advice would you give to somebody starting out in the industry? Work hard and stay true to who you are. What makes Vivark different? Vivark is a social enterprise, a business delivering high quality facilities management services to customers, but using our profits to achieve our social objectives whilst creating sustainable employment, training and apprenticeships. Tell us a little bit about Vivark’s plans over the next 12 months: We plan to build on the 50% growth in the last year, which moved us to £25m turnover, through a move into a diverse range of property sectors across the North West.
Tweet all about it The 5 best commercial tweets
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@OBIProperty Good news for @Spinningfields ... The Cotton Building gets planning approval. @MIDAS_MCR Did you know? Manchester was voted the best UK city to locate a new HQ in UK Cities Monitor. @itsliverpool Liverpool’s hoteliers are loving 2014. Why? Tens of thousands of new global bookings… @kevpeel Glad to see Liverpool continuing to push for #HS2 to go all the way to Lime Street. Completely support spreading the love! #YestoHS2 @ACCLiverpool Liverpool at #3 in the @RoughGuides Top 10 Cities. We already knew it was pretty special though didn’t we!
2,159 sq ft The space Atradius Credit Insurance has taken in The Chancery, 58 Spring Gardens in Manchester city centre. The firm is relocating from Salford Quays and has agreed a 10-year lease, in a deal secured by OBI Property.
£760m The estimated economic benefit said to have been generated by ACC Liverpool since it opened in 2008. The venue, home to the city’s BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, achieved its highest turnover so far with £14.7m during the audited accounts for the year ended 31 March 2013.
1,000 The estimated number of new jobs set to be created by the Project Jennifer scheme; the transformation of Liverpool’s Great Homer Street which is being led by St. Modwen with Liverpool City Council. The scheme includes the proposed relocation of the area’s popular market, along with the development of new shops, homes, a health centre and the city’s largest Sainsbury’s supermarket.
3,000 sq ft The amount of space the Swedish bank, Handelsbanken will occupy within Exchange Station when it relocates its Liverpool headquarters from the India Buildings in March. The bank has signed a 10-year lease with Space North West for the first floor office, which overlooks the main concourse in the recently refurbished complex.
Appointments Partner appointed at Knight Frank Elaine Duffy has joined Knight Frank’s Manchester office as a partner in property asset Elaine Duffy management. Targeting pension funds, offshore trusts, private investors and property owners in her new role, she says: “Knight Frank has an established track record in this service area, which I’m looking forward to building on to help expand our Northern portfolio as well as to add to the team here in Manchester.” Previously Elaine was an associate director in the property management division at DTZ, working with clients including the Canal & River Trust and helping Manchester Airports Group manage its non-operational portfolio. GVA expands North West team GVA has appointed Samuel Stafford as its new director in the North West Planning, Development and Regeneration (PDR) team. Samuel, recently part of the Land & Planning Samuel Stafford Strategy team at HIMOR Group, has also worked for Savills and Drivers Jonas. He joins a 19-strong group working to expand services to the residential and commercial sector. Iain Jenkinson, senior director in the PDR team, says: “We are delighted to announce Sam’s arrival at GVA. We are seeing further improvements in the property market, and we want to have a team that can offer the best possible advice to our clients.” New team members join property law firm Liverpool property law firm, JB Leitch LLP has welcomed new solicitor Kirsten Blower LLB (Hons) to the team. Joining from Hilary Meredith Lawyers, Kirsten will focus on FTT 20 MOVE COMMERCIAL
and forfeiture. She says: “I am absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to work in such a wellestablished, specialist law firm.” She is joined by four new legal assistants including Himadri Das and Michelle Davis, from Weightmans and JC&A Solicitors respectively, and graduates Charlotte Antrobus and Krystyn Durkin.
Kirsten Blower and new legal assistants
Allied London appoints commercial director Andrea George has joined property developer Allied London as the commercial director for its northern sites. Andrea, previously a partner at Tushingham Moore, will lead on asset management and leasing strategy for the form.
Andrea George
She is set to work on the ongoing development of Manchester’s Spinningfields business district, as well as the redevelopment of the former Granada Studios, and says: “I’ve worked closely with Allied London since the very start of my career, when Spinningfields was first conceived. With new buildings No.1 Spinningfields and the unique Cotton Building coming, along with the planned evolution of The Avenue, I’m looking forward to playing a key role in the next stage of the business and leisure district’s development.”
Financial News
Liverpool sees biggest year of investment since 2008 The new Royal Liverpool University Hospital is among projects bringing further investment
IN 2013 Liverpool saw its highest level of investment since 2008, when the city underwent major regeneration having been named the European Capital of Culture. That’s according to new figures revealed by the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, which show numerous schemes totalling £1.06bn got underway last year. Along with residential property investment, developments included more than £60m on office space and shops, £331m in health facilities such as the new Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, £100m in three new schools and two new university buildings, the £7.6m construction of Liverpool Science Park’s ic3 building, and investment to bring 200 new hotel rooms to the city. Mayor Anderson says: “The growing confidence in Liverpool is helping attract substantial private sector investment, boosting our economy and creating jobs. At the same time, the city council is finding creative ways of doing business and stimulating the economy, such as through our invest-to-earn approach. There is much more still to do, but I’m delighted with the progress we are making, because, ultimately, every penny invested here helps us build a better future for our city.” Figures also show that with further schemes proposed for Liverpool or due to get underway this year, such as further school developments, the new £429m Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Project Jennifer plans to regenerate Great Homer Street and the £200m redevelopment of Edge Lane Retail Park, a further £1.85bn could be in the pipeline.
Bruntwood finances show a strong 2013 CoMMERCIAL PRoPERTy firm Bruntwood reported strong results in its latest set of accounts, following a successful £600m refinance. In the financial year ending September 2013, the family-run firm saw its pre-tax profit rise to 42% from £16.8m pre-exceptional items. The performance is said to reflect an increase in occupancy rates with over half a million sq ft of space being let in 2013, including 25% of the Manchester city centre office market and strong take-up in Liverpool for its North West areas. Bruntwood’s chief executive, Chris oglesby, says: “Refinancing circa £600m of debt, secured by property valuations right at the bottom of the cycle, has been a significant achievement that enables us to focus on the future. Whilst this recession has been tough, our major regional cities emerge stronger from it and I am more optimistic about their future than I have been at any other time. “We are very well positioned to capitalize on the strength of these markets; as well as the major projects we have planned; we will continue to
strengthen our strategic partnerships and look to develop new relationships, ensuring that after a few years of reduced development activity 2014 will be our busiest year ever.” Chief Executive Chris oglesby said: “Refinancing c. £600m of debt, secured by property valuations right at the bottom of the cycle, has been a significant achievement that enables us to focus on the future. Whilst this recession has been tough, our major regional cities emerge stronger from it and I am more optimistic about their future than I have been at any other time. We are very well positioned to capitalise on the strength of these markets; as well as the major projects we have planned, we will continue to strengthen our strategic partnerships and look to develop new relationships, ensuring that after a few years of reduced development activity 2014 will be our busiest year ever”. Projects already outlined for Bruntwood in 2014 include; in Manchester the redevelopment of 80,000 sq ft on Deansgate at overseas House
Bruntwood chief executive, Chris Oglesby
and Elliot House, 100,000 sq ft at Citylabs, a new executive education facility and hotel at Manchester Business School and a new 50,000 sq ft hub at MSP. In Leeds: 120,000 sq ft at City House. In Birmingham: the completion of the 200,ooo sq ft at Centre City and in Liverpool: the conversion of Queens Insurance Buildings to a boutique hotel. MOVE COMMERCIAL 21
By Stephen Hurrell stephen@movepublishing.co.uk
Increasing commercial growth Growth has returned to the North West and optimism is growing in the commercial property industry. Now, a new group plans to change lending legislation to maintain growth and prevent another market crash.
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Commercial Growth Focus
After several years of recession the property market is stabilising. In Manchester, office take-up has risen by 43% according to Savills, and is predicted to grow by 2% again in 2014. Meanwhile, Liverpool has enjoyed another strong year with over 290,000 sq ft of take-up in city centre areas. Liverpool has five new hotels set to open in 2014 following eight new openings in 2014, while Manchester has a new yotel and Hotel Indigo in the pipeline. The feel-good factor in the North West does not end in the two major cities either, with major town regeneration projects in Warrington and Altrincham on their way and the potential impact of high speed rail (HS2) on towns along the route. History tells us the property market, and in particular the commercial property market, is inextricably tied to the financial
non-performing loans, which was further hit by tightening of lending when the industry began to fall, creating a boom and bust cycle that left the industry in several years of crisis. As the market tentatively recovers, the major question is how to prevent a similar scenario happening in future, and a number of options have been put forward by the likes of the Bank of England and a new industry group that hopes to overhaul lending and keep growth on track.
Lending reform The last thing the industry needs is more loans being handed out on properties with a value at risk of plummeting, and the general consensus seems to be that a lack of information about lending meant the market walked blindly into a financial crisis.
The market needs to have a better grasp of what’s going on and individuals making decisions need to be properly trained and experienced. Nick Scarles of Grosvenor, chairman of REFG
wellbeing in the UK. According to a report by the Bank of England at the beginning of 2013, commercial property played a key role in the financial crisis in the UK after commercial property investments before the market crash saw high levels of debt build up as prices increased, leading to an overheating market. The result was a rapid build up of debt and a sharp rise in
This suggests it is important for policymakers to monitor developments closely in commercial property lending and the commercial property market. The Bank of England has since formed the Financial Policy Committee, which has been tasked with managing the UK property system to provide stability. According to the Bank of England, “going forward the FPC
will have powers to recommend, or direct, regulators to take action where it identifies threats to stability”. A new piece of legislation called the Financial Services Act will give the statutory Financial Policy Committee the power to vary banks’ capital requirements on commercial property lending. According to one industry group, more is needed to change the focus of how real estate developments are financed. Lenders should no longer use policies that exacerbate a boom through irresponsible lending and then tighten up when the inevitable crash takes place. Real Estate Finance Group (REFG), a cross-industry review group chaired by Nick Scarles of Grosvenor Group Limited, was set up in response to the financial crisis. The paper drafts recommendations to protect the banking system from future commercial property crashes and suggest ways to improve commercial real estate (CRE) lending. Key proposals revolve around increasing the supply of information in the industry for a more open and flexible market. The recommendations include creating a database of all UK CRE loans with real-time analysis and a committee of senior expert individuals to interpret the data. It also proposes a new accredited lender qualification to ensure quality control in the lending industry.
‘Better grasp of what is going on’ Chairman of the newly-formed REFG, Nick Scarles of Grosvenor, summarised the seven proposals, as follows: “The proposals are based on four concepts: The market needs to have a better grasp of what’s going on and individuals making decisions need
to be properly trained and experienced. That means a database of loans and a tailored qualification for lenders.” By far the most revolutionary recommendation is the proposal to link regulatory capital requirements for CRE lending to a property’s long-term sustainable LTV, rather than its current appraised LTV. This will ensure a build-up of adequate regulatory capital as a market rises, providing lenders with the desired level of regulatory capital after a CRE market correction. According to REFG: “Perhaps one of the hardest – as well as the most important – judgments faced by CRE lenders and regulators alike is assessing the level of risk arising from CRE loans.” REFG suggests a distortion arises in the relationship between price and risk, particularly during rising markets and this can lead to tightening lending during a crash and overheating during a market boom. “Here there has been over reliance on loan to current appraised value (current appraised LTV). Banks should build up capital while they can afford it; before, not after, a crash. We can do this by using, solely for capital purposes, a valuation method which produces whole cycle stable valuations. “The regulatory pendulum of heavy handed regulation after a crash, eroded just in time for the next crash, needs to be stopped. We need regulation which suits the whole cycle.” The group has already received backing from the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), which has pledged its full support. A full report will be released early in 2014 with updated recommendations based on industry feedback. If successful, it could keep the market growing and prevent a further property crisis in the North West.
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Launch of The Apprentice Ship Cup Key events
Photos by Peter Kelly
Businesses support sailing event Plans are already underway for a 2015 Apprentice Ship Cup, after the launch of this year’s inaugural event prompted such a big response. The tall ship sailing challenge, organised by the charity MAST (Merseyside Adventure Sailing Trust), will see apprentices from the region’s businesses take part. Following the recent official launch on Liverpool’s waterfront Jim Groves, volunteer chair of MAST, says: “I’ve had that much of a response that we’re already booking and organising for next year.” Around 20 businesses are said to have pledged their commitment for the 2014 Apprentice Ship Cup, including Sellafield Ltd, Cammell Laird and Peel Holdings. Jim, who delivered a presentation to guests on a tall ship during the launch, adds: “It will develop young people from this region, which is critical for the economy.”
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1. Jim Graves (MAST) and Stuart Wood (former chief pilot for Liverpool) 2. Jim Graves (MAST) enthusiastically explains the scheme to the guest employers 3. There was an excellent attendance, despite the dreadful storm 4. Kevin Rodgers (Duke of Edinburgh Awards NW) adds his support for the competition 5. The plans of the brig ‘Stavros S. Niarchos’ 6. Ian yeats (Maritime & Engineering College), Danny Hart (Cammell Laird) & Paul Killom (Duke of Edinburgh Awards manager, Liverpool Integrated youth & Play Service) 7. Sharon Davies (United Utilities), Joanne Gavin (Sellafield Ltd), Ben Swain (permanent crew member) & Kelly Parker (Soul Inspired Events) 8. James Glendenning (CEo of GMLPF), Debbie Tagoe (Mode Training) & Councillor Nick Small 9. Nigel Kirkwood (Tachograph Analysis Consultants), Kevin Rodgers (operations manager, Duke of Edinburgh Awards NW) & Sue Green (Evergreen HR) 10. Jim Graves (MAST) with Caroline Lodge, Liverpool City Council
Stephen Hurrell stephen@movepublishing.co.uk
DTZ is a global leader in property services and is involved in many of the North West’s biggest projects. It also offers one of the most intensive and prestigious graduate programmes in the industry, as consultant Josaphine Ford can testify.
Trend spotter
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office. The nature and size of DTZ meant she was already working with multi-million pound portfolios. “We’re not estate agents. We do portfolio evaluations and house viability studies and that’s all over the North West. I was there for a year and a half and one of the projects was a £250m portfolio evaluation. “I found I really enjoyed the student accommodation side of things. It’s a really niche market but there’s obviously a lot of opportunities at the moment. I spoke to a few people at DTZ to see where I might fit and one of the senior members of staff said there was a role coming up in the consultancy team. Although it was a consultancy role and I was going to be a surveyor they thought I could be a bit of a bridge between the surveying and the consultancy part of the business. “I had to change my way of working a bit because it’s different but I think they appreciated the fact I was a property person in that consultancy world.” The student property market is enjoying a boom period with major schemes in Liverpool, Manchester and other North West areas in
planning and on site. Josaphine’s most memorable project was the failed opal Group portfolio comprising eight student apartment blocks with a value of up to £300m including opal Court, Liverpool and Phase Two of Wilmslow Park in Manchester. “I’ve worked on the opal portfolio. It went into administration in 2013 and it was split up into four chunks and we were disposing of one of those chunks. What I personally was doing was finding some of the
and two in Leeds with eight in total. “The problem student accommodation is going to face is the community infrastructure legacy is coming in. We’re seeing the rates applied to student accommodation are much higher than residential or offices. There’s going to be some impact. I think it’s going to make people think twice about it, which isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. We see a lot of smaller schemes being built that aren’t always quite right.”
“
It’s not so much data but spotting the trends within the data. You have to notice where there is a problem.
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“I’ve landed on my feet with this job,” says Josaphine Ford, a consultant in the International Education and Innovation department at DTZ and a successful product of the company’s gruelling graduate programme. Having originally planned for a career as an estate agent, Josaphine was convinced to look at commercial surveying by a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam university while studying for an HND. Having completed a degree programme in business property management, Josaphine applied for the prestigious DTZ graduate scheme. “It was a competitive process,” she says. “When I applied it was something like 1,000 applicants for every job because it was right in the middle of a time of recession. When I made it through to the assessment centre stage I was up against five different guys and I remember thinking right, I want the women to win this one.” Josaphine joined the office agency team in Manchester for four months initially in what she describes as a ‘good learning curve’. After that the scheme involved a move to the residential
market analysis and knowledge behind those schemes, so giving a bit more of an in-depth view of those particular markets. There was one in Liverpool, Manchester,
DTZ can help to prevent this happening. The North West economy is powered by data, or rather trends in that data that allows developers to spot growing
Josaphine Ford, consultant, DTZ Rising Star
opportunities and plan their developments accordingly. The landscape of cities such as Liverpool and Manchester is inextricably linked to the firms who are tasked with interpreting market trends and advising others on when to build, where to build and what to build at any given time. Josaphine says: “People come to us with a piece of land they’ve found and ask if it’s a good idea to develop it. I go and look where
the land is and what the size of the market is. It’s not so much data but spotting the trends within the data. you have to notice where there is a problem and when you do that’s quite satisfying. you’re judging the future market by looking at what is happening so far.” DTZ can do this because it has access to data developers may not be partial to, says Josaphine. “We work for a number of the larger operators on their valuation side
so we see occupancy levels. It’s not common market knowledge but we have access to them because of the work we do and we can watch what’s happening and advise the client if something does not look quite right. “We’re kind of middle men in a way but because we have that niche position where we work with all those different parties. I prefer this to being an agent where you are trying to just sell or value them. Instead, we’re
speaking to all those different parts of the puzzle.” Working for a company the size of DTZ means Josaphine does not regret choosing commercial property over being an estate agent. She says: “At DTZ I’ve been involved in a number of very high profile jobs which is fantastic because I’ve only been qualified for a couple of years. It’s a great experience and they’re all lovely people here, which helps a lot.” MOVE COMMERCIAL 27
LIVERPOOL COMMERCIAL OFFICE MARKET REVIEW 2013
WATERLOO
OUT OF TOWN NORTH LIVERPOOL
BOOTLE
CITY FRINGE
OUT OF TOWN KNOWSLEY
OUT OF TOWN ST HELENS
CITY CENTRE
OUT OF TOWN RIVER MERSEY
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SUMMARY
LIVERPOOL CITY REGION MAP
SOUTH LIVERPOOL
• Combining the Central Business District, and the city fringe and out-of-town markets, reveals total Liverpool City Region office market take-up in 2013 was 534,100 sq ft, just slightly below the 534,730 sq ft take up in 2012. The figure remains significantly higher than in 2011. • Total CBD office take-up in 2013 was 316,964 sq ft which was 22% higher than in 2012. With a 108 transactions, the total was more than double than in 2012 and the highest in 10 years. • A continuing demand from Liverpool’s creative and media sector in the city fringe areas such as the Baltic Triangle, and then progression into the Central Business District, has been shown as the sector now accounts for 21% of take-up in Liverpool’s office market in 2013. • After showing significant activity in 2012, the shipping and distribution sector has seen more modest take-up down from 111,503 sq ft to 46,133 sq ft in 2013. • A slowdown in the public sector’s take up in the out-of-town and city fringe down to 46,133 in 2013, from 85,535 sq ft in 2012, has been levelled out by further takeup in the Central Business District, where the sector now accounts for 11% of the market take-up. • A major 68,000 sq ft deal by solicitors in the Central Business District has helped the professional and financial sector to more than double its take-up in the centre from 2012; up from 62,049 sq ft to 148,536 sq ft. The sector has also picked up pace out-of-town and in the city fringe. • An active future is anticipated across all sectors as the major development of Liverpool Waters takes shape over the coming years. • Grade B* office space has been created to differentiate newer, refurbished and higher specification office space, with features such as air conditioning and raised flooring, from un-refurbished Grade B space. At the end of 2013 there was 586,546 sq ft of Grade B* space available in the city region.
WELCOME... ... to the Commercial Office Market Review for 2013. Professional Liverpool, Liverpool Vision and the Liverpool Commercial District BID are pleased to report on the activities that have occurred in the office market for Liverpool and its regions over the last calendar year. The information included in this report has been researched on a structured and objective basis compiled from data sourced from the property agent members of Professional Liverpool with help from some of the region’s major stakeholders. This year the re-grading of some Grade B offices to Grade B*, to recognise the higher quality refurbished accommodation, will help to provide a more focused and detailed analysis of the city’s commercial office market. The figures show an abnormally large number of transactions have occurred around the city in 2013 although, apart from two major new occupational deals, the majority have been for office suites of less than 1,000 sq ft. The increase in small office take-up demonstrates that existing and new businesses are reacting to the way that the economy has diversified during recent years, and are recognising opportunities in the city. Whilst the market remains challenging, take-up for 2013 is higher than the average for the last five years. Although new development schemes are thin on the ground there is hope with the advent of Liverpool Waters on the horizon along with potential substantial new offices at Pall Mall. We hope that the review provides not only a useful source of reference for analysis on previous years but a valuable insight into the current market. Our thanks go to all parties involved in the review who have been accredited at the end of this report. We would welcome your feedback.
STUART KEPPIE
MAX STEINBERG
BILL ADDY
Chairman, Professional Liverpool Property Group
Chief Executive, Liverpool Vision
Chief Executive, Commercial District BID
property group
OFFICE TAKE-UP IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT FOR 2013
SQ FT 350000 300000 250000
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Total Central Business District office take-up in 2013 was 316,964 sq ft, 22% higher than the 259,602 sq ft recorded in 2012 and 268,298 sq ft in 2011. The main driving force behind the improved take-up in the CBD was the return to normality for the professional services sector, which was responsible for 47% of all take-up including two substantial transactions of 29,795 sq ft and 68,000 sq ft. This is double the take up figure for 2012 and back on par with 2011 which was notable for the sector. There is also evidence that the creative/media sector is increasingly spreading from the city fringe into the main city core with 32,655 sq ft of deals recorded in 2013, representing 10.3% of take-up in the CBD. While the largest creative/media sector deal was 10,362 sq ft most were below 1,000 sq ft, indicating greater availability of flexible offices within the CBD allowing SMEs and start-ups to migrate into the city centre. This is a trend seen across all sectors, where offices between 0-1,000 sq ft in size made up over half of the 108 deals in 2013 and has encouraged the highest number of transactions recorded since the inauguration of the Commercial Office Market Review in 2006.
At the other end of the scale the largest single occupational transaction was 68,000 sq ft, up from 22,500 sq ft in 2012 but still below the 94,000 sq ft letting from 2011.
Developments like the Cotton Exchange (above) allowed more deals with SMEs and start-ups.
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OFFICE TAKE-UP OVERALL SQ FT 600000 500000 400000
The total office market take-up for the Liverpool City Region, combining Central Business District, city fringe and out-of-town markets was 534,100 sq ft. This shows similar levels of demand compared to 2012’s take-up of 534,750 sq ft and remains significantly higher than 382,592 sq ft in 2011 and 393,441 sq ft in 2010. The 2013 total demonstrates growing activity in the office market and returning confidence albeit primarily from indigenous occupiers.
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Edward Pavilion
YEAR
OFFICE TAKE-UP FOR 2013 IN THE CITY FRINGE
Total city fringe take-up was 59,662 sq ft, down 10% compared to 2012 but still higher than any of the individual out-of-town locations. The main driving force behind city fringe deals continues to be demand from the digital, media and creative sector, accommodation for occupation of many of the smaller, refurbished offices in areas such as the Baltic Triangle and other small business incubator hubs. The sector for 2013 now makes up 51% of all city fringe deals, up from 37% in 2012. The maturing digital sector is in contrast to the professional sector, where take-up in the city fringe was 10%, totalling 5,543 sq ft, only 10% of the total. This is lower than recorded in 2012 and is affected by the increase in professional sector firms moving within the city centre boundaries in 2013. It has now been overtaken by training businesses which now makes up 12% of city fringe deals compared to just 3% in 2012 as more Grade C and Grade D office space is vacated in the city fringe.
LIVERPOOL COMMERCIAL OFFICE MARKET REVIEW 2013
9.96% 2.55%
24%
12.13%
51.27%
TOTAL TAKE-UP (%) Public Sector 0% 2.55% Financial 51.27% Creative
9.96% Professional 12.13% Training 24% Other
OFFICE TAKE-UP IN OUT-OF-TOWN
International House
OFFICE TAKE-UP TRENDS IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
SQ FT 600000 500000 400000
207,515
268,298
259,602
316,964
2011
2012
2013
0
519,274
100000
2010
200000
2009
300000
Mere Grange
Take-up in Liverpool’s out-of-town office markets was 157,474 sq ft in 2013. Although this is lower than 209,200 sq ft in 2012 it is still significantly above the low point of 2011 of just 63,684 sq ft. The slowdown in 2013 can be attributed to a significant reduction in take-up in Wavertree in particular, which decreased from 109,506 sq ft in 2012 to 40,553 sq ft in 2013. This may be partly attributed to the significant public sector letting of 32,900 sq ft in 2012. The majority of Wavertree deals continued to take place in the creative and digital sector with seven deals in total, six of which were at Liverpool Innovation Park. The highest level of office take-up outside of the city centre and city fringe came in South Liverpool, with ten deals amounting to 47,252 sq ft and just over a fifth of all out-of-town take-up, as it accounts for 22%. Communisis taking 25,864 sq ft at International House represents the biggest out-of-town deal in 2013 compared to the 34,500 sq ft in 2012.
St Helens fared better by returning to 2011 levels of take-up with 26,403 sq ft compared to a dip of 14,929 sq ft in 2012. Alfred H Knight taking 12,788 at Mere Grange in two separate deals helped to boost take-up in the region and continue its upward trajectory as the last of its Grade A stock (22,781 sq ft) was snapped up. The Bootle and Waterloo area saw a decline in take-up from 22,378 sq ft in 2012 to 14,982 sq ft and represents a particularly low level of activity in relation to the size of this market.
Total office take-up in the CBD exceeded 300,000 sq ft for the first time since 2009 (519,274 sq ft) when Liverpool’s largest letting of 220,000 sq ft was recorded. The 2013 figure contrasts favourably to 259,602 sq ft in 2012 and 268,298 sq ft in 2011, suggesting a tentative recovery in the market. The 2013 take-up figure of 316,964 sq ft takes it above the five-year average of 310,340 sq ft influenced principally by the number of overall deals which was at its highest level recorded over the last 10 years. While Liverpool traditionally sees a handful of deals over 25,000 sq ft, there were none in 2010 and 2012. However, 2013 saw a return to form with 4 deals in excess of 25,000 sq ft, the largest of which was 68,000 sq ft to Hampson Hughes for Edward Pavilion. Overall there are signs confidence is returning to the city centre market and developments such as Exchange Station and Edward Pavilion have attracted larger deals in the past 12 months. The renovation of the Royal Liver Building and the India Building, boasting Liverpool’s largest single Grade B floor plate (35,000 sq ft) will help to improve the quality of available accommodation.
At the other end of the scale the market we saw a huge increase in smaller lettings, 55 of which were for less than 1,000 sq ft. contributing significantly to the overall record number of transactions for 2013. Small office conversions at the Cotton Exchange and One Old Hall Street accounted for 28 deals with an average size of just 357 sq ft.
12.16%
21.76%
27.48% 18.68% 6.9%
13.03%
AREA (%) 21.76% 18.68% 13.03% 0% 6.9% 27.48% 12.16%
South Liverpool Wavertree Knowsley North Liverpool Bootle/Waterloo City Fringe St Helens
India Building
YEAR
LIVERPOOL COMMERCIAL OFFICE MARKET REVIEW 2013
TAKE-UP BY SECTOR
DISTRIBUTION AND SHIPPING When the total take-up from the shipping and distribution sector was calculated for the first time in 2012, following its growing significance in the market, it had shown a considerable take up of 34,709 sq ft. in the CBD. In contrast, 2013 take up has been more subdued. However with the recent and proposed initiatives to bring new development to Liverpool’s waterfront areas, there is every chance that the sector will see further growth over the coming years. The Port of Liverpool Building
PUBLIC SECTOR In recent years the public sector’s impact on the Liverpool office market has diminished as a result largely of the diversifying local economy and government cut backs. 2013 has been no exception accounting for just 11% of take up in the CBD showing a marginal rise on 2012. This is mainly due to the Crown Prosecution Service relocation for 27,226 sq ft space to Walker House, whilst in the out-of-town and city fringe markets take-up is down. Total public sector take-up in the Central Business District combined with that in the out-of-town and city fringe markets has almost halved overall, from 111,503 sq ft to 46,133sq ft, showing the sector is levelling out.
3.53% 2.64%
7.46%
11.3%
10.3% 5.48%
46.87%
12.42%
DEALS BY SECTOR CBD (%) 11.3% 46.87% 12.42% 5.48% 10.3% 2.64% 3.53% 7.46%
Public Sector Professional Financial/Banking Training Creative/IT/Media Distribution/Shipping Outsourcing/Call Centre Other
4.75%
PROFESSIONAL AND FINANCIAL SECTOR 17.32% 33.53% 3.8% 4.93% 35.66%
TAKE UP BY SECTOR CITY FRINGE AND OUT OF TOWN MARKET (%) 4.75% Public Sector 17.32% Professional 3.8% Financial
4.93% Training 35.66% Creative 33.53% Other
Following the slowdown in take-up in the out-of-town and city fringe in 2012, 2013 has seen an increase across the board showing that some confidence may be returning to the sector. In the Central Business District, the robust rise in take up from 62,049 sq ft to 148,536 sq ft is principally due to the occupation by Hampson Hughes; the solicitors firm moved into a 68,000sq ft space within Edward Pavilion on Albert Dock. Meanwhile the sector has become more prominent in the out-of-town and city fringe markets, with an increase from 11,927 sq ft in 2012 to 37,605 sq ft in 2013.
CREATIVE AND MEDIA COMPANIES A steady rise in take-up by creative and media companies within the city’s out-of-town and fringe areas demonstrates the impact that the sector is having in upcoming areas such as the Baltic Triangle. The area has provided small office units for creative start-up businesses with a view to such companies growing and seeking accommodation in the CBD. Whilst the sector accounts for 51% of take up in the city fringe, the CBD has also seen office take-up increase from 15,083 sq ft to 32,655 sq ft.
LIVERPOOL COMMERCIAL OFFICE MARKET REVIEW 2013
Baltic Creative
OFFICE SUPPLY IN THE CITY CENTRE
6.95% 21.23% 25.56%
34.4%
11.86%
GRADES A–D (%) 6.95% 25.56% 11.86% 34.4% 21.23%
A B B* C D
OFFICE SUPPLY: CITY FRINGE & OUT-OF-TOWN
TAKE-UP BY GRADE OF OFFICE 1.36% 3.41%
25.62%
69.61%
DEALS BY GRADE OF BUILDING IN CBD (%) 3.41% 69.61% 25.62% 1.36%
Grade Grade Grade Grade
Total office stock in the Central Business District area was 7,023,024 sq ft, a fall of 180,000 sq ft compared to 2012 which was 7,203,705 sq ft. Our data shows the amount of total vacant office space has fallen from 2,438,940 sq ft in 2012 to 2,295,053 sq ft in 2013. Vacant office space was 1.96m sq ft in 2011 and the market’s inability to significantly reduce stock in 2012 can be attributed to low conversion of unusable Grade D and low-quality Grade C properties into residential or leisure developments. However, government changes to planning measures in early 2013 to reference restrictions when converting offices into residential units along with hotel conversions has contributed to the removal of 71,000 sq ft of unusable pre-war stock from the market in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the supply of vacant Grade A space has fallen to 159,557 sq ft, down from 209,051 sq ft in 2012 and 257,283 sq ft in 2011. The decline in available Grade A space highlights the lack of Grade A development in the city centre over the last two years, combined with recent take up. Grade A space now comprises just 7% of vacant stock in the city.
Overall there is 1,534,171 sq ft of vacant space in city fringe and out-of-town markets compared to 1.2m sq ft in 2012. The amount of vacant office space has increased for the fourth year in succession. There is now 431,678 sq ft of office available in the city fringe, showing little change from 422,144 sq ft in 2012. Over 250,000 sq ft of Grade A office space remains available in the city fringe and out-of-town markets. This is significantly down from 345,816 sq ft in 2012 and 431,950 sq ft in 2011 and highlights the dwindling supply of Grade A offices in the region. Strong performance in St Helens saw the last of its Grade A supply taken. Wavertree and Knowsley now also have zero Grade A office supply.
There is a continuing trend for occupiers to seek economical good quality office space which has compressed demand at the higher end of the market and with little activity for poor quality stock. Grade B office space once again dominated the market with 70% of the total take-up in the CBD. Whilst lower than last year’s 87%, the two figures are not directly comparable due to the addition of Grade B* (built before Jan 2008 but recently refurbished to a higher specification) in this year’s report. This new category makes up 26% of total office take-up, leading to a combined Grade B total of 96% a notably higher proportion than in 2012. Take up of Grade C office space has been falling in recent years. This downward trend has continued into 2013, with just 4,299 sq ft let, only 1% of the total CBD office take-up. This compares to 3.7% and 5.3% in 2012 and 2011 respectively.
Exchange Station The biggest change comes in the availability of Grade B* office space (better quality refurbished space with features such as air conditioning, raised flooring and a higher specification) accounting for 586,546 sq ft. Total vacant Grade B space for 2013 is 861,836 sq ft compared to 700,851 sq ft in 2012, indicating the extensive improvements undertaken by landlords in the last 12 months and a particularly positive sign for 2014.
14.04% 28.14% 22.98%
2.86% 15.69% 6.70%
9.59%
OFFICE AVAILABILITY (%) 14.04% 22.98% 9.59% 6.70%
South Liverpool Wavertree Knowsley North Liverpool
15.69% Bootle/Waterloo 2.86% St. Helens 28.14% City Fringe
The take-up of Grade A office space has been known to fluctuate subject to the availability of new space. In recent years this was markedly demonstrated between 2008 and 2009 by a differential of 29%. For this year the figure stands at 10,819 sq ft, translating to 3% of the market. The out of town market is far more balanced between Grade A and Grade B than the CBD. Similar to 2012, the Grade B office space take-up is 51%. Last year, Grade C was unusually high at 28% due to a heavy make-up from the Wavertree market. This year it has reduced vastly to just 3%, with a higher proportion of Grade A take-up at 45%. Take-up in the city fringe market is following a similar pattern to that of the CBD, with Grade B accounting for a dominant 85% up from 73% in 2012.
A B B* C
LIVERPOOL COMMERCIAL OFFICE MARKET REVIEW 2013
TAKE-UP BY SIZE OF OCCUPIER
A continuation of recent years’ results see the trend continue of smaller lettings becoming more prevalent, suggesting a thriving grassroots culture within Liverpool’s economy. Last year’s findings saw 54% of deals within the Central Business District were for less than 25,000 sq ft, up from 47% in 2011. The trend continues into 2013, with 77% of deals under 25,000 sq ft, meaning that smaller occupiers are dominating the commercial market. There were 10 larger deals in excess of 5,000 sq ft in 2013 which may seem relatively low, compared to the 16 in 2012. However, whilst the total size of larger deals in 2013 accounted for 63% of take up compared to 71% of 2012, the amount of take up was 198,732 sq ft for 2013 compared to 184,022 sq ft for 2012 Of the total 108 deals in 2013, there were just 4 deals in excess of 20,000 sq ft, similar to 2012. However the total size of these deals were well over double the amount - 152,773 sq ft in 2013 compared to 64,629 sq ft the previous year. The Hampson Hughes occupation of 68,000 sq ft at Edward Pavilion makes up a large proportion of the total increase and demonstrating an underlying confidence in the market.
RENTAL VALUES
Rental levels have remained largely consistent over the last 2 years in the city centre with a marginal increase for Grade A and Grade B* accommodation, with Grade A achieving £21 per sq ft and Grade B* £17 per sq ft respectively. The out of town market has seen greater downward pressure on rentals due to low level of take up with typical rents being below £11 per sq ft, although it should be noted that there is very little Grade A accommodation which has been transacted.
CAPITAL VALUES
There has been no true evidence to support prime investment yields over the past two years and just one major office investment transaction, No 1 Tithebarn, occurring in 2013 which is difficult to analyse due to the proportion of vacant space in the building.
1% 4%
4%
14% 51% 26%
2013 DEALS BY AREA IN SQ FT (%) 51% 0–1000 26% 1001–2500 14% 2501–5000
4% 5001–10,000 1% 10,001–20,000 4% 20,000+
4 St Paul’s Square
NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY
ACCREDITATION
For the purposes of this research, Grade A space was defined as office space completed since 1st January 2009; Grade B space as office space completed before 1st January 2009 or other accommodation recently refurbished or due to be refurbished. Grade B* is higher specification including air conditioning and raised floors. Grade C as unrefurbished but ready for occupation. Grade D is office space which could not be occupied without substantial refurbishment, and where no plans exist for such refurbishment.
This report has been compiled by members of the Property Group of Professional Liverpool with assistance from Liverpool Vision and the Commercial District BID. Our special thanks go to:
CONTACT INFORMATION Professional Liverpool Tel: 0151 224 1855. Email: johnhall@professionaliverpool.com Liverpool Vision Tel: 0151 600 2900. Email: info@liverpoolvision.co.uk Commercial District BID Tel: 0151 233 4733. Email: kevin.whittaker@liverpoolcdp.com
Words, design and production by The Design Foundry.
MOVE COMMERCIAL 37
Natasha Young natasha@movepublishing.co.uk
When the Rare Tea Company was set up in 2004, tea was far from the fashionable drink it is today. In fact, such was the market for loose leaf tea that founder Henrietta Lovell was advised against leaving her international corporate finance career behind to set up the firm.
The Tea Lady Henrietta ignored the advice and has since not only established herself as one of Britain’s brightest business minds, therefore becoming an ambassador for this summer’s International Festival for Business (IFB) in Liverpool; but she has also won over some of the world’s most prestigious restaurants and hotels with her products. After 10 years of trading, the list of stockists of the small but renowned London-based business is like a who’s who of retail and hospitality. It features the likes of Waitrose, Selfridges and Claridges, as well as world leading restaurants including Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, New york’s Momofuku and none other than Noma in Copenhagen. “Can you believe it? When I first started in my bedroom I never dreamed that we would do tea at Claridges or Momofuku in New york. These were like mythical names; I’d never even been inside,” says Henrietta. And while it may all sound like a far cry from corporate finance, it was this previous career that steered her towards tea. Henrietta explains: “I was based in New york but the area I looked after was Asia, so I’d often go out to China and India. “In China, when you take out a client you often give them a very beautiful cup of tea and in hotels or 38 MOVE COMMERCIAL
restaurants there could be teas that were 200 or 300 dollars. you’d taste it and it would be the most exquisite thing. It always makes you weep for all the cups of tea you’ve missed in your life. “We used to be the most famous tea drinking nation in the world and we lost that, so I wanted to bring the best teas back to the UK. We’re a nation of tea lovers and we only have access to a very limited selection.” While some considered tea to be a risky business to venture into, Henrietta believes her move into such an empty market was crucial to her success, along with her strong principals on trading fairly and providing quality, and her determination to make “our national drink” good again. She says: “If you constantly follow the trends then you’re only going to be a small business doing exactly the same as someone else because the big companies will always be able to better you on price, on volume and you’ll always be on the back foot. But if you do something completely different then you create a new market and, as difficult as that is in the beginning, they can’t compete.” Henrietta is certain of the quality of her tea and knows exactly where it comes from because she travels around the world to source it directly from farmers herself. It’s a
move which she says takes a “massive amount of commitment,” but adds: “I know I can get the best. I know I can get rare special things that no one else can because I’ve bothered to go out to small mountainsides in Africa, China, Japan and Sri Lanka. “The farmers I work with, I know they use sustainable farming practices and they look after the people who work and live on their estates. I work with some really incredible pioneers and noble people that I’m proud of.” And as well as being a familiar face amongst the farmers she trades with, Henrietta also set herself up as the approachable face of the Rare Tea Company as a whole and is known as the ‘Tea Lady’. “That was all a way of enabling a step ahead of the people who can afford big PRs, so the big businesses can’t compete in terms of quality, ethical credentials and then also access to someone who actually knows the business and can explain about it.” Henrietta takes pride in the fact that while the firm is achieving success around the world, it still functions like a small business. Having progressed from originally storing a few boxes of tea in her bedroom, to now having an office and a team of seven along with warehouse spaces in New Jersey
and two near UK ports in Southampton for the Chinese link, she says: “As we grow and grow and grow I really want to keep that [small business feel]. “I’m never going to put in that ‘press number six for extension...’ because it’s the idea that if a customer emails we’ll get back to them within 24 hours, if they call we’ll answer the phone. When you ring up a big company you get put on hold for three hours and then someone says ‘I’m sorry it’s not our problem’. “I think big businesses need to think like small businesses because of the loyalty and the love you get.” Along with growth in America Henrietta is now working on developing the Rare Tea Company in China, and says: “That would be really brilliant to take tea from small farms around the world to the biggest tea drinking nation in the world, and from a British brand which they love.” However, once again she is making the move in her own way, securing her own licences and warehouse facilities rather than paying distributors, overcoming the suggestion that exporting is too difficult. “The only way that Britain is going to grow and that British brands can really grow is to be bolder and braver and go back out into the
Henrietta Lovell Entrepreneur
“
I think big businesses need to think like small businesses because of the loyalty and the love you get.
world,” says Henrietta. “More businesses can do it and I think I can be an example of a very small business where a lot of our growth this year is international. That builds your reputation in Britain too so it only helps. “I want to be able to share that experience with people and say don’t be afraid, it is possible.” For Henrietta the IFB will provide the ideal platform to do just that, as she has been lined up to help bring delegates to the festival and give talks during the event. “I really want to help get as many people there as we can so I’m going to Brussels to try and encourage businesses. “There’s so much on offer, we have so many brilliant brands and a lot of them are tiny. Those businesses are missing out on so much if they don’t come and meet them.” optimistic about the opportunities the festival will bring for businesses both in Britain and overseas, she says: “It should be done every year and it should be done across Britain. Liverpool’s just extremely lucky to have it there, but that’s great because not everything has to be centred in London and Liverpool is the place where everything came and left in Britain. It’s so famous around the world for that.” MOVE COMMERCIAL 39
“
Expert analysis What does the future hold for businesses in the north west? We speak toWhat a quartet experts getforthe lowdowninon the major issues that will doesof the future to hold businesses affect four key areas industry the coming months and years. the North West? Weofspeak to ainquartet of INDUSTRIAL experts to get the lowdown on the major issues that will affect four key areas of industry in the coming months and years.
RICHARD AINSCOUGH managing director of Langtree’s property investment arm
What’s next for… Industrial Overseas investment Developments Recovery RECOVERY
THOMAS DENASH lead solicitor specialising in corporate insolvency and commercial debt recovery, Parry & Company Solicitors
40 MOVE COMMERCIAL
Poor cash flow is the primary reason for many business failures. We cater to a diverse client base all looking for the same thing; a cost effective practical debt recovery service to improve cash flow. Clients view recovery as a balancing act between maintaining cash flow and preserving good relations with their customers. People in all walks of business are, more than ever, aware of credit control; from a local plumber to multinationals. There is a greater need to differentiate between the ‘can’t pays’ and ‘won’t pays’. Budgeting appropriately and having realistic aims about when and how recoveries can be made is a key to success. Clients are asking for innovative funding options and multiple approaches to
From an investment perspective, we certainly saw a step-up in appetite for industrial space during 2013 in the North West. Using our own experience as an example, in 2012 we bought 313,000 sq ft but in 2013 only managed 70,000 sq ft and that was not for lack of trying - there were just more bidders out there. It looks likely that 2014 will continue in the same vein. There seems to be a few forces behind this - a lack of supply following a development drought, uncertainty in other sectors (such as retail and office) and owner occupier confidence growing. The natural consequence would be to see an increase in speculative development, especially in the wake of increased pre-let development, although funding for this may not be so
recovery that integrate with their existing internal procedures and IT systems. There is currently a growing trend for a ‘soft’ approach to recovery; with greater emphasis on open discourse, ADR and mediation with a delinquent debtor in order to resolve any issues and to identify any future difficulties that could occur. In 2014 we’ll see a substantial increase in recovery activity as business’ confidence in the market grows, however I think we will see greater use of these soft recovery tools. There is a need to maintain a full variety of recovery methods, including traditional methods such as court action and more innovative options to suit each client’s needs. Seeking to develop new products centred on an
straight forward yet. The burden of empty property rates will also loom large on any speculative appraisal. Whilst investments values are improving, rental growth is less pronounced. The economic indicators appear positive which one hopes will generate occupier demand as business confidence grows. This is unlikely to happen as quickly though, since many SMEs still face their own funding challenges and so cannot move or grow quite so readily. We expect the sustainability agenda (e.g. the pending EPC thresholds) to be more influential going forward, which in turn may lead to widening yield spread as it accelerates the obsolescence of older, less efficient space. In general the prospects for 2014 are good, but the optimism cannot be without some level of caution.
integrated credit control and debt recovery approach is important for us to offer clients the best possible service.
Budgeting appropriately and having realistic aims about when and how recoveries can be made is a key to success.
Expert analysis
In general the prospects for 2014 are good, but the optimism cannot be without some level of caution.
DEVELOPMENT
PAUL KELLY partner at Knight Frank
A serious under supply of quality stock in some sectors is driving a resurgent design and build market and this trend is likely to continue over the next 12 months. This will be most prevalent in the mid-range industrial sector, where a lack of supply for units above 50,000 sq ft has significantly reduced take-up in the region. There are currently only three available new build units over 50,000 sq ft, one of which is at the recently completed Lancashire Business Park in Leyland, and the other at Matrix Court in Chester. As the supply of existing Grade A stock reduces further, incentive packages will continue to harden this year, along with increased upward pressure on headline rents, particularly in the 50,000 sq ft plus unit range. With over 2m sq ft of unsatisfied requirements across the North West, the demand for industrial space is high and likely to rise. Notable firms actively seeking space currently include Amazon, The Hut Group, Northwood Paper and Ocado. The office market has been relatively stable and we expect it to continue to
perform well over the next 12 months, painting a positive picture for Manchester. It is likely that an increasing number of developers and landlords will start to re-consider and re-evaluate development opportunities that have been mothballed for the last five years. This year may just be too early for speculative development outside of Manchester’s prime core, but we expect that many developers will spend the next 12 months getting ready to break ground on some significant projects in 2015.
OVERSEAS INVESTMENT
The government’s newly established Regeneration Investment Organisation is promoting 'oven ready' investment opportunities to international investors wanting to back urban regeneration and infrastructure projects. This is likely to help major regeneration projects in the NW such as Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters. We expect rising investment from other parts of Asia, notably India, as well as from traditional areas such as the US. Foreign investment will bring benefit to many parts of the economy including manufacturing, automotive and retail. This is likely to be of particular benefit to the North West, which traditionally makes a relatively larger contribution to the manufacturing industry than any other region of the UK. ‘Reshore UK’, a new matching and location service supported by Government and the Manufacturing Advisory Service will help both British and foreign companies to bring in the new investment. The International Festival for Business taking place in Liverpool
MICHAEL COSSER partner, Brock Carmichael Architects
The prospects for overseas investment in the North West look increasingly bright for 2014. The announcement last autumn by Manchester Airport Group of a joint venture with Beijing Construction Engineering Group to deliver the Airport City project was highly significant. We foresee much more investment coming from China, which is seen increasingly as a strategic investment partner both by government and business.
We expect that many developers will spend the next 12 months getting ready to break ground on some significant projects in 2015.
during June and July 2014 is an opportunity, unprecedented in recent times, to showcase these investment opportunities to a global audience. It is a business and cultural event not to be missed and it will be a highlight of the summer calendar.
Foreign investment will bring benefit to many parts of the economy including manufacturing, automotive and retail.
MOVE COMMERCIAL 41
Natasha Young natasha@movepublishing.co.uk
New heights of hospitality From new builds to redeveloping historic buildings, hotel schemes have risen in the region during recent years. With more hotels set to open their doors throughout 2014, we invite three industry experts to discuss what’s driving the increase and whether it can be sustained in the long-term.
Alastair Shepherd director, Falconer Chester Hall architects
Bob Prattey chief executive, ACC Liverpool
Mike Mounfield director, L20 Hotel School
New heights of hospitality Lunch debate
How has the hotel sector developed in recent years? AS: In the last five years in Liverpool it’s up 1,000 rooms and in the five years before it was up 500. The main brands have probably got a base here now but brands like Starwood and Motel One are looking at Liverpool. The waterfront is a prime example of where hotels continue to look and the Exhibition Centre will be priceless.
“
Cruise ships will also add to the visitors and profile of the city, which will hopefully impact on our sector.
”
MM: Cruise ships will also add to the visitors and profile of the city, which will hopefully impact on our sector.
BP: By the end of 2008 Liverpool had 40 hotels, and by the end of 2014 we’ll have 66. That’s 3,800 rooms up to nearly 7,000. We’ve needed it because when we opened the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) we didn’t have enough to support the programme we were developing. Are hotel developers responding to what’s needed in Liverpool, or targeting Liverpool because there’s a lot going on there? BP: Developers, owners and investors are canny people and they’re following the market. They’re not going to invest in Liverpool on a whim so they’re looking at occupancy rates and things going on. AS: There’s been talk about whether we’re maxed out on hotels but if people have a good business and want to open a hotel they should be allowed. The capacity is there. MM: Also if hoteliers want to renovate and bring old buildings back to life then for the council it’s a no-brainer really, to allow developers to make them good again. AS: With Business Premises Renovation Allowance - tax incentives to develop existing buildings - you’ve got 1960s office blocks and what else are they going to be? Student accommodation is growing quickly,
but it’s amazing how you have these empty buildings and suddenly they’ve got life, they bring footfall and they’re dragging people to different areas of the city. When there’s a slump, that’s the time for hotels. The land values are such that hotels can afford to develop. Do older buildings appeal to developers looking for something unique? AS: Some brands are better suited to that and you get a few surprises. Dale Street is a good example. It’s one of Liverpool’s historic streets but there are too many empty fantastic buildings. There are three hotels there; you’ve got DoubleTree coming forward in the old council buildings. There’ll be lots of events with big spaces for weddings, functions and that type of thing. Further down an Ibis really offers something to the centre of Dale Street. Already you can see there’s more activity and it’s only a couple of months since it opened. BP: You build a hotel to fill it with bedrooms and get income, but the additional advantage is that they bring the city centre back to life. If those hotels are successful they’ve got lots of people going in and out. Therefore for surrounding bars, restaurants and shops there’s more footfall. AS: The third Dale Street hotel is
the Royal Insurance Building. That’s a spectacular Grade I listed building which was at the point of its roof starting to go. It was saved just in time and the council helped bring that about. Aloft is going in there, a contemporary brand.
“ ”
You can’t underestimate how much Liverpool ONE changed the city.
BP: They’re all interesting in their own right; giving us a rich tapestry of boutique hotels and named four-star brands and they’re all important for different reasons. With a lot of the conference business we bring in, particularly internationally, delegates want to know what brand they’re coming to. Four-star branded hotels are important for the conference market, but some tourists look for budget-style or boutique hotels. I think there’s that balance, also if
MOVE COMMERCIAL 43
you look at the spectrum of new builds. What’s driving demand for hotels? BP: Historically it’s been tourism and football. When Liverpool Football Club are playing at home you can’t get a hotel room AS: Champions League football makes a difference. A few years ago when Manchester didn’t get
“ ”
Liverpool increased by something like 15%, which is massive, so there’s that market with people coming in and I suppose airlines help too. What about people returning? BP: It’s important we create that right impression for the first visit because, from my perspective of being at the Convention Centre and bringing events into Liverpool
More people are travelling and experiencing the States and the service you get in Europe, where the hospitality industry is on a different level.
through to the quarter-finals it made millions of pounds of difference. BP: You’ve got that tourism bedrock, and since we opened the ACC you’ve had quite a step up in terms of business tourism that’s coming through based on conferences. AS: I read that in 2012 overseas visitors to Manchester and
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that haven’t been before, the consequence is that delegates from across Europe and the UK have often never been to Liverpool. We have this huge opportunity of turning those visitors to come back and at every conference there are 2,000-3,000 delegates who could return with families for tourism because they see the compactness
of the city centre, the hotel stock and that Liverpool has a great vibe. AS: You can’t underestimate how much Liverpool ONE changed the city. It’s incredible the way it’s linked the waterfront and Albert Dock back into the historic centre, with retail people coming for the weekend. BP: Liverpool ONE, ACC, redevelopment and the Capital of Culture came together in 2008 and it was phenomenal. AS: It was such good timing, with the dip in the economy, to give Liverpool a boost. It’s still been difficult times for people but it was a God send. MM: With people coming to party, shop and socialise, that social scene is helping to fill beds on weekends. BP: It’s important we have different types of business coming for different reasons, because that can shelter us from changes in the market. If there’s a dip in one sector, with other sectors still booming we can keep the bed stock up to the levels developers need. Do more hotels prompt a need for more skills? BP: We’re putting huge demands on the hospitality sector to provide quality staff in those new builds and that’s a challenge. There are pockets of excellence in Liverpool but, overall, our customer service needs to come up a level. We haven’t got that level of experienced staff to draw upon. MM: I think that’s a UK thing. BP: It possibly is. MM: That demand for staff with the right skills will grow, and from a training perspective we’ve got to break the mould that waiting tables and serving drinks is parttime work. It’s a real career and a
real vocation. There’ll always be part-time work but there needs to be a shift in the way that career choice is packaged. That in turn will hopefully raise the standard of what we expect. BP: More people are travelling and experiencing the States and the service you get in Europe, where the hospitality industry is on a different level. People are experiencing that, coming back to the UK, not getting that level of service and reacting to it. How can such demands be met? MM: More people want to be chefs because of watching telly. I’m not suggesting TV programmes will give us more quality service staff but I think the glamour of waiting tables, that profile needs raising. BP: People experience several restaurants and hotels during their stay so we’ve got to have that common standard otherwise the lower ones will pull down our reputation. Is there currently more demand for a particular type of hotel in the region? AS: It’s been across the board for the past few years hasn’t it? It’s probably harder for boutiques to compete with some of the websites and brands with that booking system. That’s generally people’s first point of call but good businesses with good reputations like Hope Street Hotel and Hard Days Night do well, and we need those types of hotels to bring individuality. Some brands are targeting the region for the first time or expanding here. Are they recognising it as a place to be or filling gaps where they don’t have stock? MM: With Liverpool becoming more of a destination and more people
New heights of hospitality Lunch debate
interested for business, leisure and retail, I think hoteliers are thinking ‘we need to be part of that opportunity’. AS: It’s probably different for different brands. Motel One concentrates on being near transport hubs. Others are suited to conferencing. Are any features particularly popular in new hotels? BP: Whether they’re putting a gym, swimming pool or restaurants in, they all have a slightly different tack on it which is why you end up at one extreme with a boutique hotel and the other with a four or five-star branded hotel. There’s a huge growth of high quality serviced apartments around Liverpool, many of which offer no catering facilities which has got to be a tremendous opportunity for the restaurant fraternity. I guess some people use the kitchen facilities but the majority will be looking for the best restaurant. AS: I’m going to use that in my next design and access statement when we’re justifying the benefits, you’re absolutely right! MM: Some guests are happy with turning up, getting their head down and going on with their business. When you get people coming for the football I bet a bed is all they need. What impact is building hotels having on the region’s construction sector? AS: Speaking for our company, it’s absolutely sustained us over the
past few years. When the residential stuff dropped off, as a firm we contracted a little bit and got into the hotel market. Firstly in the region, but it took us national as well. It’s been absolutely fundamental to us growing, and now things are moving on and the economy seems to be getting on its feet again we’re well placed. Is there a danger that as new hotels arrive, some older hotels may struggle? BP: If you’re not prepared to change it’s a worry, but I’d see the whole thing as a stimulus to raising the bar. It’s been interesting to date that hotel occupancy rates haven’t dropped by the increases we talked about right at the start, so whilst we’ve had massive amounts of additional stock, the actual occupancy rates of the hotels are maintaining that plus 70% level. AS: A good business is a good business. There are traditional
hotels in Liverpool and Manchester that don’t change and they should be doing so much better in good locations. It’s poor management really. MM: Good businesses will always monitor competition and raise their game to meet it. AS: Potentially a difficulty in getting more hotels is that now the residential to let market is coming back and funding is coming on stream for that, there may be fewer opportunities for hotels to get in with a developer. I think we need more hotels, but if you do a bigger mixed-use development there’s always a hotel that’s part of that mix, so maybe hotels will come on the back of larger schemes.
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Good businesses will always monitor competition and raise their game to meet it.
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L20 HOTEL SCHOOL Hugh Baird College, Balliol Road, L20 Having launched last September in response to the region’s growing visitor economy, the L20 Hotel aims to ‘shape the future of the hospitality industry’ by providing training in a professional environment. As well as helping students and apprentices to develop skills, the onsite restaurant has quickly proven to be a hit with diners, providing seasonal dishes made with locally sourced produce. Serving coffee and pastries in the morning through to lunch, dim sum and dinner, the venue provides a relaxed venue for lunch meetings through to larger events and functions. For more information call 0151 353 4518 or email enquiries@L20hotelschool.co.uk.
MOVE COMMERCIAL 45
Office relaunch Key events
Photos by Peter Kelly
India Buildings unveiled Property professionals from across Merseyside enjoyed a glimpse of the refurbished India Buildings as doors were opened for the first time since a ÂŁ2m refurbishment of the building. Developer Green Property launched the first of three areas with an event comprising food, drinks and the opportunity to drive Segways through the Grade A office space. The newly refurbished areas include 35,000 sq ft of grade A office space, 8,000 sq ft of grade B space and 10,000 sq ft for serviced offices designed for smaller, more flexible tenants. Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, attended the exclusive lunch and tour of the grade II-listed building, along with property professionals and local media. 1
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1. Guests enjoyed the Segways 2. Max Steinberg (chief executive Liverpool Vision); Mike Tapp (director Green Property) 3. Matthew Cribb (Frances Hunter Project Management); Ken Smith (Buttress Fuller Williams); David Lunt (Frances Hunter Project Management); Paul Murray (Jones Lang LaSalle) 4. Malcolm Irving (Venmores); Richard Wharton (Jones Lang LaSalle); Rupert Lowe (SGP Property Services) 5. Ann Hopper (Liverpool Vision) 6. Chris Hennessy (Matthews and Goodman); Brian Ricketts (Hitchcock Wright & Partners); Neil Kirkham (CBRE); Peter Hitchcock (Hitchcock Wright & Partners) 7. Nigel Hunter (Edwards & Co); Mike Tapp (Green Property); Chris Mulcahy (Jones Lang LaSalle) 8. The launch was well attended 9. Tom Leader (Green Property); Alice Lamb (head of investment services at Liverpool City Region LEP); David Lunt (Frances Hunter Project Management) 10. Jeff Porter (Liverpool Post); Tony Reed (Keppie Massie); Catherine McCarthy (Move Commercial); Chris Hennessy (Matthews & Goodman); Andrew Owen (Mason Owen) 11. Stuart Keppie (Keppie Massie) 46 MOVE COMMERCIAL
By Stephen Hurrell stephen@movepublishing.co.uk
Argent Group is overseeing the construction of two of the North West’s largest projects, One St Peter’s Square in Manchester and the £800m Airport City development. It is a hugely exciting time for the company, says partner James Heather, who is responsible for delivering both schemes.
Places for people
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1999 and spent time on projects in Birmingham, Reading and London, James is now overseeing the One St Peter’s Square project and is keen to demonstrate the site’s wider impact on the area. James says: “We’ve always tried to integrate our development into the wider cityscape. Buildings are hugely important but it’s equally important to get the public realm right and the environment right. Historically you find that streets and squares remain pretty consistent through time. The buildings around them may change a number of times over the course of history but the squares don’t. That’s why it is important to get the streets and squares right in the first place.” Work on the office and surrounding area will be completed in March 2014 and James says the topping out ceremony in September was a major milestone for the project. “It’s quite a moment in a project’s life to get to topping out.” He explained. “Then you realise you’re on your way back down again. You’ve hit the top and that’s it – you’re coming back down.” Professional service company KPMG has already agreed to let 63,000 sq ft of office space and
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Airport City is hugely exciting because you have the opportunity to create something very different for the area around the airport.
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Argent has traditionally brought its skills to larger, more difficult and more complex regeneration schemes. Having redeveloped areas of Birmingham and Kings Cross in London, it is now tasked with bringing the North West’s biggest new Grade A office space development at One St Peter’s Square and the lucrative Airport City development. For James Heather, a partner at Argent tasked with overseeing the regions outside of London, including Manchester, the firm’s success is not about individual buildings but regenerating entire areas. “There’s not many opportunities where one can change areas of cities for the better for an awful lot of people,” he explains. However, this is exactly what Argent plans to do in Manchester, starting with the £65m One St Peter’s Square development. The development at One St Peter’s Square is two and a half years in the making. The 13-floor building will deliver 243,000 sq ft of Grade A office space at the heart of the city centre and includes a partnership with the council to regenerate the square and surrounding area alongside the office development. Having joined Argent Group in
James says he was never worried about attracting tenants. He explains: “Manchester is a location where there is a proven demand. The city is robust enough and will continue to grow and build and get stronger and will be able to support something like St Peters Square.” Next up is the £800m development of Manchester Airport City, a sprawling metropolis of offices, hotels, leisure spaces and industrial units that represents one of the most ambitious new developments in the UK and is expected to take upwards of 15 years to complete. James says: “We’ve always wanted to do schemes in areas that had a proven market, had a robust and resilient market but more importantly had a leadership within the city that was prepared to encourage development and was prepared to work with people. We’ve found that to be very successful because we’ve been here in Manchester for the last 10 years or so. “Airport City is hugely exciting because you have the opportunity to create something very different for the area around the airport. I think for it to become truly sustainable it
James Heather, partner, Argent Group Mover & Shaker
will become a destination in its own right. What we’re striving to do is make it an offer that is more than a nine to five. It wants to be somewhere people will actively use from early in the morning to late in the evening and have a range of facilities that will attract people throughout the day. It can’t just be offices and hotels and the logistics side and advanced manufacturing. It needs to be all of those things woven together with the public realm and the design has to be the reason people want to come.” The team at Argent is excited by the opportunity and James insists projects like Airport City are unique opportunities to make a difference in the area. “I think it is part of the reason why you find so many of us in Argent are doing what we do. “There are very few careers one can have where you have an ability to affect, in a positive way, the environment that other people use and that’s a hugely rewarding and hugely gratifying career in that respect.” Argent is continuing to look for new opportunities in Manchester during 2014 after its initial investment in the city, but projects in Birmingham and London at Kings Cross are also on the agenda as the firm’s regeneration projects continue. With new schemes on the horizon Argent will be sticking to its philosophy of developing more than individual plots, says James. “If you feel very strongly that if you create the places and the right environment for people who actually want to work there, play there and visit as clients and customers of businesses, you create an environment that businesses want to relocate to.” MOVE COMMERCIAL 49
CLA office anniversary Key events
Photos by Peter Kelly
Beatlemania at CLA Condy Lofthouse Architects (CLA) celebrated five years in its Liverpool office with a Beatles-themed party at its Connect Business Village address. Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Gary Millar was the guest of honour at the party, where he presented the winner of a ‘Beetle’ racing game with a meal and an overnight stay in the Beatles-themed Hard Days Night Hotel. Guests also enjoyed a selection of 1960s musical hits courtesy of a local band and CLA’s four directors got into the party spirit by dressing up as the Fab Four themselves for the event. Guests, including CLA clients and consultants, were treated to food and drink served from the office’s reception area, which acted as a makeshift bar for the evening. 1
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1. There was a very big attendance 2. CLA directors Peter March, Ron White, Barry Bartlett and Andy Armstrong are joined by Lord Mayor, Cllr Gary Millar (centre) 3. Kevin Burroughs (Courtyard), Andy Armstrong (CLA), John Morris (MBE Construction), Phil Roscoe (Santander Corporate) and Andy Gibson (Deloitte) 4. Karen Mullarkey, Rose Milnes & Ruth Garrett (all of Woodlands Hospice) 5. Danielle Booth (CLA), Bruce Lister (Lovell), Sally Booth (client), Graham Bell (CLA) and Lyndsey Roberts (Douglas Fairless Partnership) 6. Lord Mayor, Cllr Gary Millar presents first prize in the ‘Beetle’ racing to Tony Cole (Castlemead Care) 7. Zoe Brooke (Whitfield & Brown), Anne King (Steven Hunt Associates), Mike Hornsby (Markhams) and Sue Patterson (GB Building Solutions) 8. Richard Maude (CLA), Rick Tarver (Knight Frank) and Glenn Mills (GB Development Solutions) 9. John Davenport (Curtins), Peter Williamson (CLA) and Keith York (Curtins) 10. Guests gather round for the ‘Beetle’ race 11. Jean Charnock, Sue Hallsworth and Brenda Summerlin (all of CLA) 12. Lord Mayor, Cllr Gary Millar enjoys the ‘Beetle’ racing
MOVE COMMERCIAL 51
Natasha Young natasha@movepublishing.co.uk
Since it was founded in 1964, Liverpool’s Everyman theatre has become widely renowned for nurturing a wealth of talent, as well as playing host to classic productions and world premieres of plays.
The Third Cathedral Having famously been a platform for some of the country’s most treasured writers and performers early on in their careers, including the likes of Julie Walters, Pete Postlethwaite, Bill Nighy and Jonathan Pryce; it’s the Everyman’s reputation for delivering quality theatre that has made it such a landmark on the city’s cultural scene. Therefore, successful programmes and well attended shows have allowed the venue to continue to thrive during the past decade, despite the building itself being in need of attention. “There’s stuff I think people assumed we had, which we didn’t,” says Gemma Bodinetz, artistic director of the Everyman and the organisation’s fellow theatre, the Playhouse. The long-standing building sits on Hope Street, which famously links the Anglican Liverpool Cathedral to the Liverpool Metropolitan 52 MOVE COMMERCIAL
Cathedral. It had previously been a Methodist hall and a temperance hall, and also a cinema before it was a theatre, and it was without air conditioning and the right facilities for disabled staff, performers and audience members, let alone any of the latest technology for theatre productions themselves. According to Deborah Aydon, the Everyman and Playhouse’s executive director, when she and Gemma first joined the organisation in 2003 a feasibility study had been done which concluded the building was already “so far gone”. Having suffered during funding cuts of the 1990s, and therefore not being strong enough to qualify for Lottery funding at a time when theatres in comparable cities managed to secure redevelopment, Deborah says: “The Everyman was getting to the point where the roof was leaking, the electrics regularly failed and we would have to cancel
performances, or I’d go onstage after an interval and apologise to the audience and say ‘we think the lights are going to stay on but if they don’t, bear with us’, so something definitely had to be done.” While the option to move the Everyman to a brand new site in a new location had been considered, the purchase of the neighbouring building in 2006 began to pave the way for the theatre to undergo a £28m redevelopment in its rightful Hope Street home, with more space to incorporate the features that it would need for generations to come. “Hope Street is such a great part of the city, it always has been,” says Deborah. “It’s that slightly bohemian centre of the city and the Everyman really helped to anchor that so it found its location, became the ‘third cathedral’ as some call it.” With the Everyman helping to
shape the cultural hub that is Hope Street, whilst its basement bistro also helped kick start the area’s reputation as a food and drink destination, it’s no wonder that the bold prospect of demolishing the renowned theatre and constructing an entirely new building was daunting, but it wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly. Robert Longthorne, the Everyman’s building development director, has been involved in the theatre’s redevelopment since the beginning, and says: “I was convinced we were doing the right thing because we looked at all the possibilities. We looked at how much we could retain of the old Everyman but in fact it was just so ridiculously difficult to retain any of the old Everyman and actually there was very little we could re-use.” The new venue is said to be three times the size of the original
Everyman theatre Founding Building
Everyman thanks to the acquisition of land behind and part of an old car park, as well as the neighbouring building and additional space being built on top. Describing it as a “new incarnation of itself that’s very contemporary and really inspiring for the future,” Deborah adds: “The new building will have rehearsal space, a small production workshop, a costume workshop, and perhaps most importantly it’ll have a big space for our education, youth and community work right in the heart of the building. We’ll have a space for writers to come and work, we can locate all of our offices there, and there’s much more room frontof-house, so really good social spaces for people to use all day and all night.” An “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” approach has been taken towards the venue’s renowned auditorium, as the wraparound style of seating
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on three sides remains. However the theatre has been modernised to allow effects such as flying in productions, and many of the 400 new comfortable velvet seats will be named after supporters of the theatre who have generously donated funds towards the project, which was mainly funded by the Arts Council England, North West Regional Development Agency and European Regional Development Fund. Whilst a spectacular welcome for the brand new environmentally sustainable and fully accessible Everyman building is being lined up for 1 March, passers-by can already see the theatre’s name in familiar red neon lights across the front. It’s just one of the features which, along with some of the old building’s bricks, the basement bistro, and the wraparound auditorium, are set to make a return to retain the spirit of the old venue.
Meanwhile a fully glazed facade replaces the Everyman’s previously “foreboding” exterior, welcoming the public into its new ground floor foyer cafe, and is also accompanied by shutters that double up as a striking portrait wall. Gemma was inspired to create the feature after seeing a 15th Century French cathedral with portraits of its builders and local villagers carved into the walls, and it features 105 photographs taken of people from across Liverpool. “We very much wanted to let people know that it’s their theatre. The name of it is such a beautiful sentiment and in a way those shutters are a declaration of the word Everyman, and woman if you like. “It’s always been a theatre for the people and of the people and putting them on the front seemed like the most beautiful way of celebrating that.” MOVE COMMERCIAL 53
Opinion Multi-use developments As town centres continue to recover from the difficult economic climate we’ve seen in recent years, multi-use developments appear to be on the rise. We ask four industry experts about the benefits of combining the likes of office space, retail and leisure space in areas once dominated by shops.
ERIC WRIGHT retail specialist and arbitrator, Hitchcock Wright & Partners says… It is no surprise to me that we have seen an increase in multi-use developments in the North West following the banking crisis and commercial property difficulties in 2007/2008. Much of the previous development had been retail led in town centres. This sector has suffered losses of value, trading companies demised and challenging increases in business rates. The entrepreneurial spirit of property developers and institutions wished to keep in train as many developments as possible. The increasingly short leases which occupiers are prepared to sign has put further difficulties in the way of funding commercial developments. The banks were reluctant to support the commercial property lending because of the difficulties of their approach to lending pre-2007. Cue the leisure industry and their willingness to sign longer leases as a crucial factor in
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securing medium to long-term funding for developments. Many larger developments completed recently have all featured this approach with varying success. Consider the largest Liverpool development completed since the crash – Liverpool ONE – where an increasing number of leisure users have filled retail units, and the original leisure area traded exceptionally well. The large development proposed at NOMA in Manchester features varied development. The Rock in Bury features a large element of leisure alongside retail which provides mixed reports. For the immediate future I see mixed use development as the most likely way of progressing commercial development in the North West region. However, the proportions and locational issues need to be carefully thought through for a successful scheme.
“The economic downturn and the growth in e-tail have together created a perfect storm, significantly reducing consumers’ propensity to spend on the high street.
“The entrepreneurial spirit of property developers and institutions wished to keep in train as many developments as possible.
TOBY SPROLL head of retail and leisure, Bruntwood says… Town centres have historically been the beating heart of conurbations; however in the rush to take advantage of consumer spend many town centres evolved into one dimensional retail locations. The economic downturn and the growth in e-tail have together created a perfect storm, significantly reducing consumers’ propensity to spend on the high street and led to the closure of many once famous names. Many centres have struggled with a downward spiral of increasing vacancy rates and shrinking footfall. There is no one size fits all solution and the reports produced by Portas and Grimsey suggest a variety of ways forward. It could be argued that town centres can now return to their original purpose of serving their local community rather than attempting to poach another’s catchment. To that end local authorities, landowners and developers have begun to take a long term view on what is
sustainable and deliverable. Indeed there is the need to rebalance the use mix and also tackle, in some cases significant, surplus retail space. It won’t be easy. Across our portfolio of 110 buildings, with over 200 retail units, we’ve had to work hard to maintain occupancy, vibrancy and amenity. We've done that successfully by mixing uses and blending independent with mainstream and learnt some important lessons along the way. So whilst a challenge, the need to transform declining retail in town centres provides a fantastic opportunity for developers like Bruntwood. Creating places for people to live, work, shop and spend their leisure time is at the heart of what we do. Multi-use gives a centre alternative uses, occupiers, footfall and, importantly longer trading periods. Those schemes which are able to successfully weave new or conversion schemes into the fabric and psyche of a centre will attract a local and sustainable audience.
Multi-use developments Opinion
EUAN BLAKE account director, Innesco says… Across Britain, towns are having a regeneration revival and with the help of private sector funding, some councils are clearly seeing the benefits for future schemes to be more sympathetic to the needs of the local community and opting for mixed use in central locations. This in turn has seen planning regulations relaxed and encouragement to convert town centre commercial space to residential bringing people back to the heart of the town – after all, without people towns don’t function. The way we as humans use towns and cities is changing and society’s constant connection to the internet delivers endless online shopping opportunities so town centre high streets now have the ultimate battle to get the mix of retail, food and leisure correct. The government’s ‘Town Centre First’ policy has been acknowledged by almost
every stakeholder in regeneration as the key priority to a town’s healthy economic future. Development projects need to consider people before profits, and town centres need to be places to live, work and enjoy life with vibrant evening economies. In my opinion more pressure and penalties should therefore be put on councils across the UK that continue to ignore ‘Town Centre First’ and approve planning applications for out-of-town developments ahead of viable town centre schemes. Simply put, the current ‘sequential testing’ of planning applications simply isn’t enough to turn the heads of those wishing to capitalise on fringe sites. If we truly want prosperous futures for our ailing town centres we must consider the core first with an aim to build sustainable communities whilst providing for their needs through collaborative mixed use projects.
“Development projects need to consider people before profits, and town centres need to be places to live, work and enjoy life with vibrant evening economies.
“Developers need to think about taking a destinationdriven approach to schemes to create attractive and functional space.
LIZA MARCO asset manager, Peel says…
The changing face of British cities is driven by complex factors including the rise of multi-channel shopping, a long-term decline of the traditional high street and a timepoor generation. At the same time we have seen a rise in the variety and quantity of leisure and lifestyle amenities – such as coffee shops and gyms. Such trends mean consumers increasingly demand multi-use destinations where they can work, shop, eat, sleep and play. Developers are meeting this change in demand and schemes such as Peel’s Princes Dock are the perfect example. In addition to three Grade A office buildings and three apartment towers, it has a health club, car parks and public transport links, two hotels, a convenience store, cafe, bars, restaurants, a children’s nursery and unique features such as a cruise liner terminal and waterfront
public space. Princes Dock is just the first phase of Liverpool Waters, a 30-year project which will create an additional 18m sq ft of space by regenerating a 60-hectare historic dockland site providing a unique mixeduse waterfront quarter in central Liverpool. However, the success of such destinations also requires pro-active management to provide safe, vibrant and wellmaintained environments by building long-term partnerships to suit occupiers and visitors. The creation of networking events, bespoke pop-up shops and provision of secure cycle storage are examples of understanding customers’ changing needs. Developers need to think about taking a destinationdriven approach to schemes to create attractive and functional space whilst finding ways of combining uses which are exciting and commercially sustainable.
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Regional round-up BLACKPOOL M65
Future’s bright for Sunlight investors
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As we glance at the latest news across the North West, we focus on the £34.5m sale of Manchester’s iconic Sunlight House office development. This Move Commercial round-up also brings developments from across the wider region, in Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
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Government grant to fund vital bridge improvements A £1.777m grant from the government’s ‘pinch point’ fund will ME help pay for a £4.5m scheme to strengthenELLESMERE and refurbish Cheshire’s Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge. The grant, which joins funding from Cheshire West and Cheshire Council and the Canal & River Trust, is said to reinforce the “importance of the bridge, both for local and strategic transport routes,” according to local councillor Lynn Riley. 56 MOVE COMMERCIAL
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International House, a three-storey headquarters HELENS LE ENS KNOWSLEY WSLoffice buildingST at Liverpool International Business Park in Speke, has been let in its entirety to Communisis UK Ltd on a 10-year lease. The 25,877 sq ft site was developed around five years ago as part of the Hurricane Court scheme.
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Bee Works sale boosts regional market
Sunlight House sold in £34.5m deal
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Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Property Trust (SWIP) has acquired prime Manchester office block, Sunlight House, from Aviva Investors for £34.5m. The iconic building, situated on the edge of Spinningfields, features 214,000 sq ft of multi-let office space and “has great income growth potential” according to Aviva.
Oldham’s 126,000 sq ft Bee Works manufacturing unit, which had a £2.35m asking price, has been sold to Patterson and Rothwell. M62 Independent property consultant Nolan Redshaw acted on behalf of a private client to complete the deal, which director Paul Nolan says is a “significant transaction for North Manchester and the regional market as a whole.”
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Warrington ALTRINCHAM INC voices concerns in HS2 response Whilst Warrington Borough Council supports high-speed rail in principle, it claims the proposed route fails to “take proper account of Warrington’s importance to the North West economy” and has also raised environmental worries. M6 Issues the council highlighted suggest the part of the route connecting Hoo Green to Bamfulrong would be “unnecessary”, would only cut journey times to Scotland by 13 minutes, and would “miss the opportunity to improve services to Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Liverpool.”
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Tuesday 25 February Properties listed are to be offered for auction at the Village Hotel Bromborough Wirral from 2pm
RESIDENTIAL REFURBISHMENT OPPORTUNITIES 1 20 Woodburn Boulevard, Bebington 2 11 Belle Vue Road, Wallasey 3 2 Harrowby Road South, Birkenhead 4 25 Kirkland Avenue, Birkenhead 5 136 Argyle Street South, Birkenhead 6 18 St Andrews Road, Bebington 7 166 Leasowe Road, Wallasey 8 18 Berkeley Drive, New Brighton 9 122a King Street, Wallasey 10 16 Shalem Court, Bebington 11 4 Devonshire Road, Prenton 12 3 Nelson Street, Wallasey
£90,000-£100,000 £25,000-£30,000 £30,000-£35,000 £75,000-£85,000 £35,000-£40,000 £145,000-£155,000 £130,000-£140,000 £125,000-£140,000 £26,000-£32,000 £70,000-£80,000 £85,000-£95,000 £120,000-£130,000
REFURBISHED COTTAGE 13 19 Heather Brow, Claughton
£115,000-£130,000
RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENTS 14 40 Tudor Road, Birkenhead 15 9 Alexandra Road, Birkenhead 16 29 Mulberry Road, Birkenhead 17 118 Vittoria Street, Birkenhead 18 15 Kinglake Road,Wallasey 19 89 Westbourne Road, Birkenhead 20 114 Crete Towers, Jason Street, Liverpool 21 17 Alwen Street, Birkenhead
£38,000-£42,000 £120,000-£140,000 £30,000-£35,000 £38,000-£42,000 £160,000-£175,000 £130,000-£140,000 £45,000-£50,000 £45,000-£55,000
COMMERCIAL INVESTMENTS 22 58 Upton Road, Claughton 23 744 Borough Road, Prenton 24 118 Victoria Road, New Brighton
£45,000-£55,000 £90,000-£100,000 £125,000-£140,000
GROUND RENTS 25 64, 70, 72, 74, 76 Kensington, Liverpool
£30,000-£35,000
VACANT COMMERCIAL 26 166 Borough Road, Wallasey 27 108 Ford Road, Upton
£25,000-£30,000 £60,000-£65,000
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES 28 54-56 Park Road South, Birkenhead 29 Land at Exmouth Gardens, Birkenhead 30 Land at Albion Street, Birkenhead
Properties subject to being sold or withdraw prior.
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£75,000-£90,000 £45,000-£55,000 £90,000-£100,000
Move Commercial Events Mar Apr
EVENT PLANNER
Our pick of the best local events
7 FEB
12 FEB
13 FEB
25 FEB
RICS NIP 4 Lunch North West Grand Junction Retail Park, Crewe
RICS NIP 4 Lunch North West Frankie & Benny’s, The Valley, Bolton
A tour of ‘The Florence Institute’ Liverpool
Early evening supper CROMA, Manchester 6pm
Join the matrics Merseyside & Cheshire for this amazing tour of 'The Florence Institute'.
The Association of Women in Property oversee an informal networking supper at CROMA.
Forge new business links and expand your contacts by attending NiP4Lunch (Networking in Property), with lunches being held in the North West.
Bolton plays host to the NiP4Lunch series of events. PICK OF THE MONTH
21 MAR
13 MAR
18 MAR
Cannes Do Exchange Station, Liverpool
28 MAR
GMBizExpo 2014 Hilton Deansgate
Liverpool Business Fair Liverpool Football Club
This Greater Manchester business exhibition will have 120 exhibiting businesses on hand, along with free seminars and a chance to network amongst more than 600 other visitors.
This annual event, now in its 12th year, regularly attracts around 70 exhibitors and more than 700 business visitors as it provides information for start-ups through to established businesses.
This popular fixture on the commercial property calendar, sponsored by Move Commercial, is back for another year. Organised by Professional Liverpool, its set to feature Malcolm Lord and Willie Miller, with the perfect opportunity to network.
Financial Liverpool March 2014 Talk – Barnett Waddingham Deutsche Bank, Liver Building, Liverpool From 12pm Financial Liverpool will host its March Talk with guest speaker Barnet Waddingham, followed by networking and a buffet lunch.
Liverpool gets set for MIPIM return As the popular Cannes Do gets set to take place in Liverpool for another year, with tickets selling out faster than ever, the city is making its return to the original MIPIM event in France. With previous decisions to scale back Liverpool’s presence at the Cannesbased event, which is regarded as one of the world’s biggest and most important events on the property industry calendar, Liverpool hasn’t appeared at MIPIM since 2011. Instead, a previous award-winning involvement in the World Expo in Shanghai led to the city focusing its
promotional efforts on hosting big business conferences in Liverpool and through the Liverpool in London HQ. Now the city will return to MIPIM with a stand in the Riviera Hall from 11-14 March, and Sean Beech, senior partner at the Liverpool office of professional services firm Deloitte, which is leading the delegation says: “Almost every city in the UK attends MIPIM and Liverpool has to be there to make the right business connections. “The private sector has to lead but it is critical that the city supports us as we build momentum towards the
International Festival for Business and into the future beyond 2014. “We can’t compete with the growth of London, but can work hard in a unified way to encourage others to relocate to and invest in our city.” Brabners, Bruntwood, Castlewood Property Management Ltd, Countryside Properties, Grosvenor, Harcourt Developments and Liverpool Business Improvement District are also among the delegation which will showcase the city’s offer. For further details visit www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/mipim
Jeff Gillbanks is a member of the Liverpool in MIPIM steering board, which has been leading the campaign for the city’s return to the city. Also part of the delegation Jeff, a partner and regional head of real estate at Liverpool and Manchester Brabners LLP, explains the importance of the event. He says: “MIPIM provides
Liverpool with an invaluable opportunity to further enhance its reputation on the international stage. It is the ideal platform to highlight Liverpool’s growth as a major European city and develop relationships with key investors, developers, funds and decision makers in the commercial property industry which is essential to securing future business and opportunities for the city.
“It is vital that Liverpool is there, in our opinion questions could be raised if the city did not have a presence at the event.” Jeff adds: “The private sector partners will introduce a different dynamic to Liverpool’s presence at the world’s biggest property event. Liverpool is home to a range of world class private sector business opportunities and by combining our knowledge,
Jeff Gillbanks
connections and expertise we can demonstrate that the city has the confidence, ability and infrastructure to be a hub for a wide range of investments. The MIPIM delegation is evidence of the city's commitment to the development of the property sector and in continuing to showcase Liverpool on an international stage.”
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Cities Outlook
Cities Outlook, compiled by Centre for Cities, has become the authoritative point of reference for the UK’s city economy over the past seven years. Whilst the 2014 publication focuses especially on London, it discusses in depth the relationship the capital has with other cities and highly-populated towns within the UK.
Region on the Rise Whilst London remains a city with great gravitational pull on the economy, there were indicators of much encouragement for the North West region in this year’s report. Move Commercial presents a breakdown of the Cities Outlook 2014 figures and insight affecting the North West commercial markets.
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Birkenhead • Birkenhead has the eighth lowest carbon emission per capita at 4.7. It is also the only city in the North to be rated as having ‘low’ carbon emissions. • The people of Birkenhead are officially one of the most positive in the UK - the area recorded the sixth largest increase in life satisfaction at 3.6% change. The average change for the nation was only a 0.5% increase.
Liverpool • Liverpool is among the top 10 cities in the UK with the highest net growth in jobs. Liverpool is ranked at number five just behind Manchester but ahead of Nottingham and Leeds. • This net growth in jobs is surprising due to the huge cuts in the public sector. Private sector jobs compensated for this, with 12,800 in total. • Only two large cities saw their average weekly wage rise between 2012 and 2013 in real terms - Liverpool was one (Newcastle was the other). • Liverpool, like Manchester, also benefited from a large net-inflow of people from non-city areas moving to large city areas, in order to study at university.
Cities Outlook
Warrington • For overall economic performance, Warrington has dramatically improved over the past five years. In 2008-2009 the city was ranked as 54th place in the UK, then rose to 25th (2009-2012) and is now ranked an impressive 10th (2009 -13). This is based on a number of measures, including: changes in jobs; work-place weekly wages; the size of the business base and house values. • Ranked third overall for employment rate at 77.5% over the past 12 months. This demonstrates a 2.3% improvement since last year’s report.
Manchester • Fourth highest figure for combined private and public job sector in the whole of the UK. • Manchester is the only city outside of London that is demonstrating any sort of faster career progression than the UK average. • Good news for budding entrepreneurs business start-ups of 44 per 10,000 population in 2012 is higher than the national average of 42. • The net inflow of students into large cities, such as Manchester, from non-city areas was three and a half times higher than the inflow from all other cities combined.
• With 3.7 private sector jobs to each public sector, Warrington has the fifth most favourable ratio in the country. Just one third of UK cities had a better than national average of a ratio of 2.7 to one. • In terms of both employment rates and private sector jobs growth, Warrington is ranked seventh. • The population of Warrington earns on average £507 per week, the highest in the North West and 10th highest in the UK. • A 2.7% increase in overall job growth over the past two months is the 10th best in the UK. • Warrington entered the top 10 for the first time in terms of business start-up rates. Based on start-ups for 2012, Warrington was ranked 10th.
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Expert views Ask the panel
Will the Autumn Statement 2013 have a significant impact on North West growth? When the Chancellor, George Osborne delivered his Autumn Statement to Parliament in December he insisted “Britain’s economic plan is working, but the job is not done,” and set out further economic reforms. We ask four industry experts how the North West will be affected by the changes.
Although plans announced within the Autumn Statement to cap business rates represent positive action, the real problem remains the government's decision to delay the revaluation by two years to 2017. As a consequence, for a further two years, rate liabilities remain based on a 2008 peak market and will continue to reflect none of the subsequent recessionary impact until 2017. I question why fundamental reform, with all the uncertainty that then arises, such as the big tax winners and losers, is necessary when a 2015 revaluation and more frequent later revaluations would help to put fairness back into the system. By reinstating the 2015 revaluation and taking action in the region's hard-pressed areas where business bankruptcy has increased vacancy levels to all-time highs, the government will truly help growth within the North West. Duncan Harkness, director, GVA
UK construction will benefit from investment of £375bn in infrastructure over the next 20 years, designed to drive economic activity and new development. Unfortunately most is outside the North West so the benefits will be knock-on effects rather than direct. It does, however, boost confidence in the market and it’s telling that six major insurance companies have agreed to invest £25m in infrastructure over five years. If our investment fund clients are looking to spend and PPI is making a comeback, this could signal a new funding stream to support development across the region Another significant step is help for small business with the 2% cap on business rate increase and £1,000 discount, and encouraging businesses into vacant high street units with a 50% reduction in rates for the first
Among the announcements from the Government was news it is providing £18m to fund play facilities for 600 primary schools. As part of our role as consultants to Sport England, we will be writing the design guidance and procurement strategy for the initiative so the statement's direct impact on us
year. Any assistance for occupiers will help to reduce defaults and encourage new firms to take leases, helping to keep professional advisors busy. Andy Williams, partner at Powell Williams
is very positive. More generally, the feeling is the statement had good intentions, but the delivery will be critical. This is a wounded industry and for obvious reasons people are skeptical about any new announcement until the detail has been examined and the funding is actually allocated. There was a pledge to spend money on infrastructure and schools. Both require significant and ongoing investment, and provide sustained work for all parts of the construction sector. With the new PFI, PF2, set to development, it is hoped this will stimulate the banks to lend. Now the industry holds its breath to see what will actually come to fruition. Steve Burne, managing director of AEW Architects and member of the property and construction board at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
The stand-out measure concerned Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA) - a 100% tax relief for building costs in certain disadvantaged areas to help bring derelict or unused properties back into use. Liverpool city centre qualifies and was used to tighten up its rules. The government will proceed with legislation to clarify that only actual costs of construction, building work and certain other specified activities will qualify for BPRA. Previously, associated costs have been claimed. New rules, for example, don’t specify project management costs as allowable. Such non-specified costs, and others not listed in the legislation, will only be allowed in total up to a maximum of 5% of the build cost. Works will need to be completed within 24 months. The legislation will also put beyond doubt that expenditure incurred on a building that hasn’t been empty for a year doesn’t qualify for relief. A lot has rightly been made about business rate increases being capped at 2%, instead of being linked to inflation. It’s one of several measures designed to help small businesses and the high street. Business rates were set to rise by 3.2% next year. The change could cut about £1,000 from their rates bill. Firms will also be allowed to pay rates in monthly installments. Neil Sturmey, head of office at Grant Thornton Liverpool