Council’s plans to buy Freshney Place move a step closer
A plan for Freshney Place Shopping Centre to be bought by North East Lincolnshire Council has moved a step closer, following approval at the Council’s Cabinet meeting yesterday [22 June 2022].
The Grimsby centre went into receivership earlier this year, and the deadline for bids for its sale closed on Tuesday [21 June 2022]. The council has confirmed a bid has been submitted but the final decision to purchase the centre must have Full Council approval. The plan will be discussed at a special meeting in July.
Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of the Council, said: “It is vital that we take this course of action to make sure we can continue to deliver our transformation of the urban heart of Grimsby. If we don’t buy the centre, it could be bought by someone who is unwilling to invest and the decline of the heart of our town centre would be devastating.”
The centre makes up 60 per cent of the town centre’s retail offer, supporting one in five jobs within that area.
“The move to secure the centre will safeguard a critical part of Grimsby town centre’s economic and community infrastructure,” continued Cllr Jackson. “Ensuring it retains a competitive retail and service offer is key to safeguarding up to 1,700 jobs within Freshney Place and Top Town Market.
“If this is approved, subject to due diligence, we would be looking to appoint external asset managers with significant experience to run the centre on a day-to-day basis with the council taking an ‘arms-length’ approach.
“To enable this regeneration to continue, Freshney Place, a huge space in our town centre, must have a stable future. If this becomes Council-owned, this would mean that we could take Freshney Place into account when we’re looking at the transformation of the whole of our town centre, potentially bringing in different offers, using the centre in different and more modern ways to reduce its current over-reliance on retail.”
Grant funding from Central Government, including the Towns Fund, has already seen significant transformation in the town centre with projects still under way. These include Garth Lane, St James Square, the new Onside Horizon Youth Zone and the conversion of St James House into an E-Factor Group businesses centre and hub.
The plan, if approved by Full Council, is to acquire Freshney Place using the national Future High Streets Fund (FHSF) money. The Council would then bid for replacement money to continue the FHSF work at the western end of Freshney Place and Victoria Street through the ‘LUF (Levelling Up Funds) Round Two’ process.
Nottingham retail park snapped up in £15m deal
Custodian REIT, the property investment company, has acquired a Nottingham retail park for £15 million.
The 70,160 sq ft retail park consists of four units occupied by Wickes, Matalan, Poundland and KFC, with nearby retailers including Tesco, Morrisons, Lidl and McDonald’s.
The units have a weighted average unexpired term to first break or expiry of 9 years with an aggregate passing rent of £994,050 per annum, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.21%.
Commenting on the acquisition, Richard Shepherd-Cross, Managing Director of Custodian Capital Limited (the company’s discretionary investment manager), said: “Well located retail warehouses let off low rents are complementary to online retailing and have remained in demand during the restructuring of the retail market.
“This purchase, which was agreed off-market at an attractive net initial yield, offers long income from a very strong tenant line up with opportunities to enhance rents by developing a drive-through restaurant and installing electric vehicle charging points.”
Greater Lincolnshire LEP “encourages everyone in the property sector to make a nomination” for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022
The chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP is encouraging “everyone in the property sector” to make a nomination for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022, to “highlight the work of an outstanding property professional or business.”
“The property sector has been quite resilient throughout the pandemic and it’s good to see the East Midlands Bricks Awards helping to build confidence in the economy,” said Pat Doody, chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
“These prestigious awards play an important role in showcasing the excellent work of our property sector in the East Midlands, but they need your help. I would like to encourage everyone in the property sector to make a nomination and highlight the work of an outstanding property professional or business.”
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If you haven’t submitted your nominations yet, now is the ideal time.
The East Midlands Bricks Awards celebrate the region’s property and construction industry, its people, and exceptional developments, and provide the perfect opportunity to shine a light on your team, reward their hard work, and boost morale. Winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday 15 September, at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground – an evening that will also provide plenty of time to forge new contacts with property and construction professionals from across the region. To submit a business or development for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022, please click on a category link below or visit this page.- Most active estate agent
- Commercial development of the year
- Responsible business of the year
- Residential development of the year
- Developer of the year
- Deal of the year
- Architects of the year
- Excellence in design
- Sustainable development of the year
- Contractor of the year
- Overall winner (this award cannot be entered, the winner will be selected from those nominated)
Book your tickets now
Tickets can now be booked for the awards event – click here to secure yours. The special awards evening and networking event will be held on 15 September 2022 in the Derek Randall Suite at the Trent Bridge County Cricket Club from 4:30pm – 7:30pm. Connect with local decision makers over canapés and complimentary drinks while applauding the outstanding companies and projects in our region. The event will also welcome John Forkin MBE DL, Managing Director at award-winning investment promotion agency Marketing Derby, as keynote speaker, as well as award-winning mind reader, magician, and professional mentalist Looch, who will bewilder and astonish guests during the evening’s networking. Dress code is standard business attire.
To be held at:
Bid for £40m ‘Levelling Up’ Link Road confirmed
Nottinghamshire County Council is preparing a bid worth approximately £40m to fund the planned Toton Link Road as part of the government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda.
It follows the council formally taking the key decision to apply to the Levelling Up Fund for the multi-million-pound sum needed to build the ‘transformative’ road, which would unlock jobs, housing and business growth.
Plans for the link road were rubber-stamped by county councillors last year – with pre-construction work already underway – but it is hoped that a solid bid to the Levelling Up Fund will lead to the government fully financing it. A decision is expected in October.
Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Ben Bradley MP, said: “The Toton Link Road is a transformative project – the council will be putting a strong, clear case to government for the £40m needed to construct the road from the Levelling Up Fund.
“The ripple effect of the Toton Link Road will be huge, including being an attractive asset for the development of homes and commercial space in our county.
“It will play a vital role in Nottinghamshire’s economic future by unlocking vital job, housing and investment opportunities in the years to come.
“I know big picture transport schemes are critical to levelling up plans – I’m hoping that the Toton Link Road will fit the government’s ambitious agenda, and we will secure funding for this major infrastructure project here in Nottinghamshire.”
In its application to the Levelling Up Fund, the council will outline how the new, multi-connected boulevard will make a direct contribution to Nottinghamshire’s economic growth.
This will include boosting local transport, with the link road planned to be built alongside the A52 and M1, giving direct access to the NET tram network and the potential new Network Rail station at Toton outlined in the Integrated Rail Plan.
Cabinet member for economic development and asset management, Councillor Keith Girling, says the council will be submitting a ‘robust case’ for funding from the government to build the link road.
He said: “Both Councillor Bradley and I are looking forward to submitting a robust application to Levelling Up Fund, so we can secure the £40m we think we deserve here in Nottinghamshire.
“The transport benefits of the Toton Link Road are countless, connecting our residents to multiple forms of travel, which will ease congestion.”
As part of its bid for the £40m, the council will explain how the Toton Link Road will enable wider plans for growth that are being worked up by the East Midlands Development Company (DevCo).
The DevCo has been setup by five local authorities to coordinate development around the Toton-Chetwynd corridor, Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station area and the East Midlands Airport area.
Richard Carr, Managing Director of the DevCo believes that the county council’s Levelling Up Fund bid can ‘accelerate progress’ at Toton and Chetwynd.
He said: “The county council’s application for levelling-up funding for the link road is a major opportunity for the DevCo to accelerate progress at Toton and Chetwynd.
“The Toton Link Road will open up the prospect of high-quality development, delivering benefits from community to economy level.
“The link road is an important part of our plans, as we bring forward proposals across our three sites which could create 84,000 jobs and add £4.8bn to the value of the East Midlands economy.”
It is hoped that the DevCo will soon gain statutory powers, after the government flagged the East Midlands’ case for a new type of development corporation in its Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill as an ‘expedient’ mechanism for council areas to join forces and deliver growth.
Councillor Bradley added: “I’m excited how the link road is vital to the East Midlands Development Corporation’s ambitions to supercharge our regional economy.
“The DevCo is planning a once-in-a-generation programme which will deliver benefits from community to economy level, and both our county and our region can reap the rewards.”
Skateboarding space to form part of Broad Marsh redevelopment
Plans have been unveiled to create a skateboarding area as part of the huge changes under way to reimagine the Broad Marsh area.
The project, announced in the week of International Go Skateboarding Day (Tuesday 21), is a collaboration between Nottingham City Council, Skate Nottingham and Skateboard GB.
It is planned for Sussex Street and will be an all-weather, well-lit space surrounded by a perimeter ledge between the skate area and the pedestrian footpath.
This ‘blank canvas’ will then be filled with several modular pieces of skateable street furniture, designed and built with Betongpark, a specialist firm responsible for recent skateboarding installations at Somerset House and The Strand, in London.
Work has started and is hoped to be completed by the autumn.
The City Council and Skate Nottingham have been working with a wide range of local and international experts to develop plans for the space as part of the wider Sussex Street development in front of the new Nottingham College building.
This has undergone a complete makeover through Transforming Cities-funded improvements to streets around the new Broad Marsh car park, bus station and Central Library building.
It has been turned from a piece of scrubland beneath the tram viaduct and an unwelcoming pedestrian route into a pleasant space with plenty of plants and grass, paved areas, large tables and seating and amphitheatre steps.
These will lead up to Collin Street which will become a new public space alongside the former shopping centre site with its exciting vision for redevelopment.
More than 100 local young people participated in a design project for the new skateboarding area which culminated in a film for the 2021 Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity.
They were mentored by engineer Bedir Bekar, from Pryce & Meyers and University College London, and designer Rich Holland, whose ‘HomeCourt’ skate landscape for Nike’s European headquarters was shortlisted for the prestigious ArchDaily Building of the Year Award 2022.
The area will be noticeably different from a traditional ‘skatepark’ because items of skateable street furniture will be mobile as the Broad Marsh plan develops. This fits into the wider feel of Sussex Street with a flexible events area, basketball hoops and outdoor public seating.
Skate Nottingham has been awarded a National Lottery Awards For All grant of almost £10,000 to fund an ambitious programme of activities from the site, including free weekly beginners and women and girls-only skateboard sessions. It will also launch a Crowdfunder UK campaign to finance the installation of the street furniture.
Partners will also work to maximise the careers, personal development and employability benefits for Nottingham young people involved in the project, including work experience and further study. Local sports retailer Supereight will partner with DC Shoes to support an opening event.
Councillor David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council and portfolio holder for strategic regeneration and development, said: “This is a really forward-thinking project for our young people to get involved with and, when completed, will help to further enhance this key part of the Broad Marsh area.
“Sussex Street is taking shape quickly and has been totally transformed. Walking up into town from Canal Street now is a pleasant experience and we know what a difference it makes for students working out of the new college campus.
“Introducing a skateboard space fits in perfectly with the wider, more contemporary feel of the area and we look forward to seeing how it develops over the coming months.”
James Hope-Gill, CEO of Skateboard GB, said: “This is incredibly exciting, one year on from Team GB’s Olympic skateboarding medal.
“Cities like Nottingham taking the initiative to design skateboarding into a wider development that encourages socialising, urban sports and active play is really innovative, and helps us imagine how town centres can recover and re-invent themselves in exciting and inclusive ways while enabling more children and adults to Skate More, Skate Better.”
Property consultancies merge to create £60m turnover business
Two independent property consultancies have announced a merger to create one of the largest providers of multi-disciplinary property services in the UK, with a turnover approaching £60 million and 29 offices.
Fisher German – which has its head office in Ashby – and Matthews & Goodman have joined forces, combining their 750 employees into a single firm which will retain the Fisher German name.
The announcement comes after negotiations between the two firms reached their final stages following months of positive discussions.
Matthews & Goodman, established almost 160 years ago, is a multi-disciplinary commercial property consultancy specialising in acquisition and disposal of property assets, building consultancy, business rates, investment, lease consultancy, property management and valuation.
It employs around 80 people in Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, London and Manchester with a turnover of almost £9 million.
Fisher German’s property management, consultancy and advisory services cover the full property spectrum including commercial, rural, development, residential, sustainable energy, and infrastructure.
The firm advises on and manages a wide range of client portfolios on behalf of blue-chip companies, pension funds, private landowners, utility companies, national charities, local authorities and government agencies.
It has continued to grow both organically and through acquisitions, most recently with the merger of Vine Property Management which was completed in April 2021.
The firm has around 650 colleagues working across 25 UK-based offices from Glasgow to Exeter, with a head office in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
Andrew Bridge, managing partner at Fisher German, said there were clear similarities between the firms which attracted both parties to working together.
He said: “What we share with Matthews & Goodman is a long history dating back to the mid-nineteenth century, a collaborative approach to working with our colleagues and clients, and a proven track record of winning and retaining some of the UK’s biggest property portfolios.
“Matthews & Goodman not only shares our vision and values, but also brings with it a highly-motivated team of commercial property experts to match our own.
“Together, we can offer unrivalled property advice across urban and rural settings and maximise the return on investment to our clients through the benefit of our multi-disciplinary services.”
James Routledge, head of investment at Matthews & Goodman, said: “This merger is much more than a marriage of cultures, capabilities, client management philosophes and ambitions.
“Together, we will have a far greater client offer – access to more experts, more professional services, in more markets. In addition, the prospects for existing talent in both firms and those who have yet to join us, is enormous.
“Our clients’ access to a creative entrepreneurial culture, underpinned by the breadth of skills, experience and expertise has now been increased quite significantly, and our collective offer is grounded by both companies’ proven heritage.”
Specialist investor purchases second phase of Nottingham £30m mixed-use development
A specialist investor in UK logistics sites has purchased the second phase of a £30 million mixed-use development in Nottingham.
Northwood Urban Logistics acquired the first phase of trade units last November at Teal Park, off the Colwick Loop Road in Netherfield, which has been jointly developed by Warwickshire-based AC Lloyd Commercial (ACL) and Nottingham-based Henry Davidson Developments (HDD), and is now fully occupied.
Toolstation, Screwfix, Howdens, Trent Valley Windows, Trent Vehicle Charging, Karcher UK and Paintwell occupy phase 1 of the 35,270 sq ft trade park.
The second phase, which consists of six trade units ranging from 2,357 sq ft to 4,359 sq ft, has been acquired by Northwood Urban Logistics from AC Lloyd Commercial and HDD.
This phase, totalling 21,241 sq ft, is located directly opposite the first phase with car-parking and an access road separating the two banks of trade units.
The third and final phase consists of six larger employment units which range from 9,590 sq ft up to 31,470 sq ft and is set for completion during early Q4 this year.
Mark Edwards, Managing Director at AC Lloyd Commercial, said demand was strong because there remained a lack of high-quality trade units in Nottingham.
“Teal Park has been a real success story for AC Lloyd Commercial and this latest announcement underlines our commitment to delivering a premium mixed-use site for businesses and the local community,” he said.
“Work is now underway on the third and final phase of creating Teal Park which we hope to complete this autumn.”
Iain Taylor, director at Northwood Urban Logistics, said: “Enquiries remain strong at Teal Park since the market for trade units of this size remains on the up particularly when you add in Nottingham’s excellent transport links with the rest of the UK.”
Bridge Help strengthens team with another appointment
Tracey Vaughan is the latest appointment to Bridge Help’s business development team.
Following her appointment, Chesterfield-based bridging loan provider, Bridge Help now boasts an all-female business development team, bucking the trend in the male-dominated financial services industry.
Tracey, who hails from the company’s base in Chesterfield, brings more than 20 years of sales experience to the role. Within the role, she will be offering guidance and support to help manage broker and lender relationships across England and Wales.
The company has continued to grow since its inception in 2017, filling a gap in the market for bespoke bridging loan products for complex deals. Her appointment follows a successful first half of 2022 and comes hot on the heels of the appointment of Tina Panayi in April.
Tracey commented on her new role: “I just knew this is what I was looking for. It’s an inviting, helpful and professional team providing a bespoke service. There’s a strong focus on relationships and a really good team spirit – I wanted to be a part of it and grow with them.
“The whole team is lovely and I’m excited to see what the future holds and just can’t wait to get going, I think we’re going to be a great fit.”
Tracey joins from phs Group where she was a field account manager. She brings extensive experience in relationship development to her new role at Bridge Help.
Chris Sellars, Chief Executive of Bridge Help, commented on Tracey’s arrival: “We’re thrilled to welcome Tracey to the team – she’s local and really understands the importance of building relationships, which is what we’re all about at Bridge Help. With her strong sales background and extensive range of experience, I’m sure it’s going to be a great fit for all involved.”
East Midlands entrepreneurs exercise caution as R3 research reveals region has one of lowest number of start-ups in UK
Latest research from the Midlands branch of national insolvency and restructuring body R3 reveals a cautious month for new businesses in the East Midlands with a total of 2,341 start-ups registered in May, one of the lowest numbers for any region in the UK.
According to R3’s report, which is based on an analysis of data from business intelligence provider Creditsafe, only Wales, the North East and Northern Ireland had fewer start-up businesses last month at 1,798, 1,509 and 798 respectively.
R3 Midlands vice-chair Stephen Rome said: “These statistics highlight the effect that continuing economic challenges and uncertainty are having on entrepreneurs in the East Midlands, as they seek to minimise their exposure.
“Business opportunities are being threatened because companies face trading amidst rising inflation, contracting economies, spiralling fuel, energy and wage costs, and consumer confidence at a near historic low.
“With such economic uncertainty, our advice to any director worried about the viability of their business, start-up or otherwise, is to seek professional help and to do it as soon as possible. The sooner support is sought, the more opportunities there may be to assure a company’s survival and future success.”
Works starts on over 120 new council homes in Nottingham
The diggers are on site and work has kicked off in Bestwood to build 129 new council homes.
The homes, which are being built on land off Beckhampton Road, will consist of one, two and three bed properties, including homes, flats and wheelchair accessible bungalows. All of which are in high demand from local families in the Bestwood area.
They are being built on behalf of Nottingham City Council by Nottingham City Homes and construction partners Lovell Homes and they will go to Nottingham households on the local council house waiting list at affordable rents.
These will be energy efficient and low cost to run and they are the latest homes being built as part of the Building a Better Nottingham project, which has already seen over 680 new council houses built to date.
The site used to be a playing field for the former Padstow School, which closed more than a decade ago, but after consulting with Sports England, the field was no longer required for its former use and has been released for housing. However, nearly half of the site will be kept and improved for publicly accessible green open space.
The homes will be built over a two-year phase, with Pelham Architects designing the site.
Cllr Toby Neal, portfolio holder for housing and human resources at Nottingham City Council, said: “Nottingham needs a mix of all different types of housing and we believe these homes, flats and wheelchair accessible bungalows will help to meet some of this demand in Bestwood.
“Building, warm, safe, and energy efficient new homes, not only regenerates sites which are no longer fit for purpose, but also encourages investment, creates jobs and helps to support local supply chain businesses.
“We’re really proud to see the start of works to build much needed council homes for affordable rent and it is just as important that we create green and open space, which the whole community can enjoy.”
Nick Murphy, Chief Executive at Nottingham City Homes, said: “It’s always an exciting time when we start on site at a new development, plus this is one of our biggest and most important new builds to date so there is a real buzz about it.
“We have listened to our residents and looked at the council house waiting list and these type of properties are the ones most in demand in Bestwood. So, by working with partners, we are hoping to meet some of that need by creating these 129 safe, warm and modern homes. We look forward to seeing these fantastic homes take shape and to see the newly created larger green spaces being used by all the community.”
