NEWSFLASH 16th March 2015
Peel Land & Property has submitted plans for a 100,000 sq ft office building at Princes Dock as part of the Liverpool Waters
project. A detailed planning application has been lodged for the eight-storey building, the first such submission since Liverpool
Waters received outline consent in November 2013. Announcing the application at Mipim, Peel director Lindsey Ashworth also
confirmed a deal has been struck with developer Moda Living to bring forward a 40-storey tower containing 325 apartments. In
addition, terms have been provisionally agreed to develop a 150-bedroom hotel, 40 associated managed apartments and a further
100 apartments on three of the remaining 88 waterfront plots.
Peel Land & Property has unveiled plans for a massive mixed-use development scheme to be known as Trafford Waters. The
development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Trafford, will combine up to 3,000 flats and nearly 900,000 sq ft of
offices, shops and leisure buildings. Peel has laced the scheme with green corridors and waterways and said the proposal
represents an investment of £1bn. It will formally submit a planning application this month after public consultation got underway
today. Trafford Waters will be linked to the intu Trafford Centre by a Green Bridge, providing residents, employees and visitors with
easy access to the bus station and Metrolink stop.
Plans have been revealed at Mipim for work to start at Airport City Manchester this summer on a speculative 75,000 sq ft office
scheme. Manchester Airports Group said the decision reflected its confidence in the strength of the occupier market in the region.
The building is expected to be ready for occupation by the end of 2016. The developer also recently revealed plans to build a
speculative logistics scheme at the site. The new office scheme will be built alongside a 350 bedroom hotel which has already been
granted planning permission. Over the next 10 years, Airport City Manchester is expected to deliver 5m sq ft of office, logistics,
hotel, retail, and advanced manufacturing space. Airport City Manchester is a joint venture between Manchester Airport Group,
Carillion, Beijing Construction Engineering Group and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund. Argent is development manager.
Birmingham City Council is embarking on a £500m plan to redevelop a 35-acre site in the city centre over 10 years. The
Birmingham Smithfield project was launched at Mipim last week and will comprise more than 1m sq ft of offices and 1,000 homes
alongside markets and leisure facilities. It is hoped that niche and specialist traders will be attracted to the markets and supplement
the high street brands located in the nearby Bullring centre. Birmingham’s Midland Metro tram system will be integrated into the
site will link the scheme to the proposed high speed rail terminal at Curzon nearby.
Architects claim to have devised a “no shadow” skyscraper which could be a solution to the problem of vast buildings blotting out
the sun. The London-based firm has produced designs for a pair of precisely-aligned towers with curved and angled façades which
reflect light down onto the street below. In theory, one of the towers would reflect sunlight into the shadow of its sister tower,
reducing the area of shade caused by the project as a whole. Skyscrapers often face problems securing planning permission
because of their impact on the surrounding cityscape. One main objection is the literally chilling impact they can have on the
nearby environment, casting shadows that can stretch for half a mile or more at sunset. A new method of reducing this impact –
potentially making it easier to win planning permission - is expected to be attractive to developers. The designs have been created
by NBBJ, a worldwide architectural practice with an office in London, which has developed buildings for Cambridge University,
Google, Amazon and Microsoft. A spokesman for the company said: “The ‘No Shadow Tower’ redirects sunlight to visibly reduce
shadows at the base of the towers by 60 per cent over typical buildings, providing more daylight for pedestrians and people in
nearby buildings.” NBBJ produced their theoretic designs for a site on the Greenwich peninsula in south-east London, near to the
former Millennium Dome.
Carillion will develop an £80m mixed-use scheme in Leeds after the Homes & Communities Agency selected the contractor as
preferred bidder. The proposals for Tower Works include more than 90,000 sq ft of commercial space, 20,000 sq ft of retail space
and 147 residential units. Carillion are due to start work in January 2016. The site is in Holbeck Urban Village, a major part of the
South Bank regeneration area in Leeds.
Retail developer Intu has unveiled plans to revamp its shopping centre in the heart of Milton Keynes. The proposals for the
shopping centre, expected to cost more than £70m, include more shops, a new dining quarter, green spaces for families to relax at
lunchtime and a five-screen boutique cinema. Work on the 430,000 sq ft complex will focus on remodelling the centrally connected,
Midsummer Boulevard area.
Boxpark is to develop a new shopping mall, Boxpark Marketplace, using 80 refurbished shipping containers in Croydon. Boxpark,
which opened the world’s first pop-up mall in Shoreditch, East London in 2011, has teamed up with Croydon Council, Schroder UK
Real Estate Fund (SREF) and Stanhope to bring forward a new Boxpark at Ruskin Square, Croydon. Work on Boxpark Croydon is set
to begin immediately with an opening scheduled for summer 2016. In line with its Shoreditch forerunner, Boxpark Croydon will
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focus on small independent retailers to create a unique shopping and dining experience. Work is already underway at Ruskin
Square, SREF and Stanhope’s £500m, two million sq ft mixed-use scheme, with Places For People appointed to build and manage the
construction of the first residential phase of 161 new homes, due to be completed in 2016. In total, Ruskin Square is set to create up
to 1.25 million sq ft of office accommodation, 625 new homes and more than 100,000 sq ft of retail, cafe and restaurant space.
Premier Inn has struck a deal with Quintain on a 312-bedroom hotel at the Wembley Park scheme in north west London. The
budget hotel operator has taken the property for 25 years and has committed around £30m to the lease and fit-out costs, subject to
planning. Premier Inn has conducted a string of deals in the capital recently which saw it add approximately 1,800 bedrooms to its
secured development pipeline in London during 2014/15.
Planning approval has been given by Fylde Council for a new stadium and complex for AFC Fylde, which is set for completion
early next year. The new £18m, 6,000 capacity stadium will have 2,000 seats, bar, restaurant, nursery, executive boxes, offices and
a function room. This is a major boost to this ambitious club, which intends to gain promotion into the Football League within 10
years. This stadium will allow the club and programme of community activities to grow. Also on the site will be the offices of a local
firm, an ALDI supermarket, hotel, pub/restaurant, food outlet and petrol station.
Aberdeen City Council is to consider plans for the £7m restoration of Aberdeen’s much-loved Music Hall, including a new studio
and auditorium. Aberdeen Performing Art’s (APA) - the company which operates the iconic venue alongside His Majesty’s Theatre
and The Lemon Tree - now has pledges in place totalling £4.9m for the £7m project. The funding will be used to upgrade, restore
and conserve the Music Hall and a key aim is to improve access and freedom of movement around the building for all users. The
plans also include creating a new studio space and new creative learning space; restoring and renovating the auditorium; improving
artists’ accommodation; creating a new box office and making the 155-year-old building more environmentally friendly.
New Forest District Council is to consider plans for the £2m expansion of the St Barbe museum and art gallery in Lymington. The
scheme includes a new frontage and terraced seating area, and a new easily-accessible public archive with a wide range of
interactive displays are also proposed.
Titanic Quarter has revealed plans to develop a new Titanic Exhibition Centre (TEC) which will be Belfast’s largest dedicated
exhibition venue. A planning proposal for a 6,000 square metre, temporary building on the Queen’s Road, opposite the Titanic
Studios, will be lodged later this month. Subject to planning permission, it is expected that the facility will be available to stage
major public exhibitions and trade shows by autumn 2015. The longer-term plan is to develop a purpose-built, permanent TEC that
will be on a par with facilities such as Glasgow’s Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC) and Dublin’s RDS and Conference
Centre which regularly host major international events.
Britain’s largest cinema operator, Cineworld has posted its financial results for the 53-weeks ended 1 January, showing a pre-tax
profit leap to £67.3m from £30.9m a year earlier, and revenue rose 52.5% to £619.4m. Cineworld is the second largest cinema
chain in Europe, with 203 sites and 1,875 screens by the end of 2014. They are are contracted to open a further 10 cinemas in the
UK.
The Gym Group is planning to open up to 30 gyms a year, and is seeking 15,000 sq ft sites across the country. The Gym Group was
founded in 2007 and operates 42 gyms across the UK. Last month, Pure Gym and The Gym Group announced plans to merge amid
growing membership at fitness clubs. Pure Gym launched in 2009 and operates 61, 24-hour gyms across the UK with one site in
Northern Ireland.
Casual dining operator, Ed's Easy Diner is planning to open six new restaurants in Aberdeen, Blackburn, Cambridge, Inverness,
Islington and Luton this spring. The group currently operated 35 US diner-style outlets, with 3 Ed’s Dinerettes and a Shake Stand.
The firm plans to further expand the estate to 55 diners by the end of 2015.
Restaurant operator, Bill's to open 60th site in April in Reigate, Surrey and secures a Grade II listed building in the heart of Leeds
city centre. New outlets set to launch before the landmark April opening includes those in Cardiff Bay and Glasgow, and Marlow. In
May, the group is set to open its 18th site in London on Baker Street, Marylebone. The roll-out is to continue with sites in:
Gloucester Quays, Sevenoaks, High Wycombe, Colchester, Bishops Stortford, Taunton, Witney, Milton Keynes and Peterborough.
Pepper Chef, which currently operates one Chinese restaurant in Southside, has acquired a 30,000 sq ft industrial unit on Lower
Essex Street in Birmingham. The company has plans to expand its UK network and open further restaurants.
Edinburgh St. James Hotel is a new hotel planned as the centrepiece of the new £850million Edinburgh St James scheme in the
centre of Edinburgh. The hotel is set to make its mark on the Edinburgh skyline. Images just released show the hotel wrapped in
ribbons of bronze cladding. The new development is set to replace the existing St James Centre at the east end of Princes Street. The
210-bedroom Edinburgh St. James Hotel will feature a top-floor bar, restaurant and lounge with views across the city. Building work
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is expected to start later in 2015 with the overall scheme complete by 2020. No hotel operator has yet been named for the
development.
Holiday Inn Solihull is carrying out a £1million refurbishment of its ground floor public areas. Work will include building a new
outdoor heated terrace accessed from the hotel lounge by new floor-to-ceiling folding doors. The hotel reception, lounge, bar and
main restaurant will also be refurbished and these are due to be completed by late March. A refurbishment of the hotel bedrooms
will start later this year.
Construction and property development specialist Pochin’s Ltd is marking the handover of a 27,000 sq ft HQ building at
Hawarden Business Park for CSA Group Testing UK (formerly Sira Test & Certification). The new HQ marks the first new build
development in the Deeside Enterprise Zone, and is testimony to the success of the Enterprise initiative. The building was officially
completed last week and handed over to CSA for their specialist fitout to commence.
A financial advisory firm majority-owned by Blackstone is under offer to take 28,000 sq ft of space at 1 Curzon Street in London’s
Mayfair. The new company PJT - which combines private equity giant Blackstone’s financial and restructuring services with
independent financial firm PJT Partners - is close to agreeing a deal close to the asking rent of £110/sq ft. It will be the first London
office for the new business. The deal for the fifth floor of the building, which is also home to DTZ, follows a refurbishment of the
floor by Lancer Property Asset Management.
Boutique investment manager Waverton Investments is under offer to take around 20,000 sq ft in mining giant Rio Tinto’s St
James’s Square headquarters. Waverton is close to agreeing a deal for three floors in the prime West End office building, with an
entrance at 16 Babmaes Street. The six-storey building, which fronts St James’s Square, was redeveloped by Exemplar Properties
and Rio Tinto now occupies almost 70% of the building. The building was sold in January this year for £265m to Spanish retail tycoon
Amancio Ortega’s property company Ponte Gadea in a sale-and-leaseback deal with Rio Tinto. Waverton is moving from
Pembroke’s 21 St James’s Square, which is currently up for sale as an office refurbishment.
A family of billionaire art dealers is set to smash the UK record for the highest office rent ever paid, by taking a floor at Green
Property’s 8 St James’s Square at more than £185/sq ft. The private family office of Helly Nahmad is expected to imminently sign a
deal for the 3,000 sq ft top floor in the prime West End office building. The Nahmad family controls one of the largest collections of
modern and impressionist art works, including works by Picasso, which is worth $3bn (£1.99bn),according to Forbes. Helly Nahmad
owns an eponymous gallery on Cork Street, where his offices are believed to be currently located.
Manchester Science Partnerships has revealed plans for its first phase of development at the 400 acre Alderley Park life science
campus in Cheshire. Mereside science campus will be the first part of the site to take shape under plans which include the
redevelopment of a lab facility into a 300,000 sq ft innovation centre. The four-storey building will be refurbished to provide a
range of workspaces from specialist labs to flexible offices and manufacturing facilities. Developer Bruntwood and Manchester
Science Partnerships have committed £30m to develop 1.5m sq ft of lab and workspace at Alderley Park over the next three years.
Plans for the former AstraZeneca R&D HQ are currently subject to public consultation as part of Cheshire East Council’s strategic
development masterplan.
Developer Ballymore has submitted a detailed planning application for Three Snowhill in Birmingham. The 400,000 sq ft scheme
will complete the Snowhill development in the Colmore Business Distinct area. The 16-storey scheme will offer 360,000 sq ft of
Grade A offices with 40,000 sq ft of leisure and retail space. Ballymore previously secured outline consent for Three Snowhill in
2013.
The US-based firm, WeWork is to set up a 168,000 sq ft serviced office at the Moor Place development in London. The new office
space will provide Lounges and Game Rooms & Conference rooms.
The University of Southampton has awarded Osborne the contract to build its new Chamberlain Halls in Southampton. The new
halls will form part of the Glen Eyre Halls complex in the Bassett area of Southampton, within easy walking distance of the
University’s main Highfield campus. The new halls are due to open in August 2016. The new £20m development will replace the old
Chamberlain Halls, constructed in 1958, which stood on the site until two years ago. The new halls will include 356 new student
bedrooms, offering excellent accommodation options for the University’s students, whilst helping to reduce pressure on the city’s
private rented sector.
Coventry University has bought four buildings from the city council with plans for a £125m redevelopment which will see the
institution expand by up to 375,000 sq ft. The plans were announced at Mipim last week and are described as the “largest and
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most significant” development of Coventry University since it was founded. Coventry City Council currently occupies the buildings
which sit on a 4.3-acre site between Little Park Street and Much Park Street. The redevelopment will take place in 2017, when the
council moves to new offices at the city’s Friargate project, and could include new university headquarters, an international student
centre, a research hotel and a business incubation unit.
The University of Edinburgh is seeking a contractor to build its new £28m Data Technology Institute. The Data Technology
Institute, designed by Bennetts Associates, is to be the third and final phase of the University of Edinburgh’s Potterrow
development. The first two phases were constructed and completed in 2008. The university is anticipating a start on site in
December 2015, with completion 21 months later.
Contractor Beard has started a £5.3m project to turn the former HM Revenue & Customs tax office in Bristol into student
accommodation. Beard is working with Stamford Goldhawk and architect Stride Treglown to develop the four-storey Norfolk House
building into 4,500m3 of student accommodation that will provide 152 studio apartments with ensuite showers and fitted furniture.
The redeveloped building will also house an on-site gym, cinema and private study rooms.
Skanska has announced it will start construction of the delayed £165m New Papworth Hospital after reaching financial close on
the public-private partnership deal. Skanska will design, build and provide finance for the project, and it will also provide hard
facilities management services at the hospital for 30 years after completion. The construction contract is worth around £140m to
Skanska. Construction will begin immediately and is due for completion in 2018. Construction was originally due to begin in late
2012 with completion scheduled for late 2015. The new hospital will provide 310 beds, seven operating theatres and five
catheterisation labs.
Bouygues and Interserve Construction have won the contracts to build specialist cancer hospitals kitted out with the next
generation of tumour treatment technology. The Government has committed £250m to fund two Proton Beam Therapy centres –
one in London and the other in Manchester. Bouygues will deliver a 360,000 sq ft cancer treatment facility to be built at Grafton
Way, next to University College of London hospital, near Tottenham Court Road. The main building consists of seven above ground
levels and four below ground basement levels and will cost around £150m. PBT and plant consume the majority of the basement
levels, the remaining is given over to operating theatres and imaging. Bouygues is set to start construction work this spring, once
final site preparations are finished. In Manchester, Interserve Construction has the job to build a £100m facility at The Christie
Hospital on the site formerly occupied by the Young Oncology Unit located on Oak Road. Interserve is due to start work on the fivestorey building in May, with Arup acting as the M&E consultant on both projects.
Laing O’Rourke has achieved financial close on the £270m new Dumfries hospital project. The planned 350-bed complex is
earmarked to be built on farmland off the Garroch roundabout at the western end of the town’s by-pass. Preparation for
construction will begin immediately. The project is one of five healthcare projects being procured under the Scottish Government’s
non profit distributing model. O’Rourke is part of the High Wood Health consortium with Serco who will provide estate
management services. The European Investment Bank is putting up a 26-year £109m loan to build the new hospital.
Ten firms have secured places on a £200m London hospital framework covering building and M&E works programmes. The
framework will be used to deliver new build and refurbishment projects worth up to £5m at four south London hospitals. Interserve
has made it a clean sweep taking places on both the building and M&E lots. Individual projects will largely, but not exclusively
comprise refurbishing and remodelling to upgrade the existing estate for NHS Trusts for King’s College Hospital, the Maudesley and
Guys and St Thomas’.
Royal Free London NHS Trust has won approval from Enfield Borough Council for a £275m project to rebuild Chase Farm Hospital.
The multi-million pound development will also see 500 new homes and a new primary school built on the site on The Ridgeway,
Enfield. The hospital rebuild is expected to cost in the region of £120m. A further £125m from the Government and £30m from
Enfield’s Clinical Commissioning Group will be provided over the next five years.
Eothen Homes is planning to open a new £6.2m dementia care centre in North Tyneside, with the creation of 42 jobs. The firm,
which runs care facilities in Gosforth, Whitley Bay and Sutton in Surrey, will construct the 60-bed residential facility in Wallsend.
Carlson Rezidor announces its second Radisson Blu hotel in Gran Canaria, Spain: The Radisson Blu Resort Mogán will feature 422
guest rooms and is scheduled to open in Q4 2016. The hotel will also feature an all-day restaurant (885m2), a themed restaurant
(190m²), two pool bars, a multifunctional 620m² ballroom, extensive gym and spa facilities (380m²). In addition, the new-built
property will be a year-round resort offering a mix of leisure facilities including three pools, a climbing wall and a running track.
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IFA Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement with Dubai Investment Properties to operate the first Yotel-branded hotel in
Dubai, marking the brand’s first property in the Middle East. The company first revealed plans to enter the Dubai market in
December last year. Directly adjacent to the upcoming Dubai Water Canal project on Sheikh Zayed Road, the hotel will be located in
close proximity to Downtown Dubai and the Burj Khalifa. When complete, the 42-storey property will feature 438 ‘cabins’,
furnished with the brand’s signature ‘Techno Walls’ and ‘Smart Beds’, as well Yotel's exclusive Club Lounge, a multi-function coworking and recreational space. The property will also include 127 serviced apartments, also managed by YOTEL, marking the
brand's debut in the serviced residence category. Yotel Business Bay will open in 2018 and marks the beginning of the brand’s
expansion in the region. The company is currently in negotiations to open more hotels in key destinations such as Riyadh, Jeddah,
Istanbul, and Saudi Arabia.
The former chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line is suing British billionaire Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Group
conglomerate, claiming that Virgin stole his ideas and business plans to enter the luxury cruise industry. Colin Veitch, who
oversaw Norwegian from 2000 to 2008, and his VSM Development company is seeking more than $300m in damages and has asked
a judge to stop Virgin from going forward with its recently announced Miami-based cruise line. The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal
court, alleges Virgin reneged on a May 2011 agreement with Mr Veitch over how estimated profits would be split. Mr Veitch would
get nothing if the 4,200-passenger "ultra" ships were not profitable but could earn $315m if projections were met. A Virgin
spokesman said: "Richard Branson and the Virgin Group first looked at the cruise market in the late 1970s, and our current team has
been exploring the opportunity for more than a decade. Over the years, we have been in discussions with a number of parties
including the plaintiff, and those discussions ceased in 2012. We strongly believe the claim has no merits." Sir Richard announced at
the weekend that he will commission the construction of two giant ships as part of ambitious plans to gatecrash the cruise liner
market. The ships are likely to be built in a German or Italian shipyard and will take four to five years to complete, at the cost of
around $1.7bn (£1.1bn). Financial backing for Virgin Cruises, which will be based in Miami, South Florida, has been secured from
private equity firm Bain Capital. Sir Richard has brought in Tom McAlpine, part of the management team that founded the Disney
Cruise Line in 1996, to head up the new company.
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