NEWSFLASH 3rd August 2015
The BCFA welcomes Jeremy Stein as new Managing Director for full details CLICK HERE
Intu is planning major revamps worth more than £1bn to its portfolio of shopping centres across the UK over the next five years.
Confirmation of the firm’s development pipeline came as intu revealed half year results showing a £262m profit for the period. The
firm is planning a £145m extension of its intu Watford development which is due to start this year while a £275m revamp of intu
Lakeside is scheduled to begin in 2016. Intu Broadmarsh is lined up for a £70m redevelopment from next year while Cribbs
Causeway will get a £105m extension starting in 2019. Intu Braehead and the Victoria Centre are also in line for £200m and £275m
revamps respectively starting in 2020.
Plans have been lodged with the Corporation of London for the Square Mile’s tallest tower at 22 Bishopsgate. The 1.3m sq ft
skyscraper will replace the ditched Pinnacle scheme and fill an obvious gap at the centre of the City’s cluster of tall buildings.
Contractor Brookfield Multiplex is part of the client consultant team for the 62-floor building and submitted the construction plan
for the £500m construction job. Under the submitted programme concrete core work will resume in March next year after the
existing core stump has been removed.
Canary Wharf Group has got the thumbs up for a striking residential tower at the estate’s new phase, formerly known as Wood
Wharf. Tower Hamlets Council granted detailed planning for the 57-storey building accommodating 468 flats ranging from studios
to large three bedroom family units. The cylindrical skyscraper will be built at a prominent waterfront location on the edge of South
Dock, directly to the east of the existing Canary Wharf estate. Designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron the building will be the
lead project in the wider development of a 4.9m sq ft mixed use, waterside community providing over 3,200 new homes, nearly 2m
sq ft of offices and a further 335,000 sq ft of shops, restaurants, school and landscaped parks and walkways.
Muse Developments and Network Rail are proposing a £150m mixed-use development at Manchester's Victoria train station by
2021. The New Victoria development will include an eight-storey 150,000 sq ft office, two residential towers, a ground floor
restaurant, plus a retail and leisure space. The Grade II-listed Victoria Station - first opened in 1844 - was voted the UK's worst
station back in 2009, but will soon become one of the North's major interchanges as part of the government's wider £560m
Northern Hub project. A detailed planning application should be submitted by Q4 2015, with work expected to begin in late-2016.
The target completion date is 2021.
Princesshay Partnership, comprising The Crown Estate and TH Real Estate, has forwarded the planning application for the £70m
redevelopment of Exeter’s bus and coach station to the city council. The redevelopment includes more than 180,000 sq ft of new
restaurants, cafes and shops. It also include a new multi-screen cinema and a large new public space with an amphitheatre. The
development would be built on the same site as the proposed new £20m swimming pool and leisure centre, which is being built
separately by Exeter City Council.
Speke Unit Trust has been given the green light for a multi-million pound revamp of its New Mersey Shopping Park in Speke. The
proposals will see a eleven screen cinema and six restaurants built following demolition of existing retail units, changes to the
current B&Q unit, new retail units, shop front improvements, a new customer services centre, and changes to the car park. Under
the new plans the eleven screen cinema and restaurants would be at the front of the site to create a new gateway to the retail park.
A former magistrates court which once heard the cases of Oscar Wilde and the Kray twins and has permission for conversion to a
hotel has come to the market for £75m. Austrian hoteliers Rudolf and Christian Ploberger are disposing of the asset on Bow Street,
London, after obtaining planning permission to convert the Grade II-listed former magistrate’s court into a five star boutique hotel.
Established in 1789, the property hosted a number of high profile cases including Oscar Wilde, mass murderer Dr Crippen,
Casanova, Lord Archer and the notorious Kray twins before closing in 2006. Planning permission was successfully obtained in
December 2014. The Plobergers said a Michelin star chef is lined up to run the restaurant and bar, and the hotel could open in two
years. Guests will be able to stay in suites overlooking the Royal Opera House, or in one of four converted prison cells. When
completed, the hotel will comprise a total floor area of 90,000 sq ft across two basements, ground floor, mezzanine and four upper
floors. The owners recently decided to sell after receiving numerous approaches from prospective purchasers and joint venture
partners, they said.
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Whitbread’s new city centre hotel brand, Hub by Premier Inn, is set to provide an 110-bedroom hotel within PMB Holdings’
mixed-use Soho regeneration scheme on Berwick Street. Premier Inn will take a lease on the hotel, which is a key component of
the £105m, 84,500 sq ft scheme. It also includes 13 retail units, 16 homes and substantial improvements to the public realm in and
around Berwick Street, its market and along Hopkins Street. The first Hub by Premier Inn opened in St Martin’s Lane in Covent
Garden in autumn 2014 and a number of sites in London and Edinburgh are currently being developed.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has reported a rise in revenue and pre-tax profits in a week in which rumours have reignited
about a merger with US company Starwood. The British hotelier made no reference to Starwood in its half-year results on
Thursday morning, but speculation about the tie-up continued, with IHG’s stock rising 1.4pc to £26.23 on Wednesday. Hopes of a
deal have been circling for months, with Starwood chairman Bruce Duncan saying in April that “no option is off the table” in its
strategic review. IHG, which owns the Holiday Inn brand, has moved to an asset-light model, selling InterContinental Paris - Le
Grand in May for €330m, and recently announcing an agreement to sell InterContinental Hong Kong for $938m. Pre-tax profits
stood at $458m for the six months ending June 30, up 21.5pc from the same point last year. Dividends are set to rise 10pc. IHG has
recently acquired boutique hotels business Kimpton and expects 2015 to be the best year for openings and signings in the brand’s
history. The first-half has already seen the best signings figures, a key indicator of performance, since 2008. The British-based
company now owns more than 4,900 hotels and 724,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries.
BAM Construction is set to secure the scaled-back modernisation and refurbishment of the Southbank Centre in London. The firm
has signed a pre-construction services agreement for a programme of urgent repairs and maintenance work at the Queen Elizabeth
Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery. This will include installing a new multiple pyramid-profiled glazed roofing system to the
Hayward and Purcell buildings and some M&E refit for back of house facilities. The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room auditoria
will be refurbished to preserve the character of the venues including renovating the walls, floors and ceilings and retaining and
restoring the existing seats. New areas will be created with new glazing on the south western corner of the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Foyer and of the rear undercroft area adjacent to the existing Purcell Room artists’ entrance. Initial work starts this Autumn and is
due to complete in May 2017.
Managed pub chain, Heartstone Inns has secured a new £8m refinancing agreement with HSBC, £5m of which will be earmarked
for pub acquisitions and the continued development of the current portfolio. Founded in December 2006 by James Birch,
Heartstone Inns currently owns and operates 11 freehold pubs in the south and south west of England. The company reported sales
of £6.5m last year. In March, Heartstone Inns was identified as one of London Stock Exchange’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.
The report celebrates the UK’s fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses
NORTHAMPTON £4.7M
Quality Hotel, Ashley Way
Planning authority: Northampton Job: Detail Plans Granted for hotel (extension/alterations) Client: Westone Manor Hotel
Developer: Plan My Property, 1 Regent Street, Finedon, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire,
EDINBURGH £12.8M
The Edinburgh Academical Club, 11A Portgower Place
Planning authority: Edinburgh Job: Detail Plans Granted for football stadium Client: Raeburn Place Development Ltd & The
Edinburgh Academical Club Developer: Michael Laird Architects, Quay Business Centre, 5 Winwick Quay, Warrington, Edinburgh,
Lothian, EH3 6DE Tel: 0131 226 6991
GLASGOW £6.4M
Typographical House, 222 Clyde Street
Planning authority: Glasgow Job: Detail Plans Granted for hotel Client: Unite the union Developer: Haus, 83D Patrick Thomas Court,
Candleriggs, Glasgow, Strathclyde, G1 2DP Tel: Not Available
WELWYN GARDEN CITY £3M
21 Stonehills
Planning authority: Welwyn Hatfield Job: Detail Plans Granted for hotel (extension/refurbishment) Client: Tonstate Ltd Developer:
3DReid Ltd, 45 West Nile Street, Glasgow, Strathclyde, G1 2PT Tel: 0141 226 3030
Tolent Construction has booked in with the job to build a £35m hotel in Bath for the Edinburgh-based Apex Hotels group. The
hotelier is to develop a 177-bedroom full service hotel, with conference facilities, in the Bath Conservation Area. Its Bath Apex Hotel
will be the chain’s tenth hotel and only its second new build, the company is known for converting old office blocks in places like
Edinburgh and London. Demolition of Kingsmead House, reputedly Bath’s ugliest building, was completed last month clearing the
way for £100m turnover Tolent to start construction shortly. The new hotel is due to open in May or June 2017.
Clugston Construction has started work on a £10m events hall at the Great Yorkshire Show Ground in Harrogate. The 2015 Great
Yorkshire Show took place in mid July. With the stands now all cleared away, Clugston has moved on site and begun demolition of
existing exhibition buildings to make way for the new exhibition hall. When complete in summer 2016, the new facility will provide
4,320 m2 of open span space.
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Accor has reported first-half 2015 financial results showing revenue amounted to €2,726m, up 4.1% year-on-year, EBIT was up
23.8%1 to €263m (+8.0% LfL), and net profit was up 68% to €91m. The group's full-year 2015 EBIT target is between €650m and
€680m. The NCEE region delivered a stellar performance (+31.4% like-for-like), driven in particular by robust business in the
United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and the Benelux countries, as well as strong operational efficiency. Accor opened 52 hotels or
7,776 rooms during the second quarter, of which 96% under franchise agreements and management contracts. At end-June 2015,
the HotelServices portfolio comprised 3,792 hotels and 495,072 rooms, of which 29% under franchise agreements and 71% under
management contracts, including the HotelInvest portfolio. At June 30, 2015, the HotelInvest portfolio comprised 1,336 hotels, of
which 77% in Europe and 96% in the Economy and Midscale segments.
Japanese developer Mitsubishi Estate has won planning consent for a 40-storey office tower in the City of London. Mitsubishi
Estate London received planning permission from the City Of London Corporation today for the new tower set amongst the City’s
‘eastern cluster’ of tall buildings. It will now create an office-led, mixed-use tower with flexible retail use at ground and mezzanine
floor levels and a public access viewing gallery at level 40. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects the 770,000 sq ft building
comprises a series of stacked blocks that become narrower towards the top of the tower. The scheme is sandwiched in between
the Cheesegrater tower and the vacant 22 Bishopsgate site, where an Axa-led consortium has submitted plans for a new scheme to
replace the Pinnacle. The redevelopment at 6-8 Bishopsgate and 150 Leadenhall Street will be aimed at attracting both financial
and insurance tenants.
Law firm TLT has decided to take additional space and regear at its Bristol office at 1 Redcliff Street rather than move to new
premises. TLT had been considering a move to a new office, which could have unlocked a number of development sites in the South
West city because of the size of the requirement. But 1 Redcliff Street landlord Aberdeen Asset Management has secured planning
permission for a 9,000 sq ft extension, which will add a storey to the existing 16.5-storey Bristol tower. TLT, which currently
occupies around 70,000 sq ft in the building, will now take additional floors to reach 100,000 sq ft. It is thought Aberdeen will now
undertake a rolling refurbishment of what was the first high-rise commercial tower in Bristol as a result of the letting.
Land Securities has secured two new tenants at its 62 Buckingham Gate office in Victoria, which is now 96% let. The Italian
investment bank Mediobanca is taking the entire 25,000 sq ft fourth floor. Meanwhile, international communications and sports
marketing group Chime Communications is taking the 25,000 sq ft third floor. Mediobanca is currently located at 33 Grosvenor
Place, while Chime has office space in 105 Victoria Street. Asking rents at 62 Buckingham Gate are believed to be north of £70/sq ft.
The two new tenants will join the likes of the Gates Foundation and Rolls-Royce in the building. The deals leave only part of the fifth
floor available.
A planning application has been lodged for the first phase of the refurbishment of one of Birmingham’s most prominent city
centre sites. AG Dunedin Birmingham Estate Venture, a joint venture between Angelo Gordon and Dunedin Property Asset
Management, has submitted the application for Civic House, part of the Great Charles Street Estate portfolio which it acquired from
Aviva for £20m earlier this year. Sitting on the corner of Great Charles Street Queensway and Summer Row, and opposite the
£500m Paradise Circus redevelopment, the building comprises 80,000 sq ft of office accommodation over ground and ten upper
floors. The works, which have been designed by Associate Architects, will include recladding of the building’s exterior, as well as full
refurbishment of the internal space, creation of an enhanced reception, and upgrade of all mains services. Subject to planning
approval, work is planned to start in the autumn with the building ready for occupation at the end of the third quarter of 2016.
Edinburgh-based sports entertainment business FanDuel has agreed the Scottish capital’s biggest office pre-let in more than a
decade, with a move into the new Quartermile development. The company has agreed to lease 58,567 sq ft across the top three
floors of the 128,600 Quartermile 4 building, on a 15-year lease. FanDuel, which currently employs almost 300 staff split between
the UK and US, will use its space as its new UK head office. The deal will see the company’s Edinburgh based staff move from its
existing accommodation within the Quartermile 1 office building. FanDuel’s new offices will have capacity to accommodate around
500 people. FanDuel offers competitions in free and paid fantasy leagues across the NFL, NBA, NHL and other US sports. The
company has more than one million active paying users and this year expects to give away prizes totalling $2bn. Construction of
Quartermile 4 is due to be completed in April 2016, and is being funding by an £80m deal secured with M&G Real Estate last June to
speculatively develop the remaining two office buildings at the development.
Laing O’Rourke has been named as the preferred bidder by Derwent London for the redevelopment of the Brunel Building at 5565 North Wharf Road in Paddington. The £50m project will see the creation of a new 16-storey office building with two basement
levels and two large roof terraces. The building will comprise of a solid concrete core along the length of the building with floor
plates on either side.
IPSWICH £6.3M
141 - 145 Princes Street
Planning authority: Ipswich Job: Detail Plans Granted for office block Client: Church Manor Estates Company Plc Developer: Barber
Casanovas Ruffles Ltd, 1 Wellington Street, Cambridge, CB1 1HW Tel: 01223 366717
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MAIDENHEAD £10M
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Huntercombe Lane South Taplow Burnham
Planning authority: South Buckinghamshire Job: Detail Plans Granted for office building Client: Aberdeen Asset Management
Developer: ESA London, Castle House, 75 Wells Street, London, W1T 3QH Tel: 020 7580 5886
OXFORD
OXFORD £3.305M
St Johns College, St. Giles
Planning authority: Oxford Job: Detail Plans Granted for college study centre building & library (extension) Client: St Johns College
Developer: Wright & Wright, 89 - 91 Bayham Street, London, NW1 0AG Tel: 020 7428 9393
R G Carter has started work on a £35m research centre at Cranfield University that will change the design of future aircraft.
Architects CPMG have designed the Aerospace Integration Research Centre (AIRC) and groundwork has now begun at the
Bedfordshire site. The centre will bring together academic research and testing of new ideas by co-investment partners Rolls-Royce
and Airbus.
Galliford Try has reached financial close with the Education Funding Agency for the £48.5m North and North East Lincolnshire
batch of priority schools. The batch includes two new secondary schools – The Vale Academy and Baysgarth School – as well as six
new primary schools – Brumby Junior School, Burton-upon-Stather Primary School, Oasis Academy Henderson Avenue, Crosby
Primary School, The Grange Primary School and Great Coates Primary School.
Galliford Try’s Morrison Construction subsidiary has reached financial close on a Shetlands school building contract. Morrison
Construction will build the new Anderson High School for Shetland Islands Council under the hub North Scotland contract. The new
four-storey high school will have capacity for up to 1,180 pupils to replace the existing high school on the Clickimin site in Lerwick,
which is Shetland’s main secondary school. There will also be a three-storey 100-bed boarding block. Under the deal, Galliford Try
Investments is investing £1.7m in the funding for the project. Project architect is Building Design Partnership (BDP).
Construction work is well underway on Southampton Solent University’s new £30million building at East Park Terrace. The new
building will feature two bespoke lecture theatres and a spectacular atrium which will form the central hub of the new block which
can be used for large exhibitions, product launches and gala dinners. A new conference centre will feature two large flexible suites
with four meeting rooms with breakout space overlooking the atrium. It will also include a business centre, a café and a VIP dining
area. Completion of the new East Park Terrace development is scheduled for early 2016.
The NHBC has released figures showing that more retirement homes were registered to be built in the first six months of this
year than in the whole of 2014. Builders registered a total of 2,337 properties specifically designed for the elderly in the first six
months of 2015. During the whole of 2014 only 1,919 were registered.
PAISLEY £1M
A Dykebar House, 101 Barrhead Road
Planning authority: Renfrewshire Job: Detail Plans Granted for care home Client: Royal Blind Developer: Page & Park Architects, 20
James Morrison Street, Glasgow, Strathclyde, G1 5PE Tel: 0141 553 5440
Specialist nursing and rehabilitation centre, Badby Park is to construct a new state-of-the-art specialist care unit on its 50-acre
site. Based near Daventry, work on the new 17-bed facility will begin later this year and will provide facilities for patients with
complex neurological care needs.
Holywood-based Healthcare Ireland is planning to open 12 nursing homes in Northern Ireland over the next four years. The
company's latest venture, with the support of Ulster Bank, is an £5m 82-bed care home, Bradley Manor, in County Down in north
Belfast, which has created 80 jobs and is due to open this month. The family-run business started as a construction firm in 1978, but,
like many firms in the sector during the recession, it has had to diversify. The company has built 11 nursing homes in Northern
Ireland and England, but this is the first it will run. Work is to start on Healthcare Ireland's next project in Glengormley, followed by a
new home to be developed on North Queen Street.
Puma Investments has announced the completion of two deals within the residential care home sector totalling £11 million. The
monies invested will fund the development and initial operation of two purpose built, modern care homes in partnership with
established operator Abbey Healthcare, which is owned by Prabhdyal Sodhi and currently operates a portfolio of 16 homes with
1,279 beds across the UK. The first investment is a £6 million deal in Hamilton, Scotland to facilitate the development of a new-
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build 112 bed care home, all with en suite wet room facilities. The second is a £5 million investment to facilitate the development of
a new-build 60 bed care home located in Mill Hill, London. Like the development in Hamilton, the rooms will also come with en
suite wet room facilities. The two purpose built homes will be finished to the highest specification and will be served by a number of
lounges, dining rooms and quiet rooms.
A complex of early 20th century landmark buildings in South America are being transformed into a stylish development featuring
a hotel and spa, private residences, high-end retail and entertainment venues. As part of the project, historic buildings at the
centre of São Paulo, Brazil, are being converted into art galleries, theatre and cinemas by the owner of the three hectare site –
Allard Group . At the heart of the development, Cidade Matarazzo – a former maternity hospital – is being transformed into a hotel
with 151 guestrooms and 114 residential suites. There will also be a large spa with six treatment rooms, a fitness area, two
swimming pools, landscaped grounds, music studio and screening room. Rosewood Hotels and Resorts have been appointed by
Group Allard to manage the hotel, collaborating with leading lights such as Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel,
international hotel designer Philippe Starck, and renowned Brazilian artists Beatriz Milhazes and Saint-Clare Cemin. Nouvel and
Starck are respectively working on the architecture and interior design of the hotel.
Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts is opening a hot springs resort in Dabieshan, Anhui Province in central China at the end of 2018.
Designed by AECOM, the dusitD2 Hot Springs Resort Dabieshan, Anhui, will feature 300 rooms and villas with private hot springs
pools, as well as a Deverana Spa.
UKTI Alert
Finland - Company supplying furniture for care homes in Finland is looking for UK partner. A Finnish company supplying furniture
to care homes, mental facilities, special education schools, day care centres, and hospitals, is looking for a UK manufacturer/dealer
of furniture for challenging environments. Full details at this link:
http://www.businessopportunities.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/businessopportunity/914580.html
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