 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
| 20/03/2008 NURTON - NEW BIRMINGHAM OFFICE |
| Nurton Developments has just completed
the £4.76 million investment purchase of 8-10 Bennett's Hill/11-12
Waterloo Street, Birmingham, in a deal that will also see the company relocating
its headquarters to the heart of the city's central business core.
The property occupies a prominent corner position, very close to the city centre's four main addresses - namely, Colmore Row, New Street, Victoria Square and Temple Row/St Phillip's Square David Bradshaw, Managing Director of Nurton Developments, comments: "given the location and quality of the building even at the original asking price of £6 million it was an excellent opportunity for us to establish a Birmingham presence, our ability to negotiate a substantial reduction made the deal even sweeter." The purchase will add to Nurton's expanding portfolio in the property market, and help to strengthen its grip on the Birmingham area, where some of the developer's most high-profile projects are located. Nurton, which specialises in taking on under-managed and under-developed properties, also has a presence in London, after opening an office in Mayfair late last year, and says it had been looking to establish a strong presence in Birmingham city centre as well. The 21,974 sq ft freehold, landmark corner office building is undergoing refurbishment, and is let on seven leases to six tenants, with almost 50% of the current rental income secured on the covenant of Marston's PLC, the UK's leading independent brewing and pub retailing business, with a large pub/wine bar in the basement and ground floor, Bennetts. Other tenants include recruitment consultants Pertemps, Independent Appointments UK Ltd and Mackenzie Jones Ltd, Camargue (London) Ltd, and J S Shergill, a dentist. The building produces an annual rental income of £317,994, and has an established record of rental growth. Nurton will move into the vacant second floor of the building. The company was recently provided with a £25m rolling credit facility, by investment bank Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander, to assist with new investment opportunities across all sectors of office, industrial and mixed retail/leisure space. Among its many projects in the Birmingham area is the landmark Cannon & Priory office block, Colmore Square, which is undergoing a £25m refurbishment. Cannon House was launched back onto the office market 12 months ago and the second phase, on Priory House, has been given the go-ahead by city planners. Cannon recorded what was the biggest office deal of the year at the end of 2007, when the Insolvency Service took 42,000 sq ft of the 70,000 sq ft of Grade A space available, quickly followed by a letting of 21,000 sq ft to CrossCountry in January. Phase 2 of the refurbishment will incorporate penthouse office suites on a new top floor to Priory House. The Bank of Scotland's Real Estate team in Birmingham recently completed the refinancing of Cannon & Priory, with an £80m funding package that will enable the developer to move on with the next phase of the refurbishment programme on the 300,000 sq ft building. Work started late last year and is due for completion is January 2009. Other current properties include TriGate (73,000 sq ft), Hagley Road West, and Lyndon Place (83,500 sq ft), on the Coventry Road as well as schemes in Derby, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Cannock and Telford. Nurton will move from its established Black Country HQ, in Wolverhampton after refurbishment of the top floor of the Bennett's Hill building. The premises comprises three main, interlinked, buildings dating from around 1833, or earlier, in part, together with a four-storey, 20th century rear extension. The buildings are Grade II listed and were originally constructed as the regional headquarters for the National and Provincial Bank (the first outside London). David Bradshaw, adds: "In keeping with our rapidly-expanding business, it was important that we establish our main base in Birmingham's central business area, and this purchase allows us to not only acquire a wonderful investment but also to set up our headquarters in the city centre. "Wolverhampton has been our home for nearly a decade and has served us well, but we are looking forward to relocating the company as soon as the refurbishment is completed in Spring." CB Richard Ellis, acted on behalf of Nurton, and KWB represented the vendor, Earlplace. |
|