Move Commercial 19

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LIVERPOOL CITY REGION CHESTER MANCHESTER

Sept-Oct 2010

MOVE COMMERCIAL The north-west’s guide to property and business

Issue 19

INDIA BUILDINGS A landmark transformed SIMON ARORA B&M’s soaring success FIGHTING TALK The power of the town centre

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INDIA BUILDINGS L I V ER P O O L

A TRANSFORMATION IS HAPPENING AT ONE OF LIVERPOOL’S GREATEST AND MOST PRESTIGIOUS LANDMARK BUILDINGS — WITH SUITES AND WHOLE FLOORS UP TO

35,000 SQ FT

THIS MAGNIFICENT BUILDING, OCCUPYING AN ENTIRE BLOCK, IS A PREMIUM OFFICE OPPORTUNITY IN CENTRAL LIVERPOOL Alternative specification showing exposed ceilings.

The eight upper floors provide a range from 200 sq ft (18.5 sq m) to 35,000 sq ft (3,251 sq m).

Each bespoke office area can be refurbished to the highest modern standards, with specification options including fully accessible raised floors, metal tiled suspended ceilings with recessed LG3 compliant light fittings, and a clear height of over 2.8m in the office areas.

Full floor occupiers can incorporate personalised receptions, creating a modern, high-impact arrival in contrast to the building’s classic jewelled entry lobbies. A high standard service offers 24-hour security, in-house maintenance, conference and meeting facilities and underground car parking.

A DEVELOPMENT BY:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

GREEN PROPER TY

INDIA-BUILDINGS.COM

0151 224 7666

Matthews & Goodman 0151 236 8732

Suite 291 2nd Floor India Buildings Water Street Liverpool L2 OXF

MARK WORTHINGTON mark.worthington@cbre.com

DAVID COLVIN dcolvin@matthews-goodman.co.uk

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TO LET OFFICES Third and Fourth Floor Offices -

2,194 to 4,614 sq ft Brand new purpose built accommodation ready for immediate occupation.

RETAIL Ground Floor Retail Unit -

1,372 sq ft Basement storage also available.

Iconic landmark building 135 Hanover Street /24 School Lane, Liverpool L1 RETAIL

Contact: Matt Vercell Email: matthewvercell@masonpartners.com

OFFICES

Contact: Jon Swain Email: jonswain@masonpartners.com

Mason & Partners The Corn Exchange, Brunswick Street, Liverpool L2 0PJ

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To let / for sale

new build industrial units 6,775 – 12,091 sq ft Knowsley

Last

s t i n u 2 ining!! rema

The Alchemy development is transforming bare land into one of the region’s shining commercial schemes.

93,107 sq ft have already been built with future phases to include design and build warehousing up to 300,000 sq ft together with a potential hotel and leisure related scheme.

Units benefit from the following specifications - Contemporary design - Fully fitted first floor offices including carpeting, lighting and central heating

- Heating and lighting to warehouse - Planning for B1, B2 and B8 uses

www.langtreegroupplc.co.uk/alchemy For enquiries contact:

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Issue nineteen Move Commercial

Contents News 06 07 08 09 13 14 15 16 17 18

Work continues at New Brighton Wirral Waters update Eco success Everyman on plan MSB open commercial arm New tenants arrive JLA numbers soar Green light for £25m scheme New occupiers East Manchester Office with a view

Features

28

Welcome to Move Commercial Tourism and retail, two key drivers in Liverpool’s economic future, are considered this issue when our lunch debate guests discuss the importance of the city’s World Heritage Status. We also interview Simon Arora, managing director of the rapidly expanding chain, B & M Stores. In addition steering the city toward its inaugural boat show, David Beard of Harbourside Marina plc shares his thoughts on his water based aspirations for the region. With everyone’s thoughts very much focused on the impending October spending

review we look at the state of capital projects in the region and ask a panel of local business minds what their hopes are.

We’re back on the high to take a look at how town centres are fighting back, to hopefully share in some of the retail success story that has been Liverpool One. A roundup of commercial property news this issues reveals that new occupiers, planning go-aheads, development work, business expansion and growth continue despite the hardened economic times we all face.

11 Bitesize Thinking Food for thought 24 Mover & Shaker Nick Kavanagh leads regeneration in Knowsley 26 Founding Father David Beard a developer with a difference 28 Capital project update Impact of budget cuts regionally 30 Entrepreneur Simon Arora on rapid retail expansion 33 Lunch debate How important is Liverpool’s World Heritage Status 39 Focus Town centre fight back 44 Rising Star Next move for Phil Warren, Warmer Heating 46 Ask the Panel Hope for October’s spending review

Key Events

07

30 move publishing ltd Advertising Director Fiona Barnet Tel 0151 709 3871 Account Manager Jo Tait Tel 0151 709 3871 Editorial Team Lucy Oliver and Jonathan Kearney Email post@movepublishing.co.uk Tel 0151 709 3871

08

21 India buildings re-launch Historic site gets revamp

Designer Rob Whyte. Email rob@movepublishing.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 MediaCityUK news © Peel Media.

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.

MOVE COMMERCIAL

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News Move Commercial

Work on 14 hectare site completed in New Brighton Redevelopment of seafront continues

New Brighton

WIRRAL Council has regained control of New Brighton’s redeveloped waterfront. An unveiling ceremony took place following Neptune Developments’ completion of the public realm works. The 14 hectare seafront development

includes a new model boating lake and car park, a new promenade, improved seating and lighting. The Marine Lake has been drained, refurbished and re-filled. The scheme has benefited from £3.9m from the Northwest Regional Development

Agency which will enable Neptune Developments and Wirral Council to take forward Phase 2 of the development, including a new retail and leisure amenities. Rob Mason, development director at Neptune, commented: “The completion of this

scheme complements the work we have already done with the £11m new Floral Pavilion theatre and conference centre. We are now looking forward to progressing with rest of Phase 2 of the planned improvements for New Brighton.”

Ribbon cut on Stanley Dock bridge Gateway to Liverpool city centre re-opened LIVERPOOL’S BASCULE BRIDGE has been re-opened to traffic. The 78-yearold structure on Regent Road had been closed for repair since May 2008 and was subsequently condemned due to natural corrosion. Bridge owners Peel has since worked with the council’s Heritage and Highways Departments to repair the landmark. The bridge is the only surviving example of a rolling

Bascule Bridge

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Bascule lifting bridge in Liverpool and is part of the Stanley Dock Conservation Area and World Heritage designation.

Lindsey Ashworth, Development Director at Peel said, “Peel takes very seriously the preservation of any historic elements within its ownership and this demonstrates our commitment to retaining such impressive engineering structures where practical to do so.”

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Move Commercial News

Wirral provides go-ahead for £4.5bn scheme Nick Kavanagh

Job share for regen’ chief Nick Kavanagh to head up Liverpool regeneration

Work on Wirral Waters could start within 2 years A £4.5BN dockland development was granted approval by Wirral Council’s planning committee at the beginning of August. Peel’s 18 million sq ft Wirral Waters scheme represents the largest urban regeneration project in the UK and forms half of the wider Peel Waters project, spanning either side of the River Mersey. Wirral Waters will transform the currently derelict brownfield land within East Float at

Birkenhead Docks into a mixed use offer over the course of a 30 year project, which is expected to create more than 20,000 new jobs in the area. Despite providing the initial go-ahead for the scheme the council has referred the development to the Government due to its scale. Cllr Andrew Hodgson, cabinet member for regeneration and planning strategy, commented: “Members and Officers of Wirral Council have

been working closely with Peel for almost four years to ensure that the benefits and opportunities of such a scheme can be maximised for all communities. Due to the scale of the application it will be referred to Government for them to consider.

It is hoped that work will start on site within the next two years and officers of the Council will continue to work with Peel as we move into the development phase.”

CGI of Wirral Waters

KNOWSLEY Council’s director of regeneration, economy and skills is to spend around three days a week driving Liverpool City Council’s regeneration agenda forward. The council’s have entered into the unique arrangement as a temporary measure.

Nick Kavanagh, who joined Knowsley Council in 1985, commented: “Working across two councils is still a relatively new idea and for that reason offers a hugely exciting challenge. I will be working hard to ensure that my time is spent driving the two councils’ regeneration agendas and ensuring that they are aligned for the on-going benefit of the city region. Who knows how this might affect the way councils work across the region?

Working together in partnership will offer advantages to both organisations and this is an ideal opportunity to really put that into action.” Liverpool City Council leader Joe Anderson commented: “As we restructure, to make our council a leaner, more efficient organisation, I am determined that the momentum of our regeneration work does not falter by tapping into the talent that we have across the city region.” Nick Kavanagh was appointed as Knowsley’s director of regeneration, economy and skills in 2009.

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News Move Commercial

St.Helens recycling plant impresses ecominister

Peel stay Inn touch JLA hotel acquisition follows MediaCity announcement

RECYCLING MINISTER Lord Henley toured a cutting-edge electrical recycling plant near St.Helens as part of a familiarisation drive since his appointment in May. He asked to see the Viridor site, in Parr, which was officially opened earlier this year after a £9m investment to make it one of the most advanced facilities recycling Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE).

It can process up to 120 fridges, 60 TVs and six tons of discarded household equipment every hour.

Electrical components are separated for reuse and glass, metals and other recyclable materials are removed and further distributed for recycling.

Lord Henley said: “WEEE is becoming a much bigger talking point with retailers and the public, who are now beginning to realise what can and must be done to minimise waste to landfill.

The technology at this facility is highly impressive and ensures we recover useful resources from items that are discarded to benefit the environment and contribute to a sustainable approach to managing waste.”

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Photo credit: Peel Media

£9m investment pays off MediaCityUK, Salford Quays

PEEL has acquired the Holiday Inn Express at Liverpool JLA from Centre Island. The move is part of Peel Leisure`s strategy of owning and operating hotels in and around the Peel Group’s other business interests and is in

keeping with Centre Island's own continuing strategy to focus on large town centre and city centre hotel developments. Peel recently announced their Holiday Inn at MediaCity in Salford will open in October this year. The

Salford Quays facility will offer 218 bedrooms, a gym, meeting and dining facilities at the MediaCity site. Bryan Gray, chairman of Peel Media, commented: “The Holiday Inn at MediaCityUK is adjacent to the largest new studios in

Europe, making it a real convenience for TV and film professionals using the facilities. In addition it offers visitors to Manchester and Salford Quays excellent value accommodation in a vibrant waterfront environment”.

Development begins in Childwall New health centre, library and sixth form centre for south Liverpool WORK HAS BEGUN on an £8m scheme in Liverpool’s Childwall suburb. The development includes a new health centre, library and sixth form centre for Childwall Sports College. The Childwall Partnership Project is being developed by Liverpool and Sefton Health Partnerships on behalf of Liverpool Primary Care Trust, Liverpool City Council and the college. Gideon Ben Tovim, chairman of Liverpool Primary Care Trust, commented: “This development is part of Liverpool PCT’s commitment and long-term vision to deliver improved patient care closer to people’s homes. We know through our experience on projects such as those we have delivered in Picton, Breeze Hill and Everton the difference these facilities can make to communities.”

Childwall Partnership Project

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Move Commercial News

St Paul’s Square is top draw No 4 due for May 2011 completion A TOPPING out ceremony has been held to celebrate the last phase of the St Paul’s Square development in Liverpool’s commercial district.

Max Steinberg, recently appointed chief executive of Liverpool Vision, led the ceremony in his first public event since joining the economic development company in July, bolting on the final glass fin to the façade of the building, at No 4 St Paul’s Square. The 109,000 sq ft building is due for completion in May 2011, providing multi-let office

premises. Max Steinberg commented: “A vibrant commercial district is key to continued growth of the city’s economy and the St Paul’s Square development is one of the most significant new office-led schemes in Liverpool city centre for a decade. With the completion of this final phase, St Paul’s Square will help maintain development momentum and is a reflection of the confidence that exists in the city despite tougher economic conditions. I have no doubt it will

become a vital focal point of the dynamic business quarter we have in Liverpool.” Darran Lawless from developers English Cities Fund added: “With the availability of grade A office space in Liverpool shrinking, this final phase of the scheme will provide the City with a marvellous and sustainable place to work. The lettings market has been slow but Liverpool has bucked the trend in the past and we’re confident it will continue to in the future.”

Everyman Theatre

Green light for £28m theatre development Everyman confident of progressing with plans

No 4, St Paul’s

LIVERPOOL COUNCIL has granted planning permission for the redevelopment of the city’s Everyman Theatre. The designs, which were submitted in May this year, include new incarnations of the Everyman’s 400seat ‘thrust’ stage auditorium, basement Bistro and Everyman signage. The redevelopment will also include a Youth and Community Space for the theatres’ growing work with education and community groups, rehearsal space, workshops and offices for production staff and a hub for writers to develop their work. The £28m redevelopment is scheduled to go on site in 2011 for an expected 2013 completion. The Everyman management remains confident the redevelopment will progress, despite the withdrawal of £2.4m Northwest Regional Development Agency support.

Executive director Deborah Aydon commented: "This is a fantastic endorsement by the City Council and a very positive signal to our stakeholders and funding partners. It will be a great boost to ongoing negotiations and help maintain the strong momentum of the Everyman redevelopment.”

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To Let / May Sell Industrial units from 3,800 - 13,000 sq ft

Lumina Wirral International Business Park, Bromborough

Lumina features 13 modern commercial buildings where particular attention has been paid to the circulation areas and the quality of the external landscaping and lighting.

Units benefit from the following specifications: • Electronically operated sectional up and over doors 4m x 5m • First floor offices (selected units)

• Good parking circulation areas • Heated by gas warm air blowers to warehouse and gas central heating to office

For more information on these sites please contact us on 01925 273000 or visit our website www.langtreegroupplc.co.uk

£2 psf in your 1st year

T&Cs) (subject to

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Move Commercial Bitesize thinking

&

Home Away

St Lukes Bombed Out Church Liverpool

Sarah Duncan, JST Lawyers Head of Construction picks her favourite Liverpool building. “The bombed out church, St Lukes, on Leece Street is such an iconic reminder of the effects

FAVOURITE BUILDINGS Sarah Duncan, JST Lawyers

of war. I love that charities and arts organisations like the Biennial and Urban Strawberry Lunch have incorporated it into their cultural life as a venue for film and exhibitions, even street theatre. The innovative use of the building really demonstrates the continuing impact that Liverpool, being chosen as city of culture, has had on the confidence of the city’s arts organisations and charities. Away from home it is Sydney Opera House that has won her heart. “As my dad is Australian I have spent a lot of time visiting family and friends in Sydney and Melbourne.

Nothing beats the opera house for sheer grandeur and its location on the waterfront backed by (usually!) hot and sunny weather, is stunning. The acoustics inside the hall are also amazing and I always try to catch a concert when I am over there”.

Sydney Opera House

Buzzword

Jack Stopforth, Chief Executive Liverpool Chamber

Jack Stopforth

If only I'd known… ...that Liverpool would experience the phenomenal growth it enjoyed during the early years of the new millennium. I owned and managed businesses in the city in the mid 1980s and early 1990s before selling up and briefly moving away in 1997. I had a lot of fun and tremendous satisfaction in employing people and staying profitable in tough times. I grew rich in experience but missed out on the benefits of a reviving economy and rehabilitated city reputation.

Returning as CEO of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce in 2005, it has been fantastic to be at the epicentre of the city’s revival and renewed confidence.

In my crystal ball…

I would love to foresee whether the business investment in Liverpool of the past five years will help us sustain employment growth. I believe it will and that are well on the way to ending our dependence on European and other funding. Historically, the past few decades will be seen as no more than a glitch and we are once again attracting private capital back.

The renaissance isn’t quite completed and relative to other cities we have narrowed the gap, but not closed it. Now we will need to see if still more private investment can see us through a likely collapse in public spending. I believe it can, but that crystal ball would really come in handy.

‘NO-BRAINER’ Without having to give any thought to a no brainer is something that requires little mental effort or intelligence to understand. It’s American in origin and first began being used there in the 1950’s. Its popularity over here grew during the 1990s and 2000s and is now a common buzzword in business and social environments alike. Anything that requires little thought attracts this phrase and its extension of use has grown considerably. From the very mundane decisions of ‘Do you fancy coming the pub tonight?’’It’s a

no-brainer, what time? ’ to Harry Redknapp using it recently to explain the football signing of William Gallas from Arsenal to Tottenham it has crept into everyday use. As a business buzzword it is well established and is frequently applied to decisions which are straightforward. So by definition it is something that is so obviously right or obvious that it needs no thought at all or is an alternative view that when used it really means can’t be bothered to think about it.

Vital statistics

93,912

A whopping 93,912 people visited the Picasso: Peace and Freedom exhibition at Tate Liverpool which is now their biggest ever exhibition, second only to Klimt in 2008. It’s a great achievement for the gallery and fantastic news for the city with huge commercial significance. We say bring on the next one!

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For Liverpool offices

Best deal with Downing Quality and integrity have never mattered more. We expect occupiers to demand the best space on the best terms, but too many still overlook their long term relationship with their landlord.

So it’s not just the quality and diversity of space we offer that sets us apart. Our dedicated in-house management team ensures that your occupation will be trouble free – now and in years to come.

Offices from 500-100,000sqft WE INVITE YOU TO TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR ASPIRATIONS FOR YOUR NEW BUSINESS SPACE.

Call Robin Ellis on 0151 707 2666 or email robinellis@downing.com

www.downing.com

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Move Commercial News

From London to Liverpool

MSB open commercial property office Liverpool law firm eye North West growth

Oceans Connect make Speke move

MSB SOLICITORS has opened a new Liverpool city centre office to further their expansion programme into commercial property and the general commercial market. The Liverpool firm recently opened their new commercial property headquarters on the 13th Floor of Silkhouse Court, Tithebarn Street. The venture will draw on the experience of three newly appointed MSB partners; Mark Forman and Neil Kelly, formerly of CFK Legal Limited, and Nick

Sweeney formerly of Brabners Chaffe Street, all of whom are highly experienced commercial practitioners. Nine new members of staff have also been recruited to the commercial team, taking the total number of MSB partners to eight and the number of staff to 50 across three sites. Paul Bibby, managing partner at MSB Solicitors, commented: “Mark, Neil and Nick all have a wealth of commercial experience and a wide range of clients that they are bringing to MSB Solicitors and we

are delighted to have them onboard. This new office has been a long time in the planning and is part of a strategic growth strategy to strengthen MSB’s commercial offering to our clients across the North West. Around 18months ago we identified the commercial arena as an area that MSB could exploit.

We could see that there is a real demand for a city centre firm that offers high quality commercial work but at a competitive rate and we have now positioned MSB to be that alternative.”

MSB Commercial

200 jobs created in HQ switch OCEANS CONNECT is to relocate its global headquarters to Speke. The Runcorn-based outsourcing provider will transfer its head office function from London to Liverpool, creating 200 new jobs in the city. The move, which was supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, will safeguard the existing workforce currently based in Runcorn. Chief executive Howard Sarna commented: “We are delighted to be expanding our investment in the Liverpool area. The positive experience we’ve had with our initial operation, coupled with the help and support provided by the NWDA and local partners, has led us to locate our company headquarters in Speke. An educated and plentiful workforce, good building availability and a strong transport network makes the area around Liverpool JLA an ideal location for us to develop our business.”

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Assura arrives Ellesmere Port’s development New face at business park board Council seeks new candidates CHESHIRE West and Chester Council are seeking six candidates to join Ellesmere Port’s Development Board – the partnership formed to secure a bright future for the town and it residents.

Successful applicants will join council delegate, Councillor Herbert Manley, Executive Member, Prosperity, local MP Andrew Miller, and Supt Jon Betts, Chairman of the Local Area Partnership Board, on the Board representing both public and private sectors.

Its first chairman, Robert Mee, 59, former Chief Executive of Bank of Scotland Retail Business, was appointed recently to spearhead the drive to ‘sell’ the potential that the town offers for future investment and development.

Said Cllr Manley: “We will be looking for people with strong interests or affiliations with Ellemere Port; the ability and desire to play an ambassadorial role for the town and time to commit to the role.”

Potential skills required will include: strategic investment, property, land, enterprise and community development; marketing, financial, legal and environmental experience.

“Good communications skills, drive, determination sound judgement and decisiveness are among the personal qualities needed to meet some of the challenges we will undoubtedly face together” said Cllr Manley.

“We want a strong board of high personal integrity and independence but with the ability to work with others and a strong empathy with local communities and the issues they face.”

Closing date for applications is Sept 22 and interviews will be held on Oct 12/13. First meeting of the Ellesmere Port Development Board will take place on Nov 1.

14 MOVE COMMERCIAL

MASON OWEN has secured 5,100 sq ft of office space on Daresbury Business Park for Assura Medical Limited. The organisation, a provider of NHS medical services across the UK, will occupy the stand-alone office in Cinnabar Court, the latest speculative development at Daresbury Park.

Stephen Bradley, Assura Medical Limited property manager, commented: “Mason Owen provided us with a fast and professional service that allowed us to consider a number of different options and enable us to make a quick decision as to our preferred location.” The Liverpool agents recently announced the sale of 2,730 sq ft of office space at Paramount Business Park, Huyton. The sale of unit A2 was agreed with West Lancashire Freemasons Charity, comprising of a semi-detached, self-contained two-storey office unit.

in Daresbury

Jonathan Brown

Daresbury Science and Innovation Centre

Anchor tenant for Redsun development CML to occupy 60,000 sq ft unit REDSUN DEVELOPMENTS has secured an anchor tenant for a major industrial project on the

Wirral. The Merseyside commercial property developers purchased the six acre site at the edge of Wirral

Redsun developments

International Business Park last year. The resulting development includes a 60,000 sq ft industrial unit to be occupied by aerospace manufacturer CML Group, a new build 45,000 sq ft warehouse and an 8,000 sq ft office building.

Birkenhead-based CML had required new premises to expand its composites division. Craig Booton, Managing Director of Redsun Developments Ltd said: “We’ve worked closely with CML to produce a modern, efficient ‘flagship’ building, which will provide the foundations from which to market themselves and their skills to the global aerospace industry.” Redsun Developments are to undertake a further development in Bromborough at an 8 acre site, details of which are likely to be announced shortly.

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Passenger numbers soar at Liverpool Airport JLA sees largest growth in UK LIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport has seen the largest year-on-year passenger of any UK airport. The data, compiled by RDC Aviation, relates to the first third of this year compared to the same period in 2009. JLA was shown to be one of only six UK airports in a list of 50 to see any growth in passenger numbers between January and April this year. A total of 89,050 more passengers used JLA during the first third of the year, a 6.4 per cent increase on the previous year. Peel Airports’ newly appointed CEO Craig Richmond commented: “To think that Liverpool is growing its passenger numbers by more than anyone else in the UK, with airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester continuing to see a decline in passenger numbers, is yet another milestone for JLA.” A £12m development program is ongoing at the airport. A new passenger security screening area opened in July, while the expansion of the airport’s departure lounge is due for completion by the end of autumn 2010.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Dream start for tourism scheme St Helens sculpture chosen

by VisitEngland

St Helens sculpture

THE LANDMARK 20-metre Dream sculpture in St Helens has been selected by VisitEngland to launch its new national Place of Interest Quality Assurance Scheme. The scheme has been developed by VisitEngland to enhance quality and spread best practice within the tourism sector.

Representatives from VisitEngland, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, The Mersey Partnership, St Helens Council, the Forestry Commission and the St Helens

Tourism and Leisure Business Network gathered at the Sutton Manor site, which overlooks the M62, to unveil the scheme. James Berresford, chief executive of VisitEngland, commented: “We are delighted to launch PIQAS at Dream in view of its regional, national and international significance. We hope this launch encourages places of interest across the country to sign up to the scheme and showcase their attractions to visitors worldwide.”

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News Move Commercial

Agents instructed as King makers

V7 building, Knowsley

Knowsley’s fierce attraction LIVERPOOL agents Mason Owen have been instructed to market the 35,000 sq ft V7 building in Knowsley’s Kings Business Park.

The premises were formerly occupied by US-based Computer

Sciences Corporation and are currently available for sale or let.

Kings Business Park is currently home to organisations such as Balfour Beatty, Knowsley Primary Care Trust and Vertex. Mason

Owen head of business premises Andrew Owen, commented: “It is a stunning building and there are very few properties of this quality on the market. We are delighted to have been instructed to market

such a prestigious building that has been designed to the highest of standards.” For further information telephone Andrew Owen on Andrew Owen on 0151 242 3120.

Stockbridge Village regeneration approved Apprentice’s Work begins on £25m scheme PLANNERS at Knowsley Council have granted formal approval for the redevelopment of Stockbridge Village. Work has begun on the £25m development, which includes the creation of a new leisure facilities, learning resource centre, police access point, primary school, family centre, games area and a supermarket. The new primary

school is due to be the first completed part of the scheme in autumn 2011. Cllr Dave Lonergan commented: “This regeneration project will completely transform Stockbridge Village centre and provide first class facilities and spaces for the local community to enjoy. The redevelopment of Stockbridge Village has long since

been a major priority for the council and we have worked extremely hard with our partners to bring to life the aspirations of the community.” The works complement other development projects in the area, including an extension to the health centre and provision of a new Play Pathfinder scheme in the village centre.

Sterling service

Joseph Birch

Stockbridge Village

16 MOVE COMMERCIAL

A 19-YEAR-OLD apprentice has won a tender worth £88,000 for Knowsley-based Sterling Services.

Nineteen-year-old Joseph Birch, who joined the Knowsley Business Park firm last year as part of the council’s apprenticeship programme, secured the tender with Plantation County Primary School in Halewood. Joseph, who is in the first year of his Higher National Certificate in Construction, was unemployed when he secured a role as a trainee estimator at the road and building firm. He said: “Winning the Plantation School tender was a really big job for me, if not the biggest. It took many hours and late nights just so that we could win the job for the firm and in the end it all paid off.”

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Move Commercial News

Langtree shows City Works

Last year’s Women in construction event

New occupiers for East Manchester site LANGTREE has announced the latest occupiers for the second phase of City Works in Openshaw, East Manchester. Local fruit and vegetable wholesaler Catering Connection has taken a 3,740 sq ft industrial unit on a 5-year lease on the Norbury Court part of the site.

Joining Catering Connection on

the site is MMG Trading, an Ebay trader selling military-ware, taking a 2,663 sq ft industrial unit on a 3year lease. Langtree completed the 58,000 sq ft second phase of industrial/business accommodation, known as Norbury Court, last year. The total site comprises 48 units for sale or

to let ranging from 2,600 sq ft to 22,000 sq ft. Jan Page, property manager at Langtree, said: “We are delighted to see the second phase of City Works becoming as popular as the first one. There has been strong interest in the other units and we hope to have further occupiers imminently.”

Women in Construction wanted JST lawyers to host networking event for industry

Langtree City Works

JST Lawyers’ Women in Construction event returns on 22 September encouraging women in the sector to network and build their reputation in the media.

Molten Brown will be giving guests a sneak preview of their new Christmas gift range before it launches to the public the following day while Tony McDonough, Deputy Business Editor of the Liverpool Daily Post will be providing advice on how to promote your business in the media. The event is for any woman working in the industry, surveyors, estate agents, developers, architects, marketers and financiers. Held four times a year it combines networking with an opportunity to develop their skills. The next event will be held at Brew in St Paul’s Square 22 September, 6.00pm – 8.00pm. To attend email laura@designfoundry.co.uk or call 0151 706 7413.

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News Move Commercial

Is this Liverpool's best office view?

PROPERTY GROUP Downing has unveiled what it anticipates will be Liverpool’s most sought-after office, due to its stunning river views.

The company has begun work on a new 8,330 sq ft office suite on the second floor of the Grade ll* listed Port of Liverpool building, boasting unrivalled views of the Mersey and World Heritage Waterfront. The suite can be split to provide 3,775 sq ft or extended to 9,479 sq ft.

Downing, Liverpool’s largest private commercial landlord, has begun stripping out the suite in preparation

for new occupiers and is reporting healthy interest in the office space.

The suite, one of the most striking in the Port of Liverpool Building, has space for a company boardroom in its turret-room, directly overlooking the waterfront and new Museum of Liverpool. The refurbishment is the latest in a comprehensive £15 million programme of restoration that Downing has progressed at the Port of Liverpool Building, including restoring the iconic dome to its former glory. Robin Ellis, senior agency surveyor at Downing, said:

“We’re confident that the suite won’t stay on the market for long – not only does it have a stunning view, but the building’s interior is secondto-none and we can offer valuable certainty on occupational costs.

“The building offers occupiers the best of both worlds – an architectural landmark that provides modern efficient space with full access raised floors and optional comfort cooling. We’ve invested heavily in the Port of Liverpool Building to make sure it meets the high standards required by

businesses while protecting and enhancing the building’s striking historic architecture.” The restoration of the Port of Liverpool Building included repairing and cleaning its Portland stone exterior and restoring its internal Terrazzo flooring and marble wall cladding using identical materials. The project, one of the UK’s largest privately-funded refurbishments of a listed building, also incorporated new lifts, upgraded internal and external lighting and new disabled access.

Robin Ellis

Chester business quarter to create jobs 1,100 new jobs predicted CHESTER’S proposed Central Business Quarter will have the capacity to create over 1,100 new jobs. Members of CWAC Executive will learn of the potential jobs boost when they consider a development framework for the proposal. The framework – the result of 6 months

18 MOVE COMMERCIAL

work – will establish standards and guiding principals for development within the proposed business quarter. Approval will be a ‘major milestone’ in plans to create a vibrant, distinctive and sustainable business quarter east and south of the City’s main railway station.

Consultants open Liverpool office JBH expand North West presence A NORTH WEST property consultant has opened a new office in Liverpool city centre. JBH Property Consulting, which has offices in Oldham and Bowdon, has launched a new operation in the city’s Mount Pleasant area. The firm will offer asset management and building surveying services from their new Liverpool base. Ian Heald, co-director of JBH, commented: “We are over the

moon to have opened a new office in Liverpool. With a growing local client base, creating a presence in Liverpool was a natural step in the growth of our business. Despite poor economic conditions, JBH’s expansion is proof that by providing a quality, director level input consultancy, clients’ expectations are exceeded thanks to our enthusiastic and pro-active hands-on approach.”

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MSB Commercial • Corporate Property and Litigation Services • Commercial Contract Advice and Drafting • Company Formations and Structure • Acquisitions and Disposals • Shareholder Agreements • Director Service Contracts • Employment Law and Contracts Call MSB Solicitors on 0151 281 9040 paulbibby@msbsolicitors.co.uk MSB Solicitors, Liverpool city centre office, 13th Floor Silkhouse Court, Tithebarn Street, L2 2LZ www.msbsolicitors.co.uk

20 MOVE COMMERCIAL

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India Buildings re-launch Key events

By Jonathan Kearney jonathan@movepublishing.co.uk

Stylish revamp for historic site June marked the re-launch of the iconic India Buildings in Liverpool’s commercial district. Guests were invited to a drinks and canapés reception and a viewing of the new marketing suite at the building, which occupies an entire block in a prime city centre location. The historic Grade II listed building has benefited from a significant interior refit to establish the site as one of the city’s most sought after office locations, with suites and whole floors available up to 35,000 sq ft.

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1. Tony Reed, Stuart Keppie & Andrew Byrne (all of Keppie Massie). 2. Jo Swift & Ian Wilby (both of Barclays Wealth & Barclays Corporate). 3. David Evans (Denovo Designs), John Carroll (Scott Wilson) & David Brigden (BRH Architects). 4. Nick Harrop & Brian Ricketts (both of Hitchcock, Wright & Partners) & Frank Mallon (HFM Consulting Engineers). 5. Martin Unsworth & Kristina Stoddern (Maxwell Hodge Solicitors). 6. Trevor Sloane (Jones Lang Lasalle) & David Colvin (Matthews & Goodman).

7. Dave Lloyd (Lloyds Register), John Leader (Green Property) & Sarah Walsh (Lloyds Register). 8. Neil Kirkham (Hitchcock, Wright & Partners), Robin Evans (Matthew Goodman) & Andrew Owen (Mason Owen). 9. Jon Swain (Mason and Partners) & Ann-Marie Millar (Green Property). 10. Mark Worthington (CB Richard Ellis), Jason Howard (Ridge & Partners) & Norman Jones (Mace & Jones Solicitors).

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Kings Business Park Knowsley • Merseyside MOVE COMMERCIAL 23

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Kirkby born and bred Nick Kavanagh, Knowsley Council’s executive director for regeneration, economy and skills, is the man leading on the regeneration of the town. Nick was also recently charged with shared responsibility for Liverpool’s regeneration agenda.

Generation game

24 MOVE COMMERCIAL

people who trip over in the street. I started at the bottom, making tea and everything else. When I was 38 I got my first executive director position and I was quite proud of that. I took over my current role about 18 months ago and I wanted to re-shape the department and really take the lead on big regeneration projects.”

The plans for the transformation of Kirkby have been significantly scaled back from the initial £450m Destination Kirkby project, which comprised of a major Tesco store,

“

the retail offer for the people of Kirkby is not full enough

“

Despite the fact that Knowsley Council is facing up to significant cutbacks, the progress of regeneration in the area – backed up by private sector investment – remains relatively undiminished. It’s fitting then that representatives from Tesco precede me in Nick’s diary, before our meeting at the Council’s Huyton offices. A piece of abstract art that would not look out of place in the Tate Modern adorns the wall facing Nick’s desk. In fact it is the masterpiece of his then 1 ½ year old daughter, now aged four. Nick is clearly a proud Dad and proud of the scheme he hopes will transform his home town Kirkby, where he attended St Kevin’s School and where his Mum and Dad still live. He said: “Perhaps it is a bit special for me because I grew up in Kirkby and I’ve seen the town centre on a weekly basis and it’s never exactly been thriving. Asda pulled out of the town about 20 years ago and I don’t think it ever really recovered from that.”

Nick has been with the Council since leaving school 25 years ago and was recently trusted with shared responsibility for Liverpool’s regeneration agenda. The regeneration of Kirkby town centre, a £250m scheme that would bring an additional 320,000 sq ft of retail capacity to the town, represents one of the largest projects he has worked on to date. Nick said: “Initially I was administering insurance claims for

leisure facilities, offices, homes and other retail units, not to mention a 50,000-seater stadium for Everton FC. The rejection of the scheme by the government planning inspector last November forced the regeneration team and their partners back to the drawing board. “We were gutted last November, I have to say. I thought we’d get the scheme through.

It would have been £450m worth of investment and having Everton FC in the borough would have put us on

the map, rather than people just seeing us as part of Liverpool. The first thing to do once we got the news was to establish whether Tesco was still interested in the scheme. They said they were so we picked ourselves up quite quickly, dusted ourselves off and we were back round the table within a week.” Tesco’s regeneration subsidiary Spenhill recently submitted the new application for planning approval, a £250m scheme incorporating a new Tesco store in the town centre, a new retail park at the south end of Cherryfield Drive, a new library and green spaces. If the planning process runs smoothly, Nick is hopeful that the entire project can be completed within four years.

“It will create about 1,250 new jobs, half of which will come from the area’s unemployed. We’re looking at 78,000 customers going through the Tesco every week. If you think about the benefit to the existing traders then it’s going to be huge and really pick up the town centre and revitalise it. At the moment, Kirkby town centre is past its best to say the least.

It’s still trading and still relatively full, but the retail offer for the people of Kirkby is not full enough and I think we need the Next’s and the other retailers in there, together with Tesco, to give it a proper retail offer.”

Despite the potential of the project, Kirkby has been just one area of focus for Nick since taking over as Knowsley’s executive director for

regeneration, economy and skills.

The £25m regeneration of Stockbridge Village is further down the line following planning approval from the planners. Work has already begun on that scheme, which will see the creation of a new primary school, leisure centre, library and retail units.

Work is also progressing on the new retail offer in Halewood. The 50,000 sq ft Neptune development will feature an Aldi supermarket at the heart of the scheme, unanimously selected by residents ahead of Tesco, together with a number of smaller units aimed at high street retailers.

With approval, work is expected to begin in January 2011 and culminate in the completion of the £16m regeneration of Halewood’s Raven Court site. “I can’t afford for Kirkby to pre-occupy my time. It’s a huge scheme and I’ve got to keep a close eye on that but there’s the new retail development in Halewood, where we’ve also just built a new council office, library and PCT. It’s a very impressive new facility down there, receiving all sorts of brilliant feedback from the local residents.

The Neptune scheme has taken a bit of time because they have already identified a buyer for the scheme further down the line. Normally you have to built it first and see if it’s trading! But we know it’s going to do well down there. It’s a good catchment area and they’ve had such a poor offer up until now that the

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Nick Kavanagh, Knowsley Council Mover & Shaker

Kavanagh File DOB: February 1969 Education: St Kevin’s, Kirkby

new retail offer is going to be fantastic for them.”

Knowsley has managed to attract and retain some major businesses in recent years, with the borough’s business parks boasting names such as Kodak, News International, QVC and Jaguar and offering significant potential for growth. Since taking up his current role within the council, Nick has sought to maximise the presence of such firms within the borough to ensure employment opportunities locally. He said: “While businesses are growing there are opportunities for new jobs and skills.

The department runs employment and skills but before they weren’t working together. Now I have two people that go into visit businesses.

Since we’ve set that up we’ve had Jaguar with their deal to build the new baby Range Rover, creating 1,100 new jobs, while Vertex have got hold of a whole host of new contracts worth 700 jobs. What we’ve done with both of those is put our employment and skills person in at the same time. We’re recruiting for Jaguar and recruiting for Vertex, so that we make sure local people get into those local jobs rather than just leave it open to Job Centre Plus and the wider market. We do it directly. We’re also working on training 800 local people from the local area for the sort of skills they’re going to need for Jaguar when they come to recruit.”

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David Beard is a developer with a difference. The man with over forty years experience in developments sought to focus solely on water-based developments with the founding of Floating Concepts four years ago. He recently invested £250,000 in the Liverpool Boat Show in the hope of developing the festival as a global event.

Steering ahead

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all well over the last few years. It wasn’t well patronised for the last couple of years and it’s difficult to get to. Southampton is a very good event but there’s room for another one in the north of England. We’ve got a fantastic catchment up here.

The growth in boat ownership and boat interest is greater north of Birmingham than south of Birmingham, so I think we will attract an enormous number of visitors, both yachties and nonyachties, who will come and have a look at what boating is all about.”

The Liverpool Marina, which David set up in 1986 as part of the early regeneration of Liverpool’s South Docks, will naturally play a key role in the festival. The development supports 450 berthing spaces, together with a 200 cover restaurant, bar and conference facilities. The company recently agreed with British Waterways to extend their lease to incorporate the whole of Coburg and Brunswick Docks and are currently in discussions with regard to further extensions. “The business had its ups and downs but I think it’s well grounded now. We’ve got some really good management in place, really good staff, and we’ve bottomed out. Despite the recession we’re on the up.” A chartered surveyor with a post graduate diploma in Financial Studies, David has been directly involved in

developments for the past 10 years, working on industrial and office developments in Trafford and residential units around Liverpool Marina. His last major land based scheme was the £60m Citygate complex in Manchester city centre, a development of over 300 apartments and 1000 sq m of

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it will be an international boat show

“

Liverpool Marina, part of Harbourside Marina plc which David controls, together with Liverpool City Council, British Waterways and other partners, has helped to bring the current level of investment in the Liverpool Boat Show to £1.5m. David has now been appointed to the board of directors of organisers Marine Industry Events, offering first hand involvement in an event he has the utmost confidence in. “I think the Liverpool Boat Show will become an annual regional festival” he said. “If they can get over 300,000 people to the Mathew Street Festival I think it’s indicative that our estimate of 400,000 with the boat show is probably an under-estimate.” The inaugural Liverpool Boat Show will take place at the end of April next year, with major boat manufacturers such as Sealine, Fairline and Sunseeker among a raft of companies to have already signed up to the event, with organisations such as the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Liverpool Vision and The Mersey Partnership also supporting what is hoped will become a world-renowned date on the boating calendar. David added: “It will certainly help Liverpool’s global profile because it will be an international boat show. There are two boat shows in the UK now, Southampton and ExCeL in London. ExCeL hasn’t performed at

business space. Marrying the old Mark Twain adage “Buy land, because they’re not making any more” with his love of all things water-based, the keen sailor established Wilmslow-based Floating Concepts in 2006, focusing solely on the unique remit of developing on water. In exploring ideas for the surplus water space at his Liverpool and Salford Marinas, David contacted a number of manufacturers and professionals

involved in the design of floating structures and travelled extensively in Europe, Canada and South East Asia. Initially, he secured the UK distribution rights to the exclusive Danish “Waterliving” luxury houseboat concept. The company’s aspirations have since developed into the creation of floating mixed use communities. He added: “I saw the opportunity of developing on water as a natural extension of land-based developments, which fitted very well with my interest in water. We now promote the idea that “Bluefield land” as a development medium is as valid as Greenfield and Brownfield sites, with the application of some aquatecture and imagineering!

There are virtually no other developers on water. I don’t think there are any who are as far advanced with technology as we are.

We’ve spent a lot of time finding the right type of foundation, so we’ve moved away from the normal pontoons that most people expect to utilise. We have a highly developed product with a design life of 100 years which is insurable and fully mortgageable, so that’s a real breakthrough.” Floating Concepts is currently looking for three showcase sites across the UK and is conducting feasibilities into eight existing locations including Glasgow, Chester, Salford, Liverpool, Preston, York and

L £ u th S u c d r u u w d

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David Beard, Floating Concepts Founding Father

Beard File Born: Merseyside, 1948 London. The company is hoping the £25m development of a new mixed use floating village in Glasgow will be their first breakthrough, after Scottish Enterprise shortlisted the unique development for consideration. The proposed development includes bars and restaurants, around 30 residential units, 25,000 sq ft of small office units, eight live work units and a new water sports and activity centre. The development will also include an 80

berth marina and approximately 170 berths for recreational craft and visitors. David commented: “It’ll be the only floating village of its kind in the world. We’re very hopeful on that and we’ve been promised a decision very shortly. We hope that will be our first breakthrough. Also, within the master planning of the Liverpool Docks, there’s likely to be a significant element of floating structures, so we’d like to be a part of that.” He added: “There’s a large site

in Cheshire which we’re exploring with United Utilities at the moment.

It’s quite a sensitive site but we’re hoping we will create a new leisure and recreational destination there.

That again will have a lot of tourist appeal attached to it. We have received a number of approaches from potential investors and will probably look for a suitable partner to help us to our next stage of growth as soon as our first three major schemes are in the bag.”

Education: Leeds Modern Boys Grammar, Liverpool Polytechnic and Heriot-Watt University First job: Mr Soft ice cream salesman Hobbies: Sailing, rugby, good food and fine wines, travel, visiting and photographing waterfronts

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Budget cuts were always likely to be the dominant issue for the current Government, regardless of who had won May’s general election. With many of the region’s development projects so intrinsically tied to public sector support, the incumbent Government’s austerity measures have inevitably appeared severe in the North West. Move Commercial looks at the state of capital projects in the region.

Cut to the chase Everyman Thearte

ONE OF THE BIGGEST impacts has been the measures imposed on the Northwest Regional Development Agency following the Government’s Emergency Budget on 22 June. The Quango will close in 2012, with all regional development agencies to be replaced by Local Enterprise Partnerships controlled by local authorities and the private sector.

From then on, those affected by the cuts can re-apply to their respective local bodies. For now though, the window for public sector funding on new projects is effectively closed.

The NWDA had £52m cut from this 28 MOVE COMMERCIAL

year’s budget, with funding for any un-committed projects cut from their 2010/11 budget. Despite the inevitability of the cuts, the figures imposed were believed to be more than twice that which the Agency had expected. More than 100 projects in the North West, at various stages of coming to fruition, have had their budgets cut, including Manchester International Festival and Liverpool Science Park Innovation Centre 3. Others affected, such as Chester Zoo’s £225m Natural Vision Project, have vowed to continue without the support of the

Agency, while the £28m redevelopment of Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre is likely to go on site in 2011, despite a funding cut of £2.4m.

The impact on the NWDA has also resulted in a knock-on effect for the Quango’s 30 partner organisations across the region. Operational funding for urban regeneration and economic development companies such as Central Salford and Liverpool Vision will cease in March 2011, the latter having received £18m for its business development programme and £500,000 for running costs over the last year. The Mersey Partnership, which receives an annual £3.2m contribution from the NWDA, will see its inward investment funding continue until March 2012.

Funding for projects already underway, such as those at Media City in Salford, Lancashire County Cricket Club and the £1.5m refurbishment of ‘The Florrie’ in Liverpool will continue, while £2m in grants has been committed for small firms to develop technologies to reduce carbon emissions – representing essential funding or an alarming waste public funds, dependant on your view of man-

made climate change.

The new Royal Liverpool University Hospital was one local project under serious threat at one stage, as a consequence of broader cuts nationwide. Pre-election, the Conservatives had pledged to support the £450m scheme, but the coalition Government reneged on the pledge six days into office, no doubt as the extent of the country’s budget deficit was becoming apparent. The project was finally approved by health secretary Andrew Lansley in June. Two construction firms will submit final bids for the scheme in February next year, in the hope of starting work in early 2012, although the project recently came under threat from a campaigner, who has called for a judicial review in protest of the development’s Private Finance Initiative funding.

Shortly before the election, as all parties were attempting to out-do The ‘Florrie’

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Budget cuts Capital projects update

Mersey Gateway Bridge

affect the region since the coalition government came to power was the abolition of Labour’s Building Schools for Future programme. £350m was to be spent on the rebuilding of secondary schools across Liverpool alone as part of the largest school building programme since the Victorian era. Plans for 26 Liverpool schools, that were to be rebuilt or completely modernised, have now been scrapped. A £25m Academy for south Liverpool will go ahead as

planned with the proposed De LaSalle Academy in Croxteth awaiting its fate in October’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

Projects under construction will continue to go ahead, but the Government will shift the emphasis towards its own education initiatives, such as the “free schools” programme, as it implements its own agenda and response to the country’s budget deficit in an era of economic restraint.

Chester Zoo’s Natural Vision Project

each other in offering promises and stark warnings, Labour’s Lord Adonis, the then secretary of state for transport, pledged his support to the Mersey Gateway project, saying he was “committed to taking forward” the toll bridge scheme.

Unsurprisingly, the £431m project was put on hold by the incumbent coalition Government, after telling Halton Borough Council they would have to fund a greater percentage of the scheme themselves. The project proposes a new six-lane toll bridge across the stretch of river between Runcorn and Widnes and would be

part subsidised by implementing a toll on the existing Runcorn Bridge.

Halton Borough Council, who believe 4,600 jobs will be created by the construction of the Mersey Gateway, recently announced that 70 per cent of the project could be funded by private investment. The project, along with a number of other schemes, is currently under consideration by the Government, with its future likely to be announced as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, due to be reported in parliament on October 20.

One of the major capital schemes to

Proposed Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital

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Discount retail chain B&M Retail was a 21-store business in 2005, with an annual turnover of £65m. Following the takeover by brothers Bobby and Simon Arora, the company now boasts over 200 trading stores and is considered one of the fastest growing retailers in the UK.

Chain reaction

30 MOVE COMMERCIAL

pleased with the response. I think what has been surprising is the number of premises that have come to market in such a short space of time. ” When so many retailers were struggling to stay afloat, B&M’s pretax profits in 2009 had risen by a staggering 147 per cent on the previous year. The programme of expansion over the last couple of years has been at a rate of one store opening every week, with a further 36 premises now under the B&M banner following the Opus deal. The business, which employs around 5,500 staff nationwide, also has the faith of the banks, another rare trait in such relatively times. Barclays Corporate provided a £40m loan to facilitate the Opus deal, while B&M secured £10.85m from Lloyds TSB to help fund the purchase of The Vault, the company’s 625,000 sq ft new headquarters in Speke.

Managing director Simon commented: “The banks have been nothing but supportive in helping us with our expansion programme and also with working capital for the business.” The move from its Blackpool roots to Speke’s Estuary

Commerce Park, which was also aided by a £1.75m grant from Liverpool Vision, would certainly appear to be to the advantage of Liverpool and the business. The relocation to the facility, which has undergone an £8m refit programme, will lead to the creation

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THE RETAILER, which attracts around one million customers a week to its stores, recently acquired the Opus Homewares chain for £48m, furthering its expansion into Scotland and Northern Ireland and ensuring its immense growth continues unabated. Since Bobby and Simon bought the business from venture capital group Phildrew Ventures (now UBS Capital) in 2005 the success of the business has been marked by the real estate opportunities born out of the recession and the decline of many a well-established name, both on the high street and beyond. As Simon says: “B&M has grown very strongly over the last two or three years, owing to the demise of retailers such as Woolworths and Kwik Save. We would have grown anyway, but the difference is that the loss of retailers from the high street has created more space for properties that are suitable for us, in a quicker period of time. I suppose the growth has been something of a surprise. We’ve always known that the stores are very popular and whenever we’ve opened one we’ve always been very

We think the UK can support 400 B&M stores

of around 200 office and 400 warehouse jobs, the vast majority of them local. Simon commented: “We’re going to be fully operational from The Vault from midSeptember. The site will accommodate our head office together with our distribution

facilities, so it was important that we found a suitable environment for the head office. There are strategic advantages of being based in Liverpool, based on the proximity of the docks and secondly because of the quality of the business environment in Estuary Business Park was very good.” It is from their new Liverpool base that Simon will plot the continued nationwide expansion of a business that was founded in Blackpool in 1976 and now enjoys an annual turnover of £400m. The brothers, who both attended Manchester Grammar School, have established vital links with Chinese suppliers, enabling B&M to stock a wide variety of branded discount goods. With a strong retail presence secured on UK high streets, recent focus has turned to out of town retail parks, together with a continued geographical expansion. Simon commented: “We see retail parks as having growth opportunities, particularly in terms of the nature of their location. We see ourselves as having more opportunities down in the Midlands and the South East

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Simon Arora Entrepreneur

Arora file Age: 40 Education: Manchester Grammar School, Cambridge University Interests: Holidaying in Ibiza

and we see ourselves having more opportunities away from the traditional high street. That said there are still plenty of town centres we are not in that we would like to be in because there are plenty of opportunities, even here in the North West. We try and achieve a balance in what we do although recently there has been a greater emphasis on homewares and soft furnishings.” Considering Bobby and Simon’s business experience had been cultivated on the supply side, their rise to prominence in retail over the past five years has been phenomenal. Sale-born Simon, who read Law at Cambridge, said: “I’ve always been involved in consumer goods so it’s something that I’m comfortable with but it’s only in the last five years that we’ve become retailers. Over the next couple of years we plan to open about 40 stores per year as we consolidate and carry on with our organic expansion programme. We think the UK can support 400 B&M stores. There are no plans beyond that at the moment. We’re just keen to concentrate on the UK.”

Three hopes for the year ahead 1. The pound remaining strong 2. Consumer confidence holding up 3. Good weather MOVE COMMERCIAL 31

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World Heritage Status Lunch debate Graham Marshall, principal at Maxim Urban Design and formerly enabler at CABE and director of planning and design at Liverpool Vision, and Adam Hall, managing director at Falconer Chester Hall firm of architects, sat down to discuss the implications for the city’s future development as a result of the World Heritage Status of its waterfront, over lunch at The Noble House bar and restaurant in Liverpool’s Heywood building.

Graham Marshall principal at Maxim Urban Design

Adam Hall managing director at Falconer Chester Hall firm of architects

How important is Liverpool’s World Heritage Status, and how is it impacting on future development?

The recognition provided to a city in being awarded World Heritage Status is considered to be something special, but how significant is it in how it puts a place on the map?

Adam Hall: There is a perception that if something is proposed to develop a World Heritage Site, at least among the general public, that it shouldn’t or won’t happen because it’s something we need to protect.

That’s not how we should view opportunities within a WHS. It’s important to preserve it, yes, but also to ensure we continue to enjoy the best of the heritage we have, and the way to do that is to allow regeneration to continue in and around that area.

Graham Marshall: When Liverpool Vision first put together its strategic plan for the city centre in 1999, it looked at a whole range of initiatives

to raise the ante in Liverpool because it ought to be a world class city. The 800th birthday was a target date, so was Capital of Culture, followed by World Heritage Status, to celebrate the heritage of the city, its culture and the history of that culture, and thirdly how those two things have combined to create a world class mercantile city. That’s the basis of what the WHS status means.

It’s not about how fine the buildings are within that boundary, but what those buildings represent.

AH: It’s a recognition of Liverpool’s predominance as a great trading port of the 18th and 19th centuries, from which the New World was discovered, the dock system, the trading – they’re spaces, not buildings, which represent Liverpool’s growth. The public perception seems to focus on the buildings.

GM: Our plan was to get people to

pause and recognise the quality of the city that they had. At that time for social and economic reasons, people both outside and inside the city, were very down on it. When I arrived here, in 1997, I saw a thing of elegance. It’s an organic city, as good as any European medieval examples, and the forms are the same. It’s all about the marketplace, and how commerce grew up around Dale Street.

AH: What WHS status recognises and seeks to protect is zones and areas, the spaces in the city, not set pieces and buildings, although for the general public it’s the buildings which are talked about. I remember when the Albert Dock was silted up, and there was talk of knocking it down, except that Michael Heseltine saw the opportunity there and potential for retail, leisure and housing – to engage with Liverpool’s USP, being situated

on the Mersey. That’s one of the six zones now in the WHS, but it could have been bulldozed – we’re so lucky.

GM: We were. In the 70s Graham Shankland had a plan to demolish the city centre – only the economic depression and a lack of investment prevented it from coming to fruition.

AH: My father was an architect, and over two generations, the city has changed remarkably. Something we need to remember is that any contemporary, quality building could find a home on or around the WHS – the status is intended to promote this, and future development, for the benefit of the city.

How does WHS put a city on the map?

AH: A cruise liner docked here over summer, one where the passengers are residents, and they chose to visit Glasgow and then Liverpool – they wanted to see these two cities, and MOVE COMMERCIAL 33

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Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool Waterfront

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34 MOVE COMMERCIAL

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World Heritage Status Lunch debate

the Capital of Culture status and information that’s been in the press and online will have drawn them to make that decision.

GM: Liverpool has long been on the world map, but people Google places to visit and if they find positive articles and information about a place they’ll want to visit. In the 90s, they would have found some negative press about Liverpool which wouldn’t draw them here – but that’s changed now. The WHS status is an accolade which can’t be rubbished, just as it offers protection to buildings and spaces. The more people who visit and experience the city, the more that message spreads.

AH: Even among those who come for other reasons, maybe they do only know about The Beatles or the Grand National – they go away saying ‘I didn’t realise you had all of this as well’. There are many other things about the city which we don’t broadcast as well, but when they are here, the sightseeing tours which focus on the buildings and the UNESCO recognition then pass on that knowledge.

Are there any comparable success stories of WHS elsewhere which we might take as a model?

GM: It’s very difficult to compare two World Heritage sites because they are so few in the world, and so different – whether they are natural or ancient sites, or a relatively modern site like Liverpool. What’s special about a WHS is that it is a ‘one off’ and there isn’t a pattern you can observe about the benefits of it, or how to treat it.

AH: Each site comprises a different set of circumstances, so it’s about protecting that site and enabling it to continue to live, to grow. It isn’t about

attracting visitors or investment, although for Liverpool that’s something we want to do.

GM: For some sites it is about preservation, conservation – for example the pyramids at Giza, or the Great Barrier Reef. In Liverpool, it’s about having a strategic vision for future building and development. Any quality building, which isn’t damaging, should be welcomed here. Liverpool is a first in so many areas, and the plan we put together at Liverpool Vision, was to cement all of those histories with something like Liverpool One, knowing that something else should follow to cement all of those other things. If you look at the size of Liverpool and Manchester compared to London, you’re then surprised to see that we actually attract a far higher density of students than London does. We’re obviously doing something right, and now we just need to keep graduates in the city.

How has WHS contributed to economic growth in the city through the tourism and leisure sector?

AH: Cameron when he visited recently said that the UK really needs to focus on its tourist economy, and he said that Liverpool has demonstrated how with its Capital of Culture status, and WHS status, it’s created an economy which 10 or 15 years ago would not have been viable to promote. The increase in hotels and the leisure industry has been substantial, and we cannot quantify exactly how much this is due to any one factor.

GM: Liverpool Vision and the NWDA have all looked at the economics to ascertain the growth of tourism, and the economic growth, but it’s clearly all in the round. It’s how it all works in

combination.

What might be the advantages to developing near/on a WHS – and how should it be done?

AH: The land next to the Albert Dock where we now have the Arena and Convention Centre has attracted a lot of attention, and those buildings are high quality with obvious tourist benefits and a clear relationship to the rest of the Albert Dock - bridging the old and the new. The economic benefits of that scheme are clear.

While I’d like to see more commerce in the city, we have to thank the WHS for the benefits brought to the city by increased tourism. The WHS has been of benefit in helping to bring about these great modern buildings – if anything, the WHS status has raised the bar, not prevented development.

That’s one point I’d really like to get across – that we can work with this status to create great new buildings.

The quality of new development has to go up a few notches.

In developing a WHS site, what are the pitfalls and is it less attractive

“ ”

The city needs new buildings to work.

to developers as a whole?

AH: There’s been a lot of people moaning about the new Mann Island development, and that the view over Salthouse Dock was held to be one of

the key views. That’s been lost now.

GM: I don’t like the masterplan for that scheme. When we set up LV in 1999 we spent a lot of time in London convincing civil servants in London that is was right for them to support the first urban regeneration company in the country. Essentially, the problems facing Liverpool were just too complex for the city council to deal with, and the company was a pilot to facilitate and assist the three partners, English Partnerships, NWDA and the city council. The city centre had been ignored for two decades with any development that happened taking place elsewhere. Our argument was that if the centre was dead, then we were in trouble, but I was always against the idea of a masterplan as that suggests we knew all the answers, or had a single developer, and just needed the funding; what we needed was a regeneration framework.

AH: That’s right, if you have a masterplan and then the economic situation changes, then you need to adapt it.

GM: I took the term masterplan out of all the documents. The first thing we established was that we could not regenerate Liverpool from the position it was in; we needed a foundation. We established a retail base, legitimate residential base, and so on to stabilise it. We looked at side streets from the commercial district to the retail, as that’s how people were moving. Does anyone now think the Liverpool Canal was a bad idea? But I had to sit through meetings where people were saying that Liverpool would never be a great city again, and that it should just accept that. In the pilot company there was only myself and the chief

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“

It’s important to preserve WHS status, but also to ensure we continue to enjoy the best of the heritage we have, and the way to do that is to allow regeneration to continue in and around that area.

”

exec who could stand up for Liverpool, and if you count all the people who live here in the city and in the immediate surrounds and see that the decisions affecting the city total 1.5 million then you can understand why we had to keep struggling to convince

36 MOVE COMMERCIAL

people of the potential. You do need a degree of resilience, some arrogance and humility – knowing when to speak up, and when to shut up. Some people needed upsetting, because they were holding the city back. I didn’t want to let a dozen people stand in the way of 1.5 million people’s futures.

How does quality building affect everyday life?

GM: I hate seeing a granite floor dug up by the gas board, and made to look awful - and the city council should manage those kinds of things better.

But would you say that we should compromise on the materials? A good quality floor and building says that this is a world class city.

AH: I agree, absolutely. The surfaces you walk upon change perceptions of the place, for everyone who visits and who lives here. From my school year, I think only two or three, including myself, work in Liverpool. They moved away, and that saddens me.

GM: Today, graduates now have a choice and so they should. We want people to come here for university, or go away and then come back because they can have a good job and standard of living here. When the plans for the waterfront were first mooted, the plans for The Cloud aimed to create something completely different. If the other three buildings were like teacups, in the sense that you wouldn’t really go inside them if you were a member of the public, this

one turned the teacup upside down. I really liked its potential, but every time I saw a photo of it, it was the one Will Alsop hated. You take the idea of a cloud and you can’t see the edges. It was only not deliverable because they weren’t allowed to build a load of apartments – despite the fact that that’s exactly what’s happening now.

AH: The reason for the downfall of that scheme, was it due to the public reception or at the time the economic viability of it?

GM: Everything’s economically viable depending on how much profit you want or how you offset it. It fell out of favour.

AH: The new scheme was proposed very quickly and I got the feeling that it was about, oh dear, Liverpool hasn’t managed to let something happen – so let’s get something built in its place. Perhaps then the new scheme didn’t receive the same scrutiny.

GM: And that’s always a mistake – if life ran like clockwork, it would be so boring. Go back to Giza and the pharoahs who had control of everything, ordering pyramids to be built, and they were so bored they resorted to doing terrible things to people. They ran out of things to do.

The interesting thing is that, if you have a great idea and it doesn’t work out – it’s ok. At least you stopped before you went too far. You have to be able to admit you made a mistake.

Then let the system work through.

Museums & Galleries wanted more

space. My idea was to pull the flyovers down and build there, around the back, linking the cultural organisations of the city together.

Building apartments there would also have helped pay for it. It would also have joined north Liverpool to what was happening in the city centre. You need to take a hit in some areas for benefits elsewhere. The moral of the story is, you can make a mistake but you need the bigger picture to work.

With Mann Island, I think the plans were premature but how long will the buildings last, 50 years? The value of land in the city is always changing, and the buildings will be replaced.

“ ”

What’s special about a WHS is that it is a ‘one off’.

AH: Was WHS status right to allow something to happen there? We need the best historic and the best contemporary buildings. The new museum is a fantastic building. I personally think The Cloud was too large.

GM: We did need a focus out on the waterfront, but I think the museum is maybe not quite in the best place – but things change. But there’s always a chance that the three waterfront buildings may change their function. I remember working on a project in London and there was a building site knocked down before it was finished because the land values had increased so much. City centre land values change so much – but the spaces endure even while the buildings come and go. While there’s a fine line between taste, style and good design you have to have a good planning committee who will not allow poor quality, damaging buildings to be built just because they’re afraid that the city lose an investment to another city. We should be strong, and wait for the right investors with the right plans for the space, but to do that we need a good committee, with quality people like Lady Doreen Jones.

What might be the advantages and problems to Peel developing the waterfront?

AH: There were some issues with

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World Heritage Status Lunch debate

where to place the tower blocks, but I think that, sensitively done, the scheme will bring Stanley Dock and other buildings around there, back into use and that would be great for the city. I’m definitely in favour of it in principle although I’d need to see more detail before I could say how I might impact on the WHS status of the city.

GM: I’d agree. It’s the right approach to north Liverpool, big and bold, crossing the water too, with a critical mass. It’s a lot more than just increasing land values with planning permission. It’s a big deal for Liverpool, on both sides of the water – and puts the city where it should be. Liverpool has something Manchester and Birmingham will never have, and it’s something which will turn us into a Lyon.

AH: We’re involved at FCH with Wirral waters, and if their approach is the same in Liverpool then the aspiration to capitalise on their assets with energy generation is fantastic. You walk around Birkenhead now and it’s clear that just polishing street corners wouldn’t do anything. You need to think the unthinkable and Peel are

doing that. You have to admire their approach. Another factor in the scheme is that Peel is a large landowner or none of it would be possible. Look at the Ropewalks where the disparate ownership just makes it impossible for much in the way of regeneration to happen.

GM: Compare that with the city centre in 1999 which centred on Church Street and there was just nowhere for businesses to expand. Next had

“ ”

Liverpool is a world class city and doesn’t need to worry about what Manchester is doing.

something like the highest sales turnover but in one of the smallest high street units in Liverpool – because the critical mass was not available. People had to queue outside – but where could they go? Grosvenor worked with the city council to CPO what they couldn’t buy and made their scheme happen. That’s what Peel is doing. When it comes under one umbrella, exciting things can happen, and where one developer leads others will follow. It’s an ideal opportunity for the city – but the problem is the backdrop of north Liverpool, which desperately needs regenerating, and that isn’t part of Peel’s scheme. There are hopes that the Peel scheme will send a ripple effect – but ripple effects often don’t work. There needs to be a plan for that area of the city in its own right – although that’s another story.

AH: I do hope that there will be influence from Peel’s scheme in the perimeter and raise potential to develop around that.

GM: That’s what concerns me. Take the Edge Lane scheme in 1997 and Atlantic Boulevard – where the very best corner sites were let to the wrong users. I think that in the city centre the public realm should shape the city, on the waterfront it’s the river and the docks, and that should be seen as a major high street. All the energy needs to focus along that. At the same time we need a plan to look at north Liverpool and how that’s going to work, in partnership with the public authorities. The masterplan for a scheme can’t defend itself by saying there’ll be a ripple effect – it needs to be more proactive.

How can developers work with WHS? AH: The criteria is very specific and the big players know how it works.

We’ve just had a plan approved for a hotel on Dale Street. We proposed a whole new building on the site of three old buildings, but the reaction from the planning committee improved the scheme so that now we’ll be keeping two of the buildings for heritage reasons, with one new building in between them. At the back there was a two-storey workhouse, which was a piece of the city’s history, and we argued that that should not stand in the way of new development – and won the case. It was agreed that the viability of the new scheme would be hindered if the workhouse was maintained. The positive benefits of the new development- getting old buildings back into use, bringing animation to ground floor level on that street – was seen to be more beneficial than preserving that one

building. So the WHS worked with us, acknowledging that redevelopment was more important. The city needs new buildings to work. You lose something – but you gain more.

Do we have a clear enough vision of Liverpool as a city and what its aims should be in terms of how it competes within the region and with other regional cities for economic success?

AH: Liverpool Vision is in China now, telling people that Liverpool is a city to invest in, and they have evidence now of why that should be the case.

GM: I think that there’s a misunderstanding of the sense of competition in the region. While you need to be cognisant of what’s happening in the region, Liverpool is a world class city and doesn’t need to worry about what Manchester is doing. It should blaze its own trail. It should look to capitalise on its assets to imagine a new future. We have so many entrepreneurial people here, we have quality stock, cheap land and great opportunities. Manchester can’t compare with that. Yes, right now we’re experiencing economic problems, but Liverpool has seen off 50 years of that – if we keep the momentum going now, we will have the benefit of apartments and office spaces to attract investment when we’re back on the upturn.

THE NOBLE HOUSE RESTAURANT & BAR Heywood Building, 5 Brunswick Street, Liverpool, L2 OUU Our panel enjoyed the express lunch menu, with meals inspired by New York greats Carnegie Deli and Smith & Ollensky, at The Noble House, in the stunning interiors of the historic grade II listed Heywood building on Brunswick Street, in the heart of Liverpool’s business district. The express lunch menu offers two courses for £14.95, with mains varying from oak smoked Scottish salmon to roast buttered breast of chicken with Serrano ham, to vegetarian risotto of shallots, confit cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella and flame grilled quarter pound beefburgers with fries.

To book a table, telephone 0151 236 5346.

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Q&A With Tracy Thompson Licensed Conveyancer, Property Department I am interested in taking a 5 year lease of a small shop and the landlord says he wants me to contract out of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954. What does this mean?

Q

The Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 is a complex area of law of which sections 24 – 28 offer the tenant of commercial premises security of tenure at the end of the Lease term.

Unless the lease is contracted out of these sections of the Act, you have the right to remain in the premises until the landlord brings the tenancy to an end in one of the prescribed ways, usually by service of what is called a section 25 notice.

The section 25 notice must give between 6 and 12 months' notice to end the tenancy and the landlord will either offer a new tenancy or refuse one using one of the specified grounds. Unless and until this notice is served you can stay in the premises.

There are 7 specified grounds available under the Act which allow the landlord to refuse a new tenancy of which Ground F – demolition and Ground G – the landlords intention to occupy the premises are most commonly cited. In any case, the landlord or the tenant can apply to the Court for a new tenancy.

If you do agree to contract out of sections 24 – 28 of the 1954 Act, you will be served with a notice prior to entering into the lease which you will need to sign to declare that you accept the consequences of the agreement to contract out.

A

I am currently considering entering into a 10 year lease of a beauty salon. What are the main things I need to consider when negotiating the lease?

Q

There are many issues which need careful consideration before entering into a new business tenancy and the following points are important to bear in mind; As the lease is for 10 years, it is worth trying to negotiate a break clause in the lease so that you have the right to end the lease at a specified time, for example on the 5th anniversary, as this can provide much greater flexibility and peace of mind.

It is likely that as the lease is for more than 5 years there will be a rent review clause. It is common for this to be to a market rent; however it may be worth trying to negotiate for the rent to go down as well if rents have generally fallen at that time.

If you are to be responsible for repairs to the premises, it is important to ensure you are aware of your level of liability in that if the lease contains a full repairing covenant, at the end of the tenancy you will be required to put the premises into good repair at your own cost, even if the premises were not in good repair at the start of your tenancy.

If it is possible you may want to pass the lease on to someone else during the term of the tenancy then you should ensure the lease allows an assignment of the remaining term to a third party. You will also be wise to check what the requirements of the landlord will be in his acceptance of the incoming tenant meeting certain conditions and standards.

These are but a few of the important provisions which you will frequently encounter in a commercial shop lease, however there are many other considerations which is why it is important to take legal advice to make sure you have a full understanding of the legal, commercial and financial implications and burdens being imposed.

A

Tracy Thompson is based in the Crosby office.

2 Crown Buildings, Liverpool Road, Crosby, Liverpool, L23 5SR Tel: 0151 924 9234 Website: www.morecroft.co.uk

38 MOVE COMMERCIAL

The Hub is a new business support facility based at the University of Liverpool. The Hub at Foresight delivers a new concept in meeting and networking space complementing the existing award winning facilities.

Key to the success of the Hub is the technology that allows it to be used as a multi-purpose space for informal meetings, networking and virtual meetings.

Full business support facilities provide an 'office-from-office' environment and a gateway to the expertise of the University of Liverpool.

For details of membership, contact the Foresight Centre on 0151 794 8060 or foresight@liv.ac.uk

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Town centre high street Focus

The north-west’s town centres are fighting back against the recession, and the trend in latter years for businesses to locate in retail and business parks. As opportunities from the recession are opening up town centre high streets to new occupiers, the benefits of reinvesting in town centres has become clear, with developers working in partnership to capitalise on the potential – and the competition leading to some surprising results.

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Focus Town centre high street

Seaside perspectives A focus report on the seaside town of Southport undertaken earlier this year saw the town ranked 53rd nationally for shopping, as compared with Preston in 42nd place and Liverpool in 10th place. The past decade has seen demand for retail in Southport vary, but since 2007 this sector has grown, despite the pitfalls for the shopping street in the recent economic climate. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that confidence is growing in the town. In February this year, there were 25 retailers seeking representation within Southport, collectively requiring up to 28,015 sq m of retail floorspace (stats provided by Sefton Council). Of these, comparison traders account for the largest number of requirements in outlet terms. In the same month there were 110 vacant retail units in the town, occupying floorspace of 27,270 sq m, and representing 14.4 per cent of all units.

To understand the town’s resilience, compare this with the national figures for vacancy of 11.1 per cent of units in a town. Since 2009, however, the proportion of vacant units has decreased by two per cent, and the proportion of vacant floorspace by 1.2 per cent. While the demise of Woolworths last year left a gap on the high street in a number of towns centres and suburban high streets, in Southport this unit has been filled by high street fashion stores New Look and H&M. As these popular and successful retailers bring more shoppers into the town, they are also enticing a younger demographic than the former Woolworths store. Of course, while retail is a large attraction to Southport’s visitors, the plans to develop the seafront also play a significant part in attracting leisure customers to the seaside town. A masterplan and development strategy has already seen significant amounts of funding pour into the town and it’s expected that key infrastructure developments 40 MOVE COMMERCIAL

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Town centre high street Focus

over the next five years will see an unparalleled reinvention of the historic retail and leisure destination.

Neptune Developers, known for their work at Mann Island in Liverpool and on New Brighton waterfront are becoming something of a specialist in leisure-based regeneration and have invested £20million into Southport’s seafront. The redevelopment of the Floral Hall Gardens site, with a four star hotel, casino and conference facilities and improvements to the public realm, a pedestrian area and the Marine Lake should also bring significant improvements. With other investments and innovations in the town supporting this work, the town’s prospects for the years ahead look bright.

Looking to the future In St Helens, plans to boost the town centre have focused on developing the new £2million St Helens stadium in the centre itself. Alan Shearer visited the town in May to open the development of nine indoor third generation five-a-side football pitches and the additional 65 by 25 metre pitch on the site of a redundant glass works. The town’s fame for its colliery and glass works were sensitively remembered and commemorated last year with the installation of an impressive 20 metre high piece of public art in Sutton (visible from the motorway) - The Dream – which also expresses the town’s outward and forward looking vision for its future. The new stadium’s use of a redundant site is a truly regenerative project designed to offer a platform for community-based projects, sporting events, and will welcome VIPs and dignitaries to the town on the site which looks at both its history and its future. Langtree developers, who own the site, have worked with the borough council on the project, who say the scheme will create hundreds of new jobs in the borough with a new Tesco superstore offering 140,000 sq ft of retail floorspace forming a key part of the

scheme. The scheme will face historic former Cannington Shaw Bottleshop, which dates from 1886 and is a scheduled ancient monument, and improve the setting of this piece of the town’s history. Pedestrian links to the town centre are expected to increase the use of public transport into the town, and the numbers of match-goers attending on foot should also increase. While the town centre’s retail offer could use a boost, no plans as yet are underway to revitalise shopping in the town centre itself – and in recent years, this has left the way open for neighbouring retail parks to grow and develop. It’s hoped that Langtree’s investment in office space in the town, and now in the delivery of the stadium, will prompt landlords and developers to up their game.

Taking stock Stockport town’s ambitious plans for retail expansion were crushed in 2008 when the preferred developer Lend Lease withdrew from the £500million Bridgefield retail-led scheme. While in some quarters this brought relief, at lest for Merseyway shopping centre – its main competitor – it remains that investment in Stockport is needed in order for the town to compete with its

“enticing a younger demographic than the former Woolworths store”

neighbours in the northwest.

Positives in recent months however, include a new civic centre for the town and new buildings at Stockport College. A brand new 50,000 sq ft office building at St Peter’s Square by BAM Properties, which has secured Sky as a tenant, show confidence in the town as a centre for business. At the moment, the demand for anther Bridgefield-type scheme does not seem to be driving forward any development in the town. Meanwhile, the Grand Central leisure complex scheme by Targetfellow is no nearer a starting date, but plans to deliver new housing in the town centre in

the Covent Garden Village project could, if successful in securing residents and a wider demographic of residents, increase a demand for more town centre improvements and accelerate the progress that has already been identified as integral to Stockport’s future.

Investing in education A range of schemes were proposed under Bootle’s town centre masterplan in 2003, designed specifically to draw investment into the area by creating viable new buildings, and improving the public realm.

The South Sefton Investment Centre on the site of Vermont House on Stanley Road has successfully attracted the NHS to back the letting and subletting of its grade A facilities, on a 20 year lease, to BA Ventre and Martin Kelly dental practices. Other occupiers include Sefton Council’s regeneration department, among other government departments. With a range of units designed for small businesses and start-ups and a ground floor café, the premises have animated the surrounding area. In the area of education, Bootle’s Hugh Baird College’s investment in its campus continues. The £4.1million investment in the Pembroke Construction followed by a further £50million into the new Balliol Campus at the site, which is expected to be delivered by 2011, creating world class facilities for students.

The town’s proximity to Liverpool and to Southport means that in retail terms, expectations in this area must be realistic, although Bootle’s town centre management team has been proactive in pushing for quality and variety in this area.

overlooked in the tables of northwest town centres; in some ways, a victim of its own success. Expansion in the town’s own retail offer did not meet with initial success when, in 2007 the northern part of the town centre opened the Golden Square shopping centre. Developed by Aspire, working with the council, and covering 740,000 sq ft (including refurbishment) the project was valued at £250million, and attracted retailers in the Bridge Street area to relocate their premises. The town’s planning department was quick to react to the growing number of vacant units however, and a masterplan for the Bridge Street area was put forward the following year, following consultation with stakeholders to develop a vision for this area of the town’s regeneration. The council is now seeking a development partner to deliver a mixed use development in the area, to consolidate a focus in the town’s retail, business, leisure, cultural and entertainment offer. Underpinned by the current Golden Square development and complemented by the town’s transport links, and with recovery expected around the corner, Warrington’s town centre will surely soon have new vibrancy at its core.

“the town’s outward and forward looking vision”

Sub-regional strategies For Warrington, its unique location between two regional cities and the number of successful retail parks in its surrounding areas, have seen it

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THE INVESTMENT CENTRE – BOOTLE

TO LET The Investment Centre, Stanley Road, Bootle, L20 3EF • Stunning offices in a town centre location • Superb access to all local amenities and public transport • Accommodation to suite various requirements • i-space – fully serviced incubator accommodation from single desks to 1-2 person offices • Flexible terms • Traditional office suites 920 sq ft – 3,316 sq ft • On site car parking • 65% Let • Excellent café/restaurant opportunity – 1,270 sq ft • Rents from £10 per sq ft

For more information contact: Rupert Lowe at Keppie Massie T: 0151 255 0755

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To Let Industrial / Trade units from 3,000 - 4,500 sq ft Sherdley Business Park St Helens

Park Court Park Court is a development of 19 industrial/trade units totalling over 73,000 sq ft.

The scheme has been finished to a modern specification to include: • • • • •

6m clear eaves height Quality office content Fully heated and lit Good parking and circulation areas Monitored CCTV

xibility?

Need fle leases 12 month at £4.50 p

sf

cost?

Need low leases 5 year 0 psf from £3.0& conditions)

(subject to

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Lea Green Lea Green Business Park comprises 21 high quality industrial/warehouse units ranging in size from 5,000 to 7,000 sq ft on a superbly located site.

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For more information on these sites please contact us on 01925 273000 or visit our website www.langtreegroupplc.co.uk

To Let Industrial units from 5,000 - 7,000 sq ft St Helens

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After a six month search, Warmer Heating’s MD has found the firms new UK HQ, less than a mile from their current base in Knowsley’s Industrial Park but over twice the size. 2010 has seen significant expansion for the firm that began life with a small shop front in Anfield. The past year has left many companies feeling that staying the same size is cause for celebration, but, having outgrown three premises in just 12 years, what’s the secret of Phil Warren’s success and why is Knowsley staying as his base?

Trailblazer

44 MOVE COMMERCIAL

but still had time to choose the right next step”.

Working with commercial agents CB Richard Ellis, the firm identified a number of sites but have opted for a move only a few miles from their current Knowsley base.

“Many of the reasons as to why we are staying in Knowsley are the

“

2006 set the groundwork for expansion. Funding streams have helped us train our staff – each staff member at Warmer Heating is trained to NVQ Level 1-3 – and helped connect with other businesses, particularly though the Chamber of Commerce”.

The new premises are the right size, offering over 9,000 square

Warmer Heating continues to have a wide client base in Knowsley, while its proximity to the motorway network help the firm serve its clients across the North of England.

The company’s first site was a former cornershop on Breck Road.

Steady growth helped the firm

“

Phil Warren, Managing Director of Warmer Heating, earmarked 2010 as a year for growth.

Working alongside his Commercial Director, Bryan Glendinning, the firm identified opportunities that would help them expand, attract new clients and potentially move out of their premises on South Boundary Road on Knowsley Industrial Estate. After a six-month search for the right site, the company is ready to move.

“Size was the biggest factor. I was looking for a site between 12,000 – 15,000 square feet.

Location was all important as there were different factors to think about; new contracts meaning the need for more warehouse space, more staff so more office space, our existing client base and how we could best serve them from various locations.

I was conscious we were outgrowing our HQ in Knowsley,

You can’t walk into a company and tell them how to be greener if you’re not already doing it yourself

same as to why I moved here from Liverpool four years ago. This is an excellent borough for entrepreneurs, particularly those looking to expand their business.

The support the local authority offered me when I first moved to Knowsley from Anfield back in

feet of warehouse space to help meet demand for new orders and client contracts with 4,500 square feet of office space. Formerly owned by Staffords, the commercial space at Overbrook Court in Knowsley Business Park has cost £800,000 leasehold.

move first to a double fronted shop further up Breck Road in Anfield as they won contracts through the government’s Warm Front scheme managed by Eaga.

At that site the company grew to about 60 staff. This summer, the firm has continued its expansion

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Phil Warren, Warmer Heating Rising Star

with a series of new client wins as well as the takeover of Lancashire based insulation firm IQ Energy, adding another string to their bow which includes bespoke central heating systems along with renewable energy solutions, as well as the firm’s existing contracts with Preston Council, Blackburn Council, Ribble Valley Council and Cumbria County Council. All 15 staff at IQ Energy have been retained, along with that Warmer Heating has hired 12 new staff. They currently employ over 200 people.

Phil Warren sites the reason for their growth as an ability to embrace new ideas and trends.

Growth in the renewable energy market over the last year has been staggering as companies and private individuals make use of grants and government projects to make their houses, and businesses, greener, even installing Solar PV panels onto

their roofs. From the start of their expansion into the market, Phil was conscious they had to walk the walk, if they were going to talk the talk. “You can’t walk into a company and tell them they should be making themselves greener and more conscious of their impact on the environment if you’re not already doing it yourself. We spent time reviewing and adapting our working practices from waste disposal to recycling water treatment products used in all installation”.

This coincided with the Warm Front scheme, which offered Warmer Heating an opportunity to expand within their existing sector, working with Registered Social Landlords like Arena Housing, Riverside, Regenda and Maritime Housing, Citywest Trust and Muir, as they look to regenerate existing housing stock and tackle fuel poverty. The work has won the firm awards and

helped raise their profile, as well as helping them grow into the private sector.

“This was a new industry and needed new skills. Having received support from the local authority here in Knowsley we’ve been able to train our staff which helps continue our reputation as being one of the most experienced and qualified in the industry. The borough already had the right labour market skills set and that support was vital. The new Microgeneration Certification Scheme, for example, has ensured we can prove our skill in the field.

That’s what it’s about. At some stage, your company gets to a size where you can’t be hands on on every job. You have to trust your staff that they can represent you in people’s homes and businesses.

Providing them with the right training and tools to do that is just good business sense”.

Warren File Current HQ: South Boundary Road, Knowsley Industrial Park New HQ: Overbrook Court, Knowsley Business Park Size: 13,500 square feet Cost: £800,000 leasehold Agent: CB Richard Ellis

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Expert views Ask the panel

What are your hopes for the October spending review?

“The spending review will hurt - everyone appreciates that - but I hope to see an intelligent and fair approach, as opposed to a 'slash and burn' panic mentality. I would also like to think that the likely impacts on the private sector and deprived areas have been properly considered.”

Robin Ellis, senior agency surveyor at Downing “The intention of the spending review squeeze is to put the UK on a firmer footing and everyone will feel the impact. I hope that the burden on the private sector to “rise to the challenge” can be met, but this can only happen by maintaining low interest rates and giving businesses and entrepreneurs access to realistic finance, investment does create opportunities.”

Lesley Martin-Wright, Chief Executive at Knowsley Chamber of Commerce

“As a former card carrying member of the Socialist Workers Party (Bristol Poly branch) I don’t have any great hopes that the spending review will result in a socially cohesive outcome but not many of the SWPs ideas made a lot of sense either. Investment has to come from somewhere and we can only hope that banks and private equity can fill the potential gaps in development and infrastructure funding.”

Tracy Thompson, Licensed Conveyancer, Property Department at Morecrofts Solicitors

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Pippa Page, Senior surveyor at CB Richard Ellis North West and chair of RICS Local Association Merseyside and North Cheshire

Paul Bibby, Managing partner at MSB Solicitors

"It is important that cuts are made because like consumers, the government cannot continue to borrow at the rate of knots it has been doing. Key though is striking a balance between taking the necessary measures for the economy and being able to give for example, UK plc and SMEs the confidence that we are set for a brighter six to twelve months of improved growth prospects."

“Considering that the spending cuts in the October review are expected to be even deeper than those outlined in the emergency budget earlier this year, the outlook would seem relatively gloomy. I certainly hope that key infrastructure and regeneration projects in the North West are not affected by the cuts - there are several schemes currently in the pipeline which will play a vital role in stimulating the regional economy and creating jobs.”

“ ”

we can only hope that banks and private equity can fill the potential gaps in development and infrastructure funding.

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