Tuesday 24 May 2016

FINANCIAL SERVICES SPECIALIST ACQUIRES OFFICES FOR BUSINESS RELOCATION

Acting on behalf of a private investor, Holloway Iliffe & Mitchell has sold 6 Rotherbrook Court, Petersfield to local financial services specialist Robison & Co Ltd, which has relocated its business from Midhurst as it continues to expand its client offering.

Petersfield is a growing town with a well-established business and consumer community, close to both the A3 and mainline rail connections. 6 Rotherbrook Court is located on Bedford Road, making it a perfect choice for Robison who acquired the freehold 3,000 sq ft offices as part of its SIPP on a 9.5% gross yield.

Established in 1982, Robison specialises in advising on and providing insurance services for businesses and individuals as well as being an independent financial adviser. Having spent 13 years based in Midhurst, Managing Director Simon Gubbins felt that a move to a larger premises was the right decision for the business as a whole. He comments: “With many of our clients and staff based either in or close to Petersfield, relocating here was an easy decision to take. We are delighted that we are now very much part of the community in which both live and work, even in just the few weeks we have been in Rotherbrook Court.

Stuart Mitchell, Holloway Iliffe and Mitchell Director who advised on the transaction added: “Rotherbrook Court is proving popular for businesses looking for well-located premises and good transport links. We have seen a number of offices let there this year, including Handelsbanken that has taken a lease on the ground floor of number 6.”

Wednesday 11 May 2016

AMPLEVINE HOUSE FULLY LET - Holloway Iliffe & Mitchell appointed Managing Agents

Holloway Iliffe & Mitchell has completed a second letting at Amplevine House on Dukes Street, ensuring that this well located office building is once again fully let.
 
Local accountants Hall & Co relocated to 1,400 sq ft on the second floor Amplevine House from its previous offices on The Avenue. Established in Southampton in 1984 by George Hall, the firm has continued to grow and advises businesses across Hampshire, Dorset and Sussex.
 
Leading health and social care social enterprise group, Social Care in Action (SCA Group) has renewed its existing tenancy on 4,600 sq ft across the ground and first floors. SCA is celebrating 25 years of working with local communities across the south coast.
 
Commenting on the recent lettings, Tom Holloway, director at Holloway Iliffe & Mitchell said:
“Prime office space in Southampton is becoming harder to find. SCA Group’s decision to free up the second floor has proved beneficial for both businesses as it renewed its existing lease while Hall & Co has been able to relocate to bigger premises with increased parking for staff and clients – a win, win situation.
 
“With a remit to also manage the building, our activity along the M27 corridor continues to increase.”

Tuesday 3 May 2016

First Floor Office Letting To Accountants at Highcroft Industrial Estate, Horndean


Acting on the instructions of a local investor, Holloway Iliffe & Mitchell has let the first floor at 24 Highcroft Industrial Estate to Walton Accountancy Services. The modern refurbished business unit is located towards the north of Horndean village centre in a prominent position overlooking London Road.
 
The unit which provided 567 sq.ft was let on a new 2 year lease with an option to purchase, at the quoted rent of £5,250 per annum and was let within 2 months of being instructed and with a limited void period from the previous tenant vacating.
 
Walton Accountancy Services, whose clients range from small businesses to well established limited companies provide a variety of accountancy advice including personal tax returns, ongoing book-keeping and payroll services. Since the company was founded it has seen an increased clientele which has resulted in the need for new premises. The premises are to be used for administration purposes, whilst providing a professional environment for clients to visit.
 
Commenting on the letting, Luke Mort, Commercial Agent at Chartered Surveyors Holloway, Iliffe & Mitchell said:
“Modern business parks, like those of Highcroft are becoming increasingly popular due to limited availability elsewhere. Due to the unit’s location, it benefits from excellent transport links northbound towards Petersfield and southbound towards Havant and is perfectly suited for the proposed business use, whilst being complementary to other occupiers on site.”
 
Holloway Iliffe & Mitchell remain very active in the commercial property sector, in Horndean and along the South Coast and seek new instructions to satisfy their active applicant database.

Lack of supply hampers market growth, but some good news for regional business in the Budget

The first quarter of 2016 has seen the continuing lack of available office and industrial space across the South Coast and Portsmouth is just as affected as other cities along the M27. However, The Chancellor’s March Budget statement has delivered a long awaited business rates review and an immediate recalculation of stamp duty for commercial property transactions, which for small businesses across the region is good news. Holloway Iliffe & Mitchell Director, Tom Holloway gives his views:
 
The acute shortage, particularly in office space, has been brought about as much because of permitted development rights taking previously redundant office stock, as increased occupier demand. With little or no development this situation is unlikely be resolved any time soon. One route to any resolution would be a speedier release of local authority held land for development which would also improve the prospects for employment.
 
Both 2000 and 3000 Lakeside North Harbour, which equate to over 110,000+sq ft are in the final stages of a major refurbishment programme which has seen plenty of interest from occupiers, the first of which is likely to be on site in the coming weeks. This is adding to the popularity of larger out of town space, but smaller space is proving difficult to find, particularly in the city centre – the knock on effect is that those looking to move within the city centre can’t as the options just aren’t there.
 
That said, 20,000 sq ft at Enterprise House in the City Centre is scheduled to become available later in the summer and we are already getting interested occupiers coming to us to discuss their requirements. As a result, we expect to see a rise in off market deals as competition for available space hots up.
 
With competition for space increasing and as a reflection of the lack of availability, prime rents for both office and industrial space have seen some significant improvements over recent months, having been behind the national recovery curve for quite a while.
 
There was some good news for small businesses in the Chancellor’s Budget statement. The decision to more than double the threshold for business rates from £6,000 to £15,000 from April 2017 is a significant boost for regional occupiers – including us.  It will result in over 600,000 businesses in England not having to pay any business rates at and will cut  the burden on ratepayers by £6.7bn overall. The Government’s decision to use CPI rather RPI indexation as the way to determine rateable values going forward is certainly a positive step as is the proposal to introduce three year revaluation cycle, albeit that these are some way off.
 
The immediate and unforeseen changes to stamp duty have been seen by some as a ‘commercial property tax grab’, but for the vast majority of our clients, this as a positive move. With a range of office and industrial properties on our books for sale at around £250,000-350,000 purchasers would have had to find an additional £7,500-£10,500 before the Budget; this is now reduced to £2,000-£4,500 under the new legislation, a significant saving as many of our transactions are to owner occupiers.