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Building on success.Warrington Annual Property Review 2015

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Contents

Foreword 4

Executive Summary 6

The Warrington Economy 8

Warrington Investment 10

Warrington Offices 14

Warrington Leisure 20

Warrington Industrial 22

Warrington Retail 28

Warrington Residential 32

Looking Forward 34

Acknowledgements 38

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ForewordWelcome to the 17th Warrington Annual Property Review.

This year’s Annual Property Review affirms the upward trajectory of Warrington’s economy and prosperity. Warrington’s economy continues to feature at the pinnacle of the independently produced economic league tables and outpaces that of most UK cities.

Once again, the successful growth of the Borough has been highlighted within a number of reports that demonstrate Warrington as forerunner in the region for growth and development. The business confidence that surrounds Warrington is continuing to thrive, despite the current challenging economic climate being felt by other towns and cities around the North of England.

The Centre for Cities Report 2015 cited Warrington as first out of 64 cities for the highest percentage of employment per population with 79.8% of its population in employment – a population, which has actually grown by seven per cent on last year.

As well as being number one for employment, Warrington has been recognised as having considerable and wealth generating skills amongst its workforce with the town coming 5th and 13th in terms of academic skills including high level qualifications.

Warrington is on an ascent and mission towards reaching its full potential and consequently the property sector is one area that is continuing to benefit from Warrington’s strengths and its commitment to growth.

Warrington Borough Council now has a number of key development projects announced and underway with a total investment value worth in excess of nearly £750 million as part of its ambitious growth framework Warrington Means Business. The development projects are being delivered by Warrington & Co. on behalf of Warrington Borough Council.

Progress has been exponential at Omega. It is easy to forget that just two years ago it was mainly a vacant site. It is now home to Brakes, Travis Perkins, Hermes, Asda, The Hut Group and they will soon be joined by Plastic Omnium, a European automotive manufacturer. All in all that has created or safeguarded in the town over 5000 jobs in all manner of trades and professions including logistics, IT and manufacturing. And there is more activity in the pipeline.

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Stadium Quarter is well underway, the Business Incubator is set for completion in June and for an opening in September 2015. Construction of the £10 million University Technical College Warrington will start in July and sit next door.

The £107 million Bridge Street Regeneration Project, will commence in earnest when demolition works start in the coming weeks. It is all set for a 2019 completion.

Elsewhere in the Warrington Means Business programme, master planning is progressing well on Southern Gateway through The Wire Regeneration Company and The Cabinet Works and we’ll have announcements on those projects soon. And there’s also Warrington Waterfront which was announced earlier this year – a £160 million project to unleash the economic and developmental potential of our waterfront along the Ship Canal and Mersey and at the same time unlock land and improve our road links. Funding is already in place for the first element which is an £11 million bridge over the Mersey. We thank the Cheshire and Warrington LEP for their support.

There is a positive future ahead and the findings in this report reflect and reiterate the business confidence from the construction, development and investment sectors. By working together the public and private sectors are creating wealth and better employment opportunities for all within our growing town.

Professor Steven Broomhead Chairman, Warrington & Co.

1 M62 Motorway Link2 Institution Bar, Cultural Quarter3 Omega North

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In 2014, Warrington was recognised by Centre for Cities as the number one location for employment in the UK, with an employment level for the period July 2013- June 2014 of 79.8 percent, an improvement of 2.3 percent over the previous year and the highest level anywhere in the country.

Omega’s emergence as a prime regional employment site was reinforced with the two largest industrial deals in Warrington in 2014. These were The Hut Group’s acquisition of a 16.6ha site, on which it will build a 64,000 sqm distribution and manufacturing centre; and a deal to build a distribution centre for a French automotive parts manufacturer, which will serve as a supply base for Jaguar Land Rover. The jobs created in these developments extend beyond the traditional logistics jobs to include work in technology and engineering.

87 percent of Warrington businesses are classed as micro businesses, employing nine people or fewer. Warrington has one of the highest rates of business start ups in the North West, just behind Manchester. 19.7 businesses were created for every 1,000 people in the Borough in 2014, an increase from the previous year.

Investment

Warrington’s importance as a regional hub was underlined by the number and value of investment deals transacted in the Borough during 2014. 32 recorded deals included individual deals worth a total of £300 million, and portfolio deals which accounted for an additional £150 million. Deals were up by more that 50 percent on the previous year and the total investment more than doubled.

Warrington’s largest single recorded deal was the sale of the Golden Square Shopping Centre for £141 million, to LaSalle Investment Management on behalf of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, an investment vehicle for the US State.

Riverside Retail Park was sold to Pradera, a European investment and retail property management company.

MEPC sold a portfolio of three of its leading UK Business Parks, including Birchwood Park, for £430 million to a U.S. and European consortium.

Retail

As previously mentioned, most of the activity around the retail sector was investment-focused, rather than occupier-led. 2014 was largely a period of calm and consolidation, following the previous spate of closures.

Redefine, the owners of Birchwood Shopping Centre, completed their latest investment programme, increasing the Centre’s floorspace to around 40,000 sqm, with an additional 221 car parking spaces. Eight new operators have come into the centre over the year, attracted by 4.6 million visitors.

The junction works into the Alban Retail Park were completed and owners Derwent Holdings began development of up to seven new units, as well as refurbishing existing space. New outlets opened for Flooring UK, Mobalpa Kitchens and car service centre, In ’n’ Out. The Fordton Retail Park was completed, anchored by Aldi, but also housing Barnardos, Costa Coffee, Greggs and a Holts Pub Restaurant.

Executive SummaryWarrington continues to grow and prosper in its role as a key driver of the so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’.

Warrington has one of the highest rates of business start ups in the North West, just behind Manchester. 19.7 businesses were created for every 1,000 people in the Borough in 2014, an increase from the previous year.


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Industrial

In the industrial sector, the number of property deals was up by 50 percent from 2013. 73 deals were transacted in the sector, the second best figure since records began.

Almost one third of the deals involved premises in excess of 1,000 sqm, with online retailer The Hut Group featuring in three transactions. As well as the development at Omega South, the group leased two further buildings, totalling over 10,750 sqm, close to its existing South Warrington facility.

There is a clear lack of good quality large industrial and distribution space across the North West and as strong demand continues to shrink the supply, Warrington is facing a real shortage. South Warrington, which in recent years has seen a high level of activity, recorded only four deals in 2014 as a direct consequence of the acute lack of supply in the area.

Office

Warrington’s office market continued to perform strongly in 2014. The year’s take up was 29,555 sqm, the third highest annual level recorded, marginally down on 2013’s figure and 18 percent higher than the long term average since 1998, of 24,900 sqm. The average deal size was 649 sqm, on a par with 2013, and one in seven of the 45 deals involved properties in excess of 1,000 sqm.

The Birchwood area out-performed all other parts of the town in both the number of deals and floorspace taken up. Birchwood accounted for the 12 of the 13 largest deals which together represented 18,329 sqm or 62 percent of all take up. Five of the top 12 deals in Birchwood were at Birchwood Park.

The largest deal in Birchwood was Pin Properties’ letting of Allday House to AMA, a consortium of three nuclear consultancies, servicing a major contract at Sellafield.

International sportswear manufacturer New Balance moved its European HQ to Appleton House at Birchwood Boulevard, following a refurbishment of the building by Aviva.

The highest profile deal was the letting of 305 Bridgewater Place to the Ministry of Justice, to accommodate the Inquest Hearings for the Hillsborough tragedy.

Leisure

The town and surrounding area are also developing as a tourism destination. Tourism is estimated to be worth £44million to the local economy and 6,150 people are employed directly and indirectly to support tourism.

Warrington’s Cultural Quarter is becoming an area where residents and visitors can relax in a wide range of restaurants and bars, mostly in and around Palmyra Square and the Parr Hall/Pyramid Centre. The former Borough Council’s finance building, once Warrington Technical College, is being transformed into a new three floor leisure development.

The multi million Bridge Street Quarter plan aims to regenerate and revitalise Warrington town centre and create a family-friendly shopping, restaurant and leisure complex. Existing market traders will be moved to a temporary market hall as part of the first phase of development, to ensure business continuity throughout the whole construction phase.

Ramp 1, one of Europe’s largest indoor skatepark providers has opened in Penketh, catering for skateboarders, BMX riders, skaters and scooters.

Residential

House prices grew by 2.9 percent in 2014. The average house price is now £187,000, a rise of £5,270 on the previous year.

The Local Plan Core Strategy is targeting the annual completion of 500 new homes through to 2027 and the latest figures on housing completions show that Warrington is ahead of this target. For the year to 31st March 2014, 713 new houses were completed, with 20 houses being lost, giving a net completion for the year of 693 new homes. Of these, 202 were affordable homes.

1 New Balance HQ (Photographer – Jill Tate)2 Palmyra Square, Cultural Quarter

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The Warrington EconomyThe strength of Warrington’s economy was once again highlighted in 2014 when it was recognised as the number one location for employment in the UK, by the leading research organisation Centre for Cities. When performances are examined over the last 10 years, Warrington stands up pretty well against towns and cities across the UK.

During the period 2004 -2013, in percentage terms, Warrington was the UK location with the third highest growth in businesses. Only Aberdeen and London saw greater rises. During that period the number of businesses grew by 1,575, which represents an increase of 29.2 percent, a level that is more than twice the average seen across towns and cities outside the South East.

As a result, the employment level in the Borough for the period July 2013- June 2014 was 79.8 percent, an improvement of 2.3 percent over the previous year and the highest level anywhere in the country. Only 21 other towns and cities saw rises of over 2 percent in the year. In terms of the type of employment, almost 80 percent of people working in Warrington are in private sector employment, which ranks the town fourth in the UK. Nevertheless, the public sector is a major employer with 25,000 people in public service in the Borough.

To match and support the economic growth, Warrington has seen long term growth in the number of houses being built. Over the last 10 years, Centre for Cities identifies Warrington as having the eighth largest growth in housing numbers with an increase of 8,150 homes during that time, a 10.1 percent increase. The link between jobs and households is increasingly important when assessing the economic needs of an area.

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The large business relocations to Warrington reported in the office and industrial sections of this report mean not only substantial floor space take up, but also the creation of jobs for the town. The Hut Group, which will create a 64,000 sqm distribution and manufacturing centre of excellence at Omega South, plan to create 2,000 new jobs over the next three years. These jobs extend beyond the traditional logistics jobs to include work in technology and engineering. They will also add to the 1,800 jobs already announced from the first four occupiers that have signed up at Omega.

Existing businesses continue to be some of the best performing in the region. United Utilities, based at Lingley Mere, is ranked as one of Insider’s top three North West performers, which looks at a whole range of factors both financial and other such as customer satisfaction. Three other companies, European Metal Recycling, NW Electricity and ABB are in the top 25 of the Insider 500 list. EMR is again in the Sunday Times Top track 100, based on turnover by private companies, ranked at tenth. Specialist HR provider Fircroft also makes it into the top 60.

The headlines are often grabbed by the performance of the town’s bigger businesses, but small and medium sized companies play a big role in the success of the town. Of the 6,760 businesses that are located in Warrington, 87 percent are classed as micro businesses, employing nine people or less. Many of these businesses have started and grown in the town. Start Up Britain is a daily tracker that counts new businesses registering each year. A recent analysis of entrepreneurial hotspots identified Warrington as one of the highest areas of business start ups in the North West, just behind Manchester, and ranked the town ninth across the whole country. Last year saw an average of 19.7 businesses created for every 1,000 people in the Borough, way above the next best performing borough of Trafford (with 13.5 per 1,000) and an increase from the previous year.

Tourism grew by 3.2 percent last year, with 9.2 million visitors to the town.

As part of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Economic Partnership, the Borough continues to ensure it is active within this wider sub region and again is looking to receive a share of the Growing Places Fund administered by the LEP. Previous awards have benefitted Omega and Edgewater Park. For the year 2015/6 Warrington has attracted funding for a number of infrastructure projects that will aid regeneration and business development. These include improvements to Junction 8 of the M62, for improved access to Omega; a contribution of £2.14 million to improve traffic flows in Birchwood, and £5.3 million for a new Mersey crossing to pump prime the start of the Warrington Waterfront regeneration.

Further funding of £4.65 million has been attracted for Warrington through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund which will help deliver sustainable and low carbon travel to key employment, retail and housing areas. Lingley Mere, which houses United Utilities’ headquarters, is one of the locations to benefit, with improved bus links and upgrading of pedestrian crossings for the 3,000 people who work at the business park.

1 Warrington Business Incubator2 EMR Head Office

79.8%rise in employment during 2013-14 – the highest in the UK.

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Warrington Investment2014 was a record year for investment transactions in Warrington’s property market by some way. Recorded individual deals saw transactions totalling £300 million in 2014, when portfolio deals are taken into account the total rose to in excess of £450 million. Recorded transactions numbered 32. In terms of deal numbers and value 2014 shattered the previous best annual performances, which had been set in 2013. Deals were up by more than 50 percent and the total investment more than doubled.

The attraction of two of Warrington’s most successful developments, and the strengthening occupier market, led to this substantial level of investment activity during 2014.

The mix of deals mirrored activity across the country, where regional and portfolio sales accounted for a large proportion of transactions, and shopping centres and industrial assets were keenly sought. International funds and domestic institutions looked to the regions for purchases. Overall, according to commentators, the UK value of property transacted rose to £62 billion for the year, an increase of almost 20 percent on 2013.

Warrington’s largest single recorded deal was the sale of the Golden Square Shopping Centre for around £141 million, which was considerably in excess of the asking price of £115 million reported in last year’s Review. LaSalle Investment Management bought Golden Square on behalf of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, an investment vehicle for the US State. This is understood to be Alaska’s first purchase of a UK shopping centre, and this transaction alone exceeded the value of all 2013’s recorded investment deals for Warrington.

Another shopping investment, Riverside Retail Park, was sold to Pradera, a specialist in investing and managing retail property across Europe.

International Investors were also involved in the purchase of Birchwood Park as MEPC sold a portfolio of three of its leading UK Business Parks for £430 million to a consortium of U.S. based Oaktree Capital Management and European fund manager Patrizia Immobilien. Birchwood Park was established in 1998 by MEPC when the site was purchased from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority for £21 million. MEPC’s strategic investment has delivered a high quality office and industrial development. The park is now a leading centre for the UK nuclear industry, but the wider occupier base includes leading businesses in a range of fields, for example, the non-nuclear energy and technology sector.


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Industrial deals also featured strongly. Following the first deals at Omega in 2013, investors snapped up another investment brought to the market ahead of construction of building commencing. With a rent of £3.77 million per annum being agreed by online retailer The Hut Group, another record for Warrington, the price paid by a UK REIT London Metric Property was £47.5 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.5 percent.

Elsewhere, the large established industrial estates at Winwick Quay, Gemini, and Appleton all saw sales. But the lowest yield across all property sectors was the sale of the Royal Mail sorting depot at Milner Street. This was one of two buildings to be sold tenanted by the Royal Mail.

The second was its North West distribution centre at Winwick Quay, which was acquired by CCLA Local Authorities’ Property Fund. With just over four years left on the lease term the yield of 7.75 percent is a sign of the confidence in the warehouse sector, where there is a growing shortage of large industrial buildings for the occupier market.

Confidence in Warrington’s office investment market improved during 2014. Previously, most deals agreed reflected a level of risk associated with the regional office market. Orbit added to its growing property ownership in the town with the purchase of The Point, the new HQ office for MDS, at Birchwood Boulevard. Whilst the yield of 8.25 percent is still some way off the retail and industrial sectors, it is an improvement on previous transactions.

Warrington Borough Council also stepped up to buy New Town House, where previously it had been the tenant of the vendor, Topland. The purchase gives the Council flexibility in its future planned relocation to the Bridge Street Quarter as well as the freehold of another important town centre asset.

The leisure sector was quiet in 2014, but following the opening of its second outlet in the town, Pure Gym at Fennel Street, adjacent to the Cockhedge Centre, was sold for £1.68 million.

Warrington’s largest single recorded deal was the sale of the Golden Square Shopping Centre for around £141 million, which was considerably in excess of the asking price of £115 million.

1 Bridgewater Place, Birchwood Park2 Golden Square Shopping Centre3 Pure Gym, Fennel Street

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Warrington Investment

Type Location/Property Vendor Purchaser Size (sqm) Price (£m) Tenants Income (£/

pa)Net Initial yield (%) Agents

Office/Industrial

Birchwood Park, Birchwood

MEPC Patrizia UK 111,500 Portfolio Sale Various 13,370,565 Undisclosed JLL/Strutt & Parker

RetailGolden Square, Warrington Town Centre

Warrington Retail Partnership Ltd

La Salle Investment Management

70,977 141.00 Various 9,517,500 6.75JLL/Lunson Mitchenall / Jackson Criss

Industrial Omega SouthOmega Warrington Limited

LondonMetric Property PLC

64,103 47.50 The Hut Group 3,770,000 7.50 JLL/GVA

RetailRiverside Retail Park, Warrington Town Centre

M & GPradera Developments

14,864 30.80 Various 2,601,421 7.50JLL/Cushman & Wakefield

RetailVictoria Buildings, Stockton Heath

LPA ReceiversLumina Real Estate Capital

Undisclosed 8.18 Various 718,000 8.30 Capita/GVA

IndustrialCalver Road, Winwick Quay

UndisclosedCCLA Local Authority Property Fund

17,045 7.68 Royal Mail 629,457 7.75 Capita/DTZ

Industrial211 - 256 Europa Boulevard, Gemini

DTZ IM BRIT 11,043 7.05 Various 526,884 7.06 DTZ/Savills

Industrial Chesford Grange, Woolston

Wellbeck Asset Management

Custodian Capital

10,445 6.00 JTF 485,000 7.60CBRE/Ereira Mendoza

IndustrialUnit 17 Chesford Grange, Woolston

Apperley Properties

AUB Trust 10,238 5.70 Stapleton Tyres 427,500 7.10 Lewis Ellis

OfficeNew Town House, Buttermarket Street

ToplandWarrington Borough Council

11,592 Undisclosed Various Undisclosed Undisclosed DTZ

OfficeThe Point, Birchwood Boulevard, Birchwood

Royal London Asset Management

Orbit 32,016 4.70 MDS 428,000 8.25 BE Group/CBRE

RetailThe Range, Winwick Road

Foden Estates Threadneedle 7,625 4.30 CDS 321,720 7.00 Christopher Dee

IndustrialAppleton Thorn Trading Estate, Appleton

Rentokil Limited Cordea Savills 6,502 4.10 City Link 310,000 7.20 JLL/GVA

IndustrialUnits 1-3 Europa Boulevard, Gemini

Jetglobal Threadneedle 5,853 4.00 Various 345,000 8.25Gent Visick/Charles Dixon

Industrial Gemini Trade Park, Gemini

Warther Trust Colombus 10,000 3.50 Various 324,000 8.75CBRE/Hanline Associates


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Type Location/Property Vendor Purchaser Size (sqm) Price (£m) Tenants Income (£/

pa)Net Initial yield (%) Agents

IndustrialEuropa Boulevard, Gemini

Chestergate Properties

Greenstone Sovereign

32,985 2.64 ASICS 222,000 8.75 B8RE

RetailThe Courtyard Shopping Centre

Undisclosed Undisclosed 3,319 2.20 Various 362,150 15.50 Allsop/Osborne King

Industrial Milner Street Foden Estates Branstone 2,710 1.90 Royal Mail 130,500 6.50Christopher Dee/GVA

Leisure Fennel Street Undisclosed Undisclosed 1,997 1.68 Pure Gym 160,000 9.00 Tushingham Moore

OfficeUnit 3, Ibis Court, Centre Park

Private VendorPrivate Purchaser

770 1.50 Parasol 117,000 7.25 B8RE

IndustrialGuardian Street Industrial Estate

Private Vendor PTS 1,266 1.33 Howard Basford 113,000 8.10GVA/Read Property Associates

OfficeEmpire Court, 30-40 Museum Street


1,907 0.90 Various 56,796 6.00 Acuitus

Industrial6 & 7 Bowood Court, Winwick Quay

Private VenderPrivate Purchaser

1,223 0.78 Various 70,000 8.50 Capita

Office5B Olympic Court, Birchwood

Marshalls CDPPrivate Purchaser

390 0.60 BCW 62,920 10.00 Knight Frank

Retail 53 Kingsway South LPA ReceiversPrivate Purchaser

564 0.47 Various 52,000 10.50 Roger Hannah

OfficeUnit 11B Olympic Park, Birchwood

LPA ReceiversPrivate Purchaser

380 0.40 Energos 51,000 13.30 BE Group/TFC

Retail 4 Cairo Street Private VendorPrivate Purchaser

362 0.40 Barclays Bank 30,000 7.90 Acuitus

OfficeBirchwood Boulevard Business Park, Birchwood

LPA Receivers Frankel Brow 5,320 Undisclosed Various Unknown UndisclosedBE Group /Riddell TPS/Goodall Investments

OfficeBuildings 1&2, Daten Park, Birchwood

LPA Receivers Praxis 1,812 Undisclosed Various Undisclosed UndisclosedClarke Nicholls Coombs / Canning O'Neill

Industrial 14 Adlington Court, Risley


703 Undisclosed Sec of State 33,768 Undisclosed Acuitus

OfficeUnit 1, Clearwater, Lingley Mere

LPA ReceiversPrivate Purchaser

638 UndisclosedWates Construction

Stepped Undisclosed Eddisons

RetailStar PSF & Co Op Shop Portfolio Inc. Manchester Road

Rascasse Investments

The Oddfellows Unknown Portfolio SaleCo-op & Star PFS

Undisclosed 6.60 Christopher Dee

1 Hermes Distribution, Omega North2 Clearwater, Lingley Mere

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Warrington OfficesYet again 2014 saw the overall take up exceeding the long term average, as Warrington’s office market continued to perform strongly. A key driver continues to be the Birchwood area, which out-performed all other parts of the town in both the number of deals and floorspace taken up.

The year’s take up was 29,555 sqm, the third highest annual level recorded. This was only marginally down on 2013’s figure and is 18 percent higher than the long term average of 24,900 sqm recorded since 1998. The office market has well and truly returned. The average deal size at 649 sqm was on a par with 2013, and of the 45 transactions for the year, one in seven involved properties in excess of 1,000 sqm.

The largest deal was Pin Properties’ letting of Allday House at Birchwood to AMA, a consortium of three nuclear consultancies, that will service a major contract at Sellafield. Areva, Atkins and Mace Cost Consultants will all transfer staff to the 4,800 sqm office building which has been the subject of a major refurbishment by Pin.

The letting was one of several Birchwood deals concluded by Pin, totalling around 7,160 sqm and including two sizeable lettings at Rutherford House. One saw additional space let to AMA, and 1,500 sqm was let to United Business Centres who are opening a new serviced office business centre following the announcement that their existing Gemini operation will close in 2015.

Birchwood accounted for the 12 of the 13 largest deals which together represented 18,329 sqm or 62 percent of all take up. International sportswear manufacturer New Balance moved its European HQ to Appleton House at Birchwood Boulevard, following a refurbishment of the building by Aviva. A spate of lettings at Birchwood Park, which was sold during the year by MEPC to Patrizia, will have given the new owners confidence in their purchase.

The highest profile deal was the letting of 305 Bridgewater Place to the Ministry of Justice at the beginning of the year, to accommodate the Inquest Hearings for the Hillsborough tragedy. Birchwood Park accounted for five of the top 12 deals in Birchwood, with the importance and vitality of the engineering consultancy sector in Birchwood reflected in lettings to URS and Hyder, each of around 1,530 sqm.

At Wilderspool Park, Bruntwood secured further lettings to existing tenants, The Ombudsmans Service and NHS. Energy infrastructure provider Energetics also took space. As a result Wilderspool Park is now virtually fully let. Closer to the town centre, three deals were secured at Centre Park, all freehold sales. The prices achieved, which were all below £1,000/sqm, suggest that there are still bargains to be had.

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A quarter of all 2014’s deals were freehold transactions (11 deals). With the exception of the sales of buildings at Webster Court, Gemini and Lingley Mere, all were around the town centre.

Rents at last appear to be strengthening, with a number of transactions in excess of £160/sqm. Again Birchwood Park delivered the highest rent, achieving £204/sqm with lettings at Bridgewater Place to nuclear business Areva and The Ministry of Justice.

Although there was a strong showing from larger occupiers during the year, the smaller end of the market continued to generate a large level of activity. Whilst not recorded in this report, there were an additional 47 known transactions below the 200 sqm threshold. These totalled around 4,136 sqm, equivalent to approximately 15 percent of the recorded floorspace let or sold for the year.

A number of buildings continue to successfully cater for the smaller end of the market. Business Centres such as United Business Centres, the Breeze, Portal and Regus’s Cinnamon House provide serviced office space, whilst companies looking for more self contained space were attracted to Chadwick House in Birchwood, and Bank Quay House in Warrington’s town centre.

In 2015, a new provider will deliver managed workspace to new businesses in the town centre. The Business Incubator within the Stadium Quarter at Winwick Road is being developed by Warrington and Co, supported by ERDF funding. No other new speculative space is due to commence construction, but developers continue to invest in existing buildings through refurbishment.

Alongside Allday House and Appleton House, already reported, Birchwood Park undertook a £4.7 million face lift of Thomson House, now renamed 401 Faraday Street, attracting new occupiers during the year. Also in Birchwood, the owners of BetFred acquired an office portfolio at Birchwood Boulevard and immediately set about refurbishing some of the vacant space to house expanding group companies that are outgrowing space close by at Birchwood One.

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1 Rutherford House, Birchwood Park2 The Genesis Centre, Birchwood Park3 104 Dalton, Birchwood Park

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Celebrating 25 Years providing premium office space in the Warrington and Widnes area.

Thank you to all of our tenants and suppliers, past and present.

www.ramproperties.com

Warrington Offices


Warrington - 2014 Industrial Deals Jan-Dec above 200 sqm

Property Vendor/Landlord Tenant/Purchaser Size (sqm)

Rent/Price (sqm)

Lease Term (Years) Agents

Allday House, Birchwood Pin Properties AMA 4,801 £156.1 8DTZ / Altus Eileen Bilton

Appleton House, Birchwood Point, Birchwood

Aviva New Balance 2,849 £166.8 10Savills/ Altus Eileen Bilton

Third Floor, 401 Faraday Street, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK URS 1,533 £156.1 10 BE Group/JLL

Fifth Floor, 401 Faraday Street, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK Hyder 1,533 £166.8 10 BE Group/JLL

Ground Floor, 305 Bridgewater Place, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK Ministry of Justice 1,434 £204.5 3 BE Group/JLL

First Floor, Rutherford House, Birchwood

Pin Properties United Business Centres 1,356 £145.3 10DTZ/ Altus Eileen Bilton

2 Clearwater, Lingley Mere LPA Receivers United Utilities 992 Undisclosed Freehold Eddisons

First Floor, Chadwick House, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UKNuclear Engineering Services

975 £145.3 10 BE Group/JLL

3 Kelvin Close, Birchwood Swagelok Regal Crown Logistics 968 £721.2 Freehold ES Group

850 Birchwood Boulevard, Birchwood

Frankel Brown Angel Advance 776 £134.6 10 BE Group

First Floor, Chadwick House, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK DBD Nuclear 720 £145.3 5 BE Group/JLL

Part Second Floor, Rutherford House

Pin Properties AMA 718 £145.3 0.5DTZ/Altus Eileen Bilton

Leacroft House, Birchwood Private Landlord Tuchenhagen 666 Undisclosed 5 BE Group

Hall StreetDonaghue Business Systems

Nursery Operator 618 £566.4 FreeholdAltus Eileen Bilton/Morgan Williams

Ground Floor, 104 Dalton Avenue, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK Epicor 575 £193.8 10 BE Group/JLL

Part Second Floor, 401 Faraday Street, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK MPP Global Solutions 547 £156.1 10 BE Group/JLL

1 Olympic Park, Birchwood Tailor Made Tactus 483 £1,410.1 Freehold JLL

730 Mandarin Court, Centre Park 365 UK Ltd Link Mailing 483 £828.8 FreeholdJLL/Altus Eileen Bilton

Part Ground Floor, 401 Faraday Street, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK Talk Sport/UTV Media 411 £166.8 10 BE Group/JLL

Second Floor, The Malt Building, Wilderspool Business Park

BruntwoodThe Ombudsmans Service

386 £161.5 3 BE Group/JLL

The Barns, Taylor Business Park, Risley

Taylor Estates Private Tenant 381 Undisclosed 10 Morgan Williams

6A Mandarin Court, Centre ParkPrice Waterhouse Cooper

LJ Financial Planning 378 £938.7 FreeholdJLL/ Altus Eileen Bilton

6E Mandarin Court, Centre Park Price Waterhouse Cooper

Connexus 372 £968.8 FreeholdJLL/Altus Eileen Bilton

7-9 Wilson Patten Street Private Vendor Private Purchaser 363 £578.7 Freehold Morgan Williams




Rent/Price (sqm)


Part Fourth Floor, 401 Faraday Street, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK Ministry of Justice 362 £156.1 3 BE Group/GVA/JLL

Part First Floor, 303 Bridgewater Place, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK Areva 314 £204.5 5 BE Group/JLL

First Floor, Chesford Park, Unit 18 Chesford Grange, Woolston

Private Landlord Private Tenant 299 £85.3 10 Morgan Williams

Ground Floor, 920 Millennium Business Park, Birchwood

PoyryNational Fostering Agency

298 £145.3 5 BE Group

Ground Floor, 4B Olympic Park, Birchwood

CDP EIC 293 £161.5 5Altus Eileen Bilton/ DTZ

Part Ground Floor, Rutherford House, Birchwood

Pin PropertiesLCM Wealth Management

286 £145.3 5Altus Eileen Bilton/ DTZ

27-29 Bold Street Private Vendor Private Purchaser 283 £601.3 Freehold Morgan Williams

Ground Floor 7 Webster Court, Gemini

DRC Properties OSL Rail 279 £118.4 5JLL/Altus Eileen Bilton

First Floor, 7 Webster Court, Gemini

DRC Poprerties PHD1 Construction 279 £122.3 3 Altus Eileen Bilton

Quay House, Wilderpool Business Park

Bruntwood NHS 247 £177.6 3 BE Group/JLL

First Floor, Aquila House, Gemini Action For Children Elite Insurance 232 £123.8 5 BE Group

The Brew House, Wilderspool Business Park

Bruntwood Energetics 223 £153.4 10 BE Group/JLL

First Floor, 1-3 Buttermarket St, Warrington Town Centre

Flowdrive Props Ltd Warrington Youth Club 218 Nil Rent 0.5 Hitchcock Wright

Turnberry House, The Links, Birchwood

Claremont Cougar Automation 217 Undisclosed 5 BE Group

5 Webster Court, Gemini Ahmed Sened SIPP Vision Management 209 £1,171.1 Freehold Altus Eileen Bilton

Part Second Floor, 401 Faraday Street, Birchwood Park

Patrizia UK Tenet Consultants 200 £156.1 3 BE Group/JLL

633/635 Birchwood Boulevard, Birchwood

LPA Receivers Quintessa 200 £107.6 5 BE Group

13 Palmyra Square Private Landlord Private Tenant 200 £85.3 5 Morgan Williams

Suites 12, 13 & 18 Rowan House, Padgate Business Park, Padgate

Private Landlord Private Tenant 200 £100.6 0.75 Morgan Williams

674 Knutsford Road, Latchford Private Vendor Private Purchaser 200 £1,258.7 Freehold Morgan Williams

Ground Floor, Bank Quay House, Sankey Street

Python Properties Atos 200 £107.6 5BE Group/Altus Eileen Bilton

The average deal size at 649 sqm was on a par with 2013, and of the 45 transactions for the year, one in seven involved properties in excess of 1,000 sqm.


Birchwood accounted for 12 of the 13 largest deals which together represented 18,329 sqm or 62 percent of all take up.


Warrington LeisureA number of Warrington’s outdoor recreation facilities are currently going though a programme of improvements ensuring the town has a range of outstanding parks and gardens to enjoy in the coming years.

The nation was able to see the popular Walton Hall and Gardens when it appeared as a location in the TV series Our Zoo which told the story of the family that created Chester Zoo. This followed the start of £1 million of work to improve the Hall and children’s zoo. Warrington was also the location for filming of BBC One’s, new for 2015, series ‘Ordinary Lies’, based around the lives of employees of a car garage.

After completion of the new entrance and frontage to Victoria Park, which form part of the River Mersey flood defences, 2015 will see work extend across the whole of the park to improve the sports facilities for community groups throughout the town. This involves new rugby and football pitches, and a community hub featuring a 300 seat stand, community room and changing facilities.

Sport has always been an important part of the social and leisure scene in Warrington but in 2014 the spotlight turned from rugby, the game most often associated with the town, to football, when Warrington Town FC, then in the Northern Premier League’s First Division North (the eighth tier of English football) reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history. Tickets to the match against League Two side, Exeter City, sold out within hours and fans were treated to the unusual prospect of being able to watch their team’s match, live on national television.

In the town centre, plans for Bank Park were approved. Work has begun on improvements to replace the old pavilion building with a new one that is fit for purpose, along with the installation of floodlit, all-weather bowling greens to meet the demand for this popular sport, extending their use beyond the summer months.

For the more energetic, the town attracted one of Europe’s largest indoor skateparks to an industrial unit in Penketh. Ramp 1 caters for skateboarders as well as BMX, skates and scooters. With an air bag to provide soft landings for stunts and a children’s zone, the facility is aimed at a wide range of riders from beginner to expert.

But as one venture opens, another landmark finally disappeared when demolition started on Wilderspool stadium to make way for the regeneration of the Southern Gateway area, but not before loyal Warrington Rugby League fans could take away handfuls of the famous turf as souvenirs.


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Within the town centre Warrington’s Cultural Quarter has begun to evolve into an area where residents and visitors can find a wide range of restaurants and bars, developed in and around Palmyra Square and the Parr Hall/Pyramid Centre. For a number of years a small number of bars and restaurants, including The Lounge and Grill on the Square have led the way and recent additions have seen a mix of cocktail and specialist bars and restaurants join them. These include 9 Gallon, a dedicated real ale bar which is championing local micro-breweries alongside a diverse range of brews from across the country. The bar opened in January in a former corner shop on Sankey Street where there is now a cluster of new businesses including Agave Rumbar and The Quarter Bar.

Nearby in Palmyra Square, the former Borough Council’s finance building, once Warrington Technical College, is being transformed into a new three floor development housing restaurants and bars. The original Grade 2 listed building dates from 1901. In 2014 Jenson Investments attracted its first occupier ‘The Institution’ which is in one of the basement areas. They will soon be joined by tapas bar Las Ramblas.

The £107 million Bridge Street scheme aims to bring families back to the town centre with a cinema complex and new restaurants, and will change the heart of that part of the town centre, which for many years has been taken over by late night revellers in the bars and clubs along Lower Bridge Street.

These businesses are all helping the town develop as a tourism destination. An independent evaluation published in April 2014 found that tourism is worth £44million to the local economy and 6,150 people are employed directly and indirectly to support tourism.

The food and drink businesses saw almost £100 million spent during 2013 with turnover on accommodation around £28 million.

Whilst no new hotels were built last year, one of the big international chains bought into the town as Accor Hotels opened an Ibis Hotel at Lymm Services.

Away from the town centre, Stockton Heath continues to be a draw for food and drink outlets with several new openings. For ice cream lovers, Pure Indulgence sells a range of ice creams and sorbets made locally in Cheshire. Top Deck sells gourmet burgers in a wild west setting, and high street brand Slug and Lettuce has announced it will open in 2015.

Culcheth is the destination for many in north Warrington seeking out good food. The established Raj restaurant moved to new larger premises in a purpose built unit adjacent to the green, and the Culcheth Arms opened its doors in the former Harrow pub.

warringtonandco.com

1 New Pavilion under construction at Bank Park2 Warrington Town FC (Photographer – John Hopkins)3 Institution Bar, Cultural Quarter4 Halliwell Jones Stadium

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Warrington IndustrialOmega’s emergence as a prime regional employment site was reinforced by it recording the two largest industrial deals in Warrington in 2014. Together, these deals accounted for over 86,000 sqm of floorspace, just under half of the annual total.

The total take up for the year was 178,320 sqm, confirming the resurgence of Warrington’s industrial property sector. Whilst the figure represents a marginal fall from 2013’s record performance, it is still the second highest annual total since the first publication of this review seventeen years ago.

The growth in activity within the industrial sector was evident in the number of property transactions – up by no less than 50 percent from 2013’s figure. The number, 73, has only been bettered once since records began, and this was in 2007.

Almost one third of the deals involved premises in excess of 1,000 sqm, with online retailer The Hut Group featuring in no less than three transactions. In addition to committing to a new purpose built distribution complex at Omega South, The Hut Group leased two further buildings totalling over 10,750 sqm close to its existing South Warrington facility.

More than 50 deals of properties below 1,000 sqm reflects that this has always been a strong sector. It also reflects the extent of built stock in the smaller size range. Symptomatic of the wider North West regional position, there is a lack of available supply of good quality large industrial and distribution space. As strong demand continues to shrink the supply, without a new injection of industrial floorspace, Warrington is facing a real shortage.

The two Omega deals, which extend development on the South site, were announced at the very end of the year. Construction of The Hut Group’s 64,000 sqm distribution base started almost immediately on a 16.6ha site. The annual rent of £3.77million tops the previous record set across the motorway at Omega North by Travis Perkins. The second building, which was granted planning permission in November, will house Plastic Omnium, a French automotive parts manufacturer, and will serve as a supply base for the Jaguar Land Rover plant at Speke. The turn around for the building needs to be rapid, as, at the time of contract completion, the company was expecting to be in place by April 2015.

1 Gateway 49 Trade Park2 Brakes, Omega North3 Travis Perkins, Omega North

1 2

23

Properties in Woolston made up five of the ten largest transactions secured during 2014. Existing occupiers Stapletons Tyre Services and Crest Medical committed to substantial expansions whilst online retailer Amazon took short term occupation ahead of its long awaited decision on its new North West distribution base. Also at Kingsland Grange, Russell Construction began a redevelopment of the 3,183 sqm building purchased from Federal Express.

In total Woolston accounted for 22 transactions and thus the largest share of deals around the town. Sites around the town centre accounted for the next largest grouping with eighteen deals. Industrial activity in and around the town centre does not normally feature high in the ranking, but it is a symptom of the lack of supply generally.

The largest of these deals was the letting at Langtree’s Penketh Business Park to Ramp1, to create one of Europe’s largest indoor skate and BMX parks.

Langtree also secured a 1,808 sqm letting at Warrington Central Trading Estate to Miers Construction Products who are looking to service the rejuvenated building sector locally. Gemini also saw good activity with eight deals at Taurus and Easter Park.

South Warrington, which in recent years has seen a high level of activity, recorded only four deals and this is a consequence of the acute lack of supply in the South Warrington area. The main sites around the Barleycastle and Stretton Industrial Estates are fully built out and any space coming forward will be recycled second hand space.

Leasehold deals dominated with only eight sales during the year. Confidence in the letting market was evidenced by the length of leases being achieved, and nine deals saw terms of 10 years or more. Rents are also improving and a greater number of deals hit the £50.00/sqm mark than in previous years.

The levels of lettings, improving lease lengths and rents, and the increasing shortage of good quality stock is at last encouraging developers to consider speculative development. Patrizia, the new owner of Birchwood Park, announced it will develop seven new industrial and distribution units totalling 12,000 sqm following the submission of planning for the scheme earlier in the year. The development will be the first speculative development of industrial floorspace in Warrington for eight years.

warringtonandco.com

178,320 sqmtotal take up for office space, confirming the resurgence of Warrington’s industrial property sector.

3

Warrington Industrial



Rent/Price (sqm)


Omega South Omega Warrington Ltd The Hut Group 64,103 £58.81 Undisclosed JLL/GVA

Omega South Omega Warrington Ltd Plastic Omnium 22,297 Undisclosed Undisclosed JLL/GVA

Chesford Distribution Centre, Woolston

Redkite Asset Management

Stapletons (Tyre Services) Ltd

10,617 £40.37 10 B8RE

Unit 1 Warrington South, Lyncastle Road, Appleton

Morley Estates The Hut Group 9,755 £53.82 5 B8RE

Warrington 101, Chesford Grange, Woolston

Alpha UK Property / Aberdeen Asset Management

Crest Medical 9,438 £37.67 10JLL/CBRE/Mason & Partners

Unit 11, Kingsland Grange, Woolston

Property Alliance Group Amazon 8,361 £56.51 1 B8RE

Unit 1A, Penketh Industrial Estate, Great Sankey

Langtree Group Ramp 1 4,208 £10.76 Undisclosed B8RE

5 Kingsland Grange, Woolston Fedex Russell Construction 3,184 £61.57 15 CBRE

Lilford Street, Bewsey Industrial Estate, Bewsey

Germinal Holdings LtdAndrew Mooney, Trevor Gleave and MJ SSAS Trustees Ltd

1,932 £280.62 FreeholdLambert Smith Hampton

Unit 30/31, Rufford Court, Woolston

Peter Stevens Estates Limited

Lime Pictures Limited 1,900 £32.40 1Colliers/ Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit B Appleton Industrial Park, Barleycastle Lane, Appleton

High Row M&H Logistics 1,889 £34.44 5 Morgan Williams

12 Chesford Grange, Woolston

Henderson UK Property Fund

Ninemeister Ltd 1,771 £43.06 5 GVA

Units 10/11 Gawsworth Court, Risley

Tilstone New World Brake 1,756 £45.96 5 CBRE / Savills

101 Hoyle Street, Bewsey Industrial Estate, Bewsey

Private LandlordWarrington Borough Council

1,695 Undisclosed Freehold GVA

Prospect House, Taylor Business Park, Risley

Taylor Business Park Ionix 1,585 £44.16 3BE Group/Alder King

Unit 3, Eagle Park, Hawleys Lane

Toyota Material Handling UK

Rygor Group Limited 1,544 £56.83 3 Colliers

Unit 3, Taurus Park, Gemini Goldman Sachs Global Freight Solutions 1,505 £61.89 10 JLL

21 Cameron Court, Winwick Quay

Winwick Quay LLPDHL Bathroom Supplies Ltd

1,276 £48.44 10Riddell TPS / Colliers

Holmesfield Road Private Individual LaFarge Tarmac 1,240 £52.42 5 Morgan Williams

Unit 4 Taurus Park, Gemini Goldman Sachs Private Tenant 1,161 Undisclosed Undisclosed JLL

Unit 21, Cameron Court, Winwick Quay

Winwick Quay LLP Signature Doors Ltd 1,147 £48.44 3Riddell TPS/ Colliers

4 Bishops Court, Winwick Quay Torton Investments Bliss Supplies 1,145 £30.68 UndisclosedWHR/Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 10, Stretton Green Distribution Park, Appleton

Carmel Southend Limited

The Hut Group 1,003 £38.86 Undisclosed Colliers

Unit 5 Taurus Park, Gemini Goldman Sachs TBA 948 Undisclosed Undisclosed JLL

Units 4 &5, Tatton Court, Woolston

Minton Bletchley LLP APW Limited 929 £51.67 5Colliers/ Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 27, Rufford Court, WoolstonPeter Stevens Estates Limited

Able Modular Technologies Limited

929 £48.44 UndisclosedColliers/Altus Eileen Bilton


25



Rent/Price (sqm)


Unit 23, Grosvenor Grange, Woolston

Lunar Sarl HoldingsStuart Canvas Products Limited

919 £45.75 1 Colliers/ B8RE

Unit 17 Taurus Park, Woolston Go Outdoors Howden Joinery 871 £57.48 15 Morgan Williams

Unit 2 Easter Court, Gemini Picton Capital AV Technology 869 £59.20 10CBRE / Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 4A, Eagle Park, Eagle Park Drive Warrington Town Centre

Hansteen Ltd Private Tenant 765 Undisclosed Undisclosed Hansteen Ltd

Unit G Scotts Industrial Estate, Hoyle Street, Bewsey

Private Investor Private Investor 744 £268.88 Freehold Morgan Williams


Winwick Quay LLP Klenzan Ltd 742 £45.75 6Riddell TPS/ Colliers

Unit 5 Easter Court, Europa Boulevard, Gemini

Picton Capital Maguire Europe 725 £59.20 5CBRE / Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 11 Taurus Park, Gemini Goldman Sachs Middleby UK Ltd 711 £56.51 3 JLL

Unit 4-5 Guardian Street Industrial Estate

Private Investor AA Baits UK 687 £29.06 5 Morgan Williams

Appleton Thorn Trading Estate, Appleton

Private Investor Private Tenant 649 Undisclosed Undisclosed Legat Owen

Unit 7, Colville Court, Winwick Quay

Winwick Quay LLP Furmanite International 530 £53.82 5Riddell TPS / Colliers

C3 Trident, Daten Avenue, Birchwood

St Modwen John Cornaish 496 £43.06 3 Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 11, Tatton Court, Woolston Minton Bletchley LLP Eclipse Digital 488 £420.33 FreeholdColliers / Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 32 Melford Court, Woolston Lancashire CC Tuning Developments 487 £35.09 5Knight Frank / Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 34 Melford Court, Woolston Lancashire CCGlendale Grounds Management Ltd

485 £48.44 5Knight Frank / Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 9 Grosvenor Grange, Woolston

Lunar Sarl HoldingsIntegrated Water Systems Ltd

483 £48.44 3 Colliers / B8RE

Unit 19 Grosvenor Grange, Woolston

Lunar Sarl Holdings Ductman Limited 474 £45.75 1 Colliers/ B8RE

11a Palatine Industrial Estate, Causeway Avenue

R Taylor Hook & Jab 460 £24.97 3 Morgan Williams

Unit 10, Tatton Court, Woolston Minton Bletchley LLP Private Individual 452 £663.60 FreeholdColliers / Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 8, Tatton Court, Woolston Minton Bletchley LLPSurf & Turf Instant Shelters

451 £444.02 FreeholdColliers / Altus Eileen Bilton

D1 Trident, Daten Avenue, Birchwood

St Modwen Wiltshire Fine Foods 447 £43.06 3 Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 2 Winwick Point, Winwick Quay

Foden Estates Ltd Flooring UK 427 £80.73 5 B8RE

Unit H2 Taylor Business Park, Risley

Taylor Estates Private Tenant 372 Undisclosed 5 Taylor Estates

E4 Trident, Daten Avenue, Birchwood

St Modwen Anthony Shaw 369 £43.06 3 Altus Eileen Bilton

40 Owen Street, Warrington Town Centre

J Chappel Topcoat Ltd 362 £27.66 3 Morgan Williams

warringtonandco.com

Warrington Industrial



Rent/Price (sqm)


E2 Trident, Daten Avenue, Birchwood

St Modwen Warrington Gymnastics 348 £43.06 3 Altus Eileen Bilton


Frog & Moot Events Limited

346 £53.39 3Colliers/ Altus Eileen Bilton

8a Trident, Daten Avenue, Birchwood

St Modwen Vlllage Gates 346 £34.98 3 Altus Eileen Bilton


Aquaplast Ltd 344 £53.82 5Colliers /Altus Eileen Bilton


Winwick Quay LLPImperial Automotive Limited

338 £53.82 3Colliers/ Riddell TPS

12/3 Palatine Industrial Estate, Causeway Avenue

Boyd Sodexo 334 £53.28 5 Morgan Williams

223 Europa Boulevard, Gemini DTZ Investment W C Packaging 333 £59.96 3Altus Eileen Bilton/Savills

298 Winwick RoadWarrington Borough Council

Idelta UK Ltd 329 £106.56 3 Morgan Williams


Private Landlord Private Tenant 325 Undisclosed Undisclosed Impey & Co


Winwick Quay LLP R&J Supplies 321 £51.67 3 Riddell TPS

Bridge Lane, Woolston M&A Developments Private Tenant 316 Undisclosed 3 Morgan Williams

Unit 14, Rivington Court, Woolston


SPS Doorguard Ltd 286 £55.43 3Colliers /Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 16, Rivington Court, Woolston


Griffin Exhibitions Limited

284 £53.82 5Colliers/ Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 1 Ravenhurst Court, Risley Orbit Developments CDEC Ltd 280 £49.94 5Colliers / Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit 7, Cranford Court, Woolston IO Investment LLPATEX Explosion Hazards Ltd

278 £538.20 Freehold Colliers / B8RE

Unit 9, Cranford Court, Woolston IO Investment LLPMiddleton Group Services

275 £574.80 Freehold B8RE


Private Landlord Clearseal Windows 271 Undisclosed 3 Impey & Co

Unit 9a-9d Bankhall Industrial Estate

Allgo Ltd Private Purchaser 263 £475.55 Freehold Morgan Williams

Bridge Lane, Woolston M&A Developments Private Tenant 237 Undisclosed 3 Morgan Williams


Morbaine Private Tenant 232 £49.51 3 Altus Eileen Bilton


Morbaine Microtron 232 £49.51 3 Altus Eileen Bilton

Unit D2 Taylor Business Park, Risley

Taylor Estates Private Tenant 223 Undisclosed 5 Taylor Estates


1 Construction underway for The Hut Group, Omega South

1


Occupiers

M62 J8

ONGOING SUCCESS2.5 million sq.ft occupied or under development

A joint development by: In partnership with

Totem boiler plate - production artwork with Hollywood

Totem boiler plate - production artwork with HollywoodTotem boiler plate - production artwork with Hollywood

Omega is being delivered by Omega Warrington Ltd (OWL), a joint venture between Miller Developments and KUC Properties Ltd (part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Real Estate Asset Management), in partnership with landowner the Homes and Communities Agency and supported by Warrington Borough Council and the Cheshire and Warrington LEP.

Daniel Burn [email protected] Sillitoe [email protected]

0161 834 7187

Robert Dunston [email protected] Pexton [email protected]

www.omegaopportunity.com

A joint venture between:

Wire Regeneration is a partnership formed between Langtree and Warrington Borough Council, and will drive regeneration and development activity in Warrington.

We are proud to be part of the Property Review for the second consecutive year.

Warrington RetailFor Warrington’s retail sector 2014 was more about investment than new occupational activity. The existing town centre Golden Square and Riverside Retail Park developments saw ownership changes, as did Victoria Buildings in Stockton Heath, as international investors and asset managers bought in to the town’s retail offer.

Golden Square exchanged hands at a figure of £141 million, well in excess of the mooted sale price of £115 million. New occupiers attracted during the year include The Officers’ Club and Blue Inc, both taking leases on 340 sqm units. Victoria Buildings, at the junction of Grappenhall Road and London Road, Stockton Heath, was acquired by Lumina Real Estate Capital for £8.18 million. The development is almost fully occupied with a range of shops, bars and restaurants including national chains Pizza Express and Toni and Guy.

The South African owners of Birchwood Shopping Centre, Redefine, completed their latest investment programme. This has seen the Centre’s floorspace increase to around 40,000 sqm, with an additional 221 car parking spaces. Annual footfall is recorded at 4.6 million visitors and this has attracted a further eight operators over the course of the year, including Roman Originals, which leased a large 230 sqm unit; Indigo Sun, which took 150 sqm; Kings Cuts Barbers, Verdigrijs, The Edge For Less and Sweet Pig, each of which took a smaller unit in the centre. Card Factory relocated within the centre, moving into a larger (150 sqm) unit.

Sports Direct will be moving into a 560 sqm space early in 2015 and, such is the success of the scheme, with only one retail unit remaining vacant at the end of 2014, that plans are advancing to expand the Centre further along its East elevation.

There was investment activity along the A49 to the north of the town centre. The junction works into the Alban Retail Park were completed and owners Derwent Holdings began the development of new retail space to create up to seven new units as well as refurbishing existing space. New outlets opened for Flooring UK, Mobalpa Kitchens and car service centre In ’n’ Out adjacent to The Range.


The average deal size at 649 sqm was on a par with 2013, and of the 45 transactions for the year, one in seven involved properties in excess of 1,000 sqm.

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The Fordton Retail Park was completed, anchored by Aldi, but also housing Barnardos, Costa Coffee, Greggs and a Holts Pub Restaurant.

Warrington’s town centre plans to redevelop the Bridge Street Quarter saw a significant step forward during 2014. A number of key property and land acquisitions in and around Time Square and Warrington Market were completed by Warrington Borough Council and Muse Developments, ahead of the pre-construction survey work that began towards the end of the year.

The last of the Time Square occupiers were moved out and hoardings have gone up in preparation for demolition. B&M Bargains moved to the Cockhedge Centre, with other of the businesses relocating more locally, such as the popular Café Caruso, which took over the former Waysiders shop on Horsemarket Street.

The £107 million Bridge Street Quarter plan aims to regenerate and revitalise the traditional retail heart of Warrington town centre and to create a family-friendly shopping, restaurant and leisure complex. Market traders and customers will be accommodated in a temporary market hall as part of the first phase of development, to ensure business continuity throughout the whole construction phase.

Aside from Golden Square and the consequences of the Bridge Street Quarter development, new occupier activity in the town centre was generally quiet during the year. Dapp UK opened a store at the Cockhedge Centre, but this was one of very few new commitments in the town centre, with 2014 largely being a period of calm following the previous spate of closures.

warringtonandco.com

1 Debenhams, Golden Square Shopping Centre2 Next Home, Gemini Retail Park3 Primark, Golden Square Shopping Centre

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The Bridge Street Quarter development is a momentous decision that will transform the centre of Warrington and the future of our town.




Warrington ResidentialSustained growth in Warrington over the last ten years has resulted in the number of homes growing by more than 10 percent. According to the Centre for Cities report (source: Department for Communities and Local Government) the past decade has seen the number of homes grow by 8,150.

This is despite a dramatic slowdown during the recession. This performance makes Warrington the eighth fastest growing town in the UK, based on the percentage increase in its housing stock, and the top town or city in the North of England.

Warrington Borough Council is keen to maintain strong growth in the number of homes, and the Local Plan Core Strategy is targeting the annual completion of around 500 new homes right through to 2027. The latest figures on housing completions show that Warrington is ahead of this target. For the year to 31st March 2014, 713 new houses were completed, with 20 houses being lost, giving a net completion for the year of 693 new homes. Of these, 202 were affordable homes.

Areas around the town centre again accounted for the largest number of completions with just under 60 percent of the new homes, more than double the next largest area which was West Warrington.

Houses account for almost two thirds of all new homes, but with 254 apartments built last year, that sector of the residential market is beginning to grow again.

The mix of accommodation shows that family houses with three bedrooms or more are still the most prevalent.

The recent increase in house prices has slowed. In 2014, growth in values dropped to 2.9 percent for the year, according to Zoopla. The average house price is now £187,000, a rise of £5,270 on the previous year. Detached property showed the best returns on a rate per sqm basis, with the average value generating £2,325 per sqm. Apartments have the next best with an average of £1,991 per sqm. According to Centre for Cities, this level of growth aligns with much of the North West.

003/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09

Year

09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

Annual completions:

452

1,085

1,2691,362

1,565

633

388

527 600

647 693


Investment in affordable homes is a key strand of Warrington’s commitment to delivering high quality housing for all sections of the community. Last year the Borough Council’s lending to Housing Associations meant that this has now topped £160 million for the past four years. The loans support new homes both in the town and surrounding areas. Plus Dane Group received £20m for 100 new homes in the Borough, whilst St Helens based Helena Partnerships was loaned £90m to help fund 1,400 new homes in Warrington, St Helens and other surrounding areas.

Square One Homes completed its Kingfisher Square development of 12 new homes, which was part funded with an award of £235,000 from the Growing Places Fund.

Warrington again received an award from the New Homes Bonus of around £4m. This is based on the increase in the level of affordable homes, and Warrington has received the fifth highest award in the North West after reducing empty homes by 300 and building 227 new affordable homes.

£4maward has been received from the New Homes Bonus, based on the increase in affordable homes.

1 Walton Locks2 Chapelford Village, Great Sankey

Housing Supply:

Apartment Supply:

1 bed1%

2 bed19%

3 bed48%

1 bed24%

2 bed75%

3 bed1%

4 bed plus32%

1 2

Looking Forward2015 will see continued momentum in the implementation of Warrington’s adopted framework for growth, Warrington Means Business with projects being delivered by Warrington & Co.

The £190 million Stadium Quarter development is well underway to the North of Warrington town centre. At the time of writing the cladding and glazing were being put onto the £8.5 million Business Incubator. The new Business Incubator will provide a contemporary, high-quality workplace specifically aimed at providing prestigious, accessible accommodation for start-up businesses with a focus on the energy and engineering sectors.

The five storey building will feature a café at ground floor level and offices and research and development facilities on the upper floors. Its contemporary look will be enhanced and accentuated by high quality stone and glass elevations and feature a double-height glazed entrance lobby.

Funding has come from a £1.7 million European Regional Development Fund grant and £6.7 million investment from Warrington Borough Council’s capital programme.

The Stadium Quarter initiative was announced by Warrington Borough Council in March 2013. The scheme will connect the bus interchange with the Warrington Wolves’ Halliwell Jones Stadium and create a new, vibrant mixed-use development comprising educational, business, leisure and housing uses.

The Business Incubator project at the Stadium Quarter is on schedule for a completion in June and set for an opening in September this year. Interest from occupiers is reassuringly high and a serviced operator to manage the facility is in the process of being recruited.

UTC Warrington will sit adjacent to and complement the Business Incubator. Principal sponsor of the £10 million facility is Manchester Metropolitan University. The funding agreement from government is in place and construction will commence in June ready for a September 2016 opening.

A new 2000 seat cinema will sit at the core of the £107 million Bridge Street Quarter development accompanied by a new market hall - which will incorporate the historic former ‘Boots’ building frontage - a 1300 space new multi storey car park, new council offices, several family friendly restaurants and a new public square.

The project is anticipated to have a transformational effect on the fortunes of Warrington town centre. The scale of the new cinema, which will have 2,000 seats and an IMAX will make it one of the largest in the region and along with the new market hall and restaurants will provide a significant leisure draw into the town centre which will complement the existing offer.


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The up scaled project is significantly larger than that previously announced. Financially sustainable, the project will create an anticipated income of £5.5 million per year for Warrington Borough Council and also be a valuable capital asset for the local authority.

Hoardings have been erected around phase 1 of the site in order that demolition works can commence in May and ground works are ongoing.

The Bridge Street Quarter Regeneration project is being delivered by Warrington & Co., on behalf of Warrington Borough Council with development partner Muse Developments.

A temporary market hall will be the first element of the Bridge Street Quarter regeneration scheme to be built. The market will move into this temporary location early in 2017 whilst the second phase of demolition is underway and whilst the new, permanent £10 million, 31,150 sq ft market hall is being constructed.

warringtonandco.com

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31 Bridge Street Quarter Regeneration2 Bridge Street Quarter Regeneration3 University Technical College (UTC)

www.musedevelopments.com

… the regeneration partner of choice

Residential Office

Retail Leisure

Distribution Car parks

In order to minimise disruption for the market traders a phased programme of site development will be carried out over the next five years. The project will create up to 400 construction jobs and 400 new permanent jobs in the leisure, retail and restaurant sectors when the whole project is fully completed in 2019.

When open the new market hall will incorporate the magnificent, Grade 2 listed former Boots building façade on Bridge Street as one of its entrances. The opposite side of the building will feature entrances out towards the new square in front of the new multiplex cinema. Access into the market will also be available from the two other sides of the building in order to generate and promote through footfall and promote trade.

A second, more detailed masterplan has been commissioned to progress the Cabinet Works project which sits at the eastern side of Bridge Street. This scheme will complement Bridge Street Quarter and Stadium Quarter projects and create an east west link connecting the Cultural Quarter across toward the cinema and market. Further plans in this regard will be announced later in 2015.

To the South of the town centre work progresses at a pace with Wire Regeneration, the joint venture established late in 2013 between Langtree and Warrington Borough Council. Significant improvement and upgrade works at Wharf Industrial Estate are underway and master planning for Southern Gateway almost complete. It is anticipated that the Southern Gateway project will be progressed later in 2015.

Outside the centre of town Omega continues to boom. On the North side Travis Perkins are about to start operations from their 65,000 sqm logistics unit alongside Hermes and Brakes and only circa 4,645 sqm of developable space remains. On the South side the 52,000 sqm unit for Asda is still undergoing its £80 million fit out and is scheduled to commence operations in early 2016. Construction is underway of the 64,000 sqm new HQ for The Hut Group and also the 18,580 sqm manufacturing plant for French automotive components manufacturer Plastic Omnium. Both are scheduled to be operational in 2016.

A planning application to build a new school on Omega was submitted in April 2015 and is awaiting consideration. A planning application to build 1100 homes is expected to be submitted later this summer. The second phase of Skyline Drive is under construction which when complete in September 2015 will connect the Royal Mail depot at Lingley Green Avenue through to Junction 8 of the M62.

Warrington was successful in its bid through Cheshire & Warrington LEP in securing £12.44 million from the Governments Local Growth Fund in July 2014 to support specific growth projects. The funding included:

• £5 million to deliver Junction 8 improvements on the M62 to allow for improved access to Omega and other sites

• £5.3 million for a new bridge crossing over the River Mersey which will ease traffic congestion and facilitate the commencement of the Warrington Waterfront regeneration programme

• £2.14 million (for works totalling £3.62 million) to ease congestion in the Warrington East/ Birchwood area to support the continued growth of the area.

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Consultation and advance works regarding the Birchwood improvements have already taken place with a start on site set for summer 2015. The improvements to Junction 8 will commence in Summer 2016 for completion in 2017.

The funding for a new bridge crossing over the River Mersey is the first phase of a £160 million initiative to open up and maximise the potential of Warringtons waterfront area.

Overall the Warrington Waterfront project will open up the potential of 83 hectares of land currently locked by water, road and rail lines and so facilitate growth immediately to the south west of the town centre. Additionally it will release the potential of the town’s underutilised waterfronts which face onto the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey and also assist traffic movement in and around the town.

Major infrastructure works will be required in a number of phases to facilitate this. The initial £5.3 million will part fund a £10 million bridge across the River Mersey linking Chester Road to Centre Park.

A thorough consultation process will commence in June prior to a planning application being submitted later in 2015. Subject to planning approval being granted works will commence in 2016 with a view to this first bridge being completed in 2018.

In total the Warrington Waterfront project has the potential to create up to 3,800 jobs, create up to 2,100 new homes, attract up to £880 million GVA and, in addition, provide extra resilience to the local road networks through the creation of 7.1km of new highway and two new bridges.

Government has recently indicated that it expects to be able to provide funding for the most significant phase of the project, the £72.5 million ‘Waterfront West Link’, which would provide a high level bridge across the Manchester Ship Canal. If Government were to release the full funding this stage of the project could potentially be completed by 2021.

The route for the Waterfront West Link, will provide a connection from the A56 Chester Road to the A57 Sankey Way, including a high level bridge across the Manchester Ship Canal.

warringtonandco.com

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1 Warrington Waterfront2 Dakota Drive, Great Sankey

The scale of the new cinema, which will have 2,000 seats and an IMAX will make it one of the largest in the region and along with the new market hall and restaurants will provide a significant leisure draw into the town centre which will complement the existing offer.


Acknowledgements– Acuitus

– Allsop

– Altus Eileen Bilton

– B8RE

– Canning O’Neill

– Capita

– CBRE

– Christopher Dee

– Colliers International

– Cushman and Wakefield

– David Klein

– Davies Harrison

– DTZ

– Eddisons

– Edwards and Co

– ES Group

– Goodall Investments

– GVA

– Hitchock Wright

– Impey & Co

– Jackson Criss

– JLL

– Knight Frank

– Lambert Smith Hampton

– Legat Owen

– Matthews and Goodman

– Patrizia UK

– Manchester Office Agents Forum

– Morgan Williams

– OBI Property

– Riddell TPS

– Roger Hannah

– Savills

– Taylor Estates

– TFC

– WHR Property Consultants

BE Group is a property agency, regeneration and planning consultancy and has over 30 years experience of working in the Warrington commercial property market.

This report has been carefully prepared. However it is for general guidance only and Warrington Borough Council, Warrington & Co and BE Group cannot guarantee that there are no errors or omissions. The information, forecast and opinions set out herein should not be relied upon to replace professional advice on specific matters. No part of this report should be published, reproduced or referred to without the prior permission of BE Group.

BE Group, First Floor, 501 Birchwood One Business Park Dewhurst Road, Birchwood, Warrington WA3 7GB

Tel: 01925 822112

Webpage: www.begroup.uk.com

Email: [email protected]

For further information on Warrington’s full range of sites and premises, access our online property directory on:

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Alternatively, you can contact us via:

Telephone: +44 (0) 1925 442 371 Email: [email protected]

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