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| 01.07.07 PARKS MAKE A MARK Yorkshire Business Insider (Main)Businessparks Parks make a mark Business parks in Yorkshire keep getting better, belying the theory that the city centre is the only way, says Neil Tague It has become accepted wisdom in the last few years to say that the business park is losing out to the reborn 'buzzy', 'vibrant' and 'buoyant' - any such words will do here - city centres. But the fidgures say that take-up in the out-of-town market remains strong. Almost 130,000 sq ft was let in the decentralised Leeds market over the first quarter of 2007 - a healthy start given that the whole of 2006 saw 400,000 sq ft let. And also, roughly more than 1,000 sq ft than was let in the city centre over the same period. Clearly this is a product much in demand. For all the buzz of the city, businesses still need their employers and clients to be able to reach their premises with a lack of fuss and delay. Although the commercial boom enjoyed by Leeds is to be celebrated, it does create an awful lot of traffic. There's also the increasing likelihood that road charging will hit major UK cities within ten years. Little wonder then that there is massive investment in speculative development in Yorkshire business parks. Akeler, now under the rule of Australian supergroup Macquarie Goodman, continues to build big and bold at Leeds Valley Park. The region's only Premiership club may have lost its top flight status in May 2007, but in one area Yorkshire is playing in the Champions Leajrue, says Jeff Pearey, head of office agency at Jones Lang LaSalle in Leeds. "There are three market leaders of genuine class in the out-of-town Leeds market in Leeds Valley Park, Thorpe Park and White Roise Office Park," says Pearey. "The business park market here has matured. Before it was perceived as a market with a sporadic offering, but the quality of buildings now on offer has seen rents pushing up to £20 per sq ft - not a million miles from city centre rents." Indeed not. Leeds Valley Park, at the intersection of the Ml and the M621, pulled in one of 2006's biggest inward investment deals with call centre outsourcer Ventura's commitment to the 40,000 sq ft Boreal building, meaning all of the 130,000 sq ft phase one is let. The speculative development of phase two - two office buildings of 62,000 sq ft and 82,000 sq ft - around a central courtyard was completed in late summer 2006. Leasing manager James Pitt says that the developer has carried out site investigation work on a potential third phase, which could total up to 120,000 sq ft. "We've asked hotel operators to take part in a tender process and have identified a suitable partner for a fourstar hotel aimed at the business user, for which we could submit a planning application by summer 2007. We already have good amenities and will start phase three once 50 per cent of phase two is let." Munroe K's White Rose Office Park has also done well. The developer speculatively developed a further 80,000 sq ft of space at the park, five miles from the centre of Leeds, and brought in two major tenants to join the likes of De Puy International, HSBC and the Inland Revenue. West Yorkshire Police took the whole of a 45,000 sq ft building, while engineering consultant WSP has siddgned up for 27,000 sq ft of the second, 35,000 sq ft. David Aspin, chief executive of Munroe K, says it's all about facilities: "We provide an enjoyable working environment through the provision of first class facilities as I believe this to be key for any company dedicated to attracting and retaining staff," he says. "We constantly adapt to suit the needs of tenants, with on-site facilities such as the Hub restaurant/cafe, -gymnasium and therapy rooms. We have also submitted planning for a creche." Provision of on-site facilities is an area where rival Thorpe Park, the third largest business park in the UK, scores highly with the jewel in the crown being its eponymously named four-star hotel and spa. Thorpe Park has also seized the green agenda with the development of the Innovate green office building, a 40,000 sq ft, three-storey building that was built with sustainable materials and building techniques and will be operated as flexible serviced office accommodation. Thorpe Park owner Scarboroudgh Developments is rolling out development in phases, with two buildings of 30,000 sq ft and 23,000 sq ft currently available. It has also sold off chunks of land to Business Homes, a specialist in offices for small businesses - perhaps the busiest part of the business park market. Developers like Gladman have had great success in speculatively building office parks aimed at small businesses, available to let or to buy, away from the commercial core. Jason Metcalfe, director in the Huddersfield office of agency Eddisons, says: "Demand is phenomenal in the 1,000 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft market. Developers like Gladman and CDP are speculatively building and once occupiers see what's there the product is flying. It's definitely the busiest part of our market." Eddisons is instructed on two office parks near Huddersfield, Bradley Business Park and Pennine Business Park. At the former, Gladman has built out a 30,000 :sq ft campus-style office scheme, all bar 1,000 sq ft of which is let less than a year after completion. At the latter, larger scheme, two buildings have been sold and a further two are under offer. Metcalfe says: "All types of businesses are interested because it's all grade A space. People want quality and they want car parking and, at the moment in Huddersfield, the out-of-town market is meeting that better than the town centre can - a lot of it is tired and parking is a problem. There will be some rebalancing, but for now the out- of-town market's in front." Wakefield is a city where the out-oftown market historically outstrips the central business district. Paragon Business Village has been an unqualified success, brindging tenants including City & Guilds, Securitas, law firm Chadwick Lawrence and a new Fire Control Centre. There's also Calder Park, a 240-acre site at junction 39 of the Ml, where the omnipresent Peel Holdings is looking to bring forward 1.5 million sq ft of commercial space. Robin Beagley, office agency director at joint agency Lambert Smith Hampton, says: "Calder Park is a scheme of national sidgnificance. There has been huge investment in infrastructure to open up the whole site and anything that comes up for sale flies out of the door - the Business Homes product has sold really well." Over 30 tenants are now at Calder Park. Beagley says that sustainability is a big selling point. "Sustainability is a big issue right now and we're talcing it very seriously. The biodiversity of Calder Park is what sets it apart. It's a very low-density scheme in general with landscaping and water courses at its heart - we created a pond 18 months ago. And our flagship building is extremely green." At Calder Park, too, the ambitious Gladman Developments has been busy, with Navigation Court now completed. With lettings going well, it has acquired a further seven acres from Peel to roll out its model further. Calder Park, of course, has the green travel plan and cycle paths that no business park is complete without these days. Sheffield Business Park is also making its settings a virtue. Based on a 200-acre site, the park is bordered by woodland and a network of footpaths offer exercise opportunity and spectacular views. There is a well-established walking group among tenants. Site manager Rebecca Wyatt meets regularly with occupiers to discuss park facilities and any other issues. "In addition to the walking group, we also provide reflexology sessions and a dry cleaning service on site." she says. "We also have a social committee that organises a good range of community activities and events." The park's dgreen travel plan is run with Sheffield and Rotherham councils, along with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. Transport and organisation are at the heart of many companies' desire to move to a business park, says Beagley: "Parking and accessibility are real issues in some city centres, while many out-of-town moves are driven by the desire to consolidate offices. "We've seen companies with offices in Leeds and Wakefield move everyone to one of the business parks. It can help them organise the business better and it usually gives better space because the quality of developments is better than most companies can afford in city centres." It seems somewhat perverse that parking is an issue time and time again, when every man and his dog are rushing out mission statements about their corporate social responsibility and reduced carbon footprint. The green travel plans and cycleways are all well and good, but the feeling remains that more serious infrastructure is needed to make it work. As Pearey says: "Because business parks are attractive to high-density occupiers, like call centres, they ideally need to be accessible by public transport. The sustainability agenda also comes into play here. It shows where we're at as a market - in the north we're still largely car-dependent whereas in the South East and Thames Valley the parks are all public transport-linked. None of the Leeds business parks has a rail link." Maybe so, but the agents, Pearey included, don't see the market slowing up. As Beagley says: "Take-up is up in the first quarter of 2007 and the key thing is that there have been no big deals in that - the number of deals has increased by a lot. There are also some big requirements out there and some major business parks will be opened up when the east Leeds link road is complete, so the out-of-town market looks healthy for some years to come." |
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