The Sanderson Weatherall blog

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.”

When Edward de Bono said this, it was unlikely that he was thinking in terms of commercial property however through creativity, mixed with experience, knowledge and hard work, Sanderson Weatherall LLPhas managed to break away from ‘repeating the same patterns’ and in the process we have saved our clients throughout the UK many hundreds of millions. 

The environment in which the commercial property sector operates has been changed dramatically, possibly permanently and our techniques have to meet the new market challenges.

Aside from staffing, fixed assets are often a company’s biggest expense and as such it’s vital they are working as hard as possible. During the recession, businesses in the both public and private sectors have adopted a ‘cut mentality’. But, before making the chop, take a second to consider other options – what if the building you had earmarked for demolition could be redesigned to appeal to a different audience?

Similarly, cutting losses and moving on doesn’t have to be the only option. Organising property portfolios to generate a lower rates bill is another credible option in the ‘age of austerity’ and we’ve advised many clients with multi-property portfolios as to how they can negate their rates liability.

There are times when a move really is the best option to drive down cost. Many landlords out there are still showing a lot of flexibility on space available and within the office market in particular, both landlords and tenants can work together for mutual benefit as to how they creatively use their spaces.

So, the message really is to take a long hard look at the bricks and motor you are surrounded by and ask – is it really working to help you make a profit by making a saving?

We all know that the urban landscape is constantly evolving. Now the co-author of a new book, Obesogenic Environments, says decades of creating car-focused urban environments is beginning to show on people’s waistlines.

The publication looks at complexities, perceptions and objective measures which includes examples from the USA and Australia where their low density car-orientated suburbs have become a focus of obesity concern. It was edited by one of my former lecturers, Tim Townshend, director of planning and urban design at Newcastle University and Dr Amelia Lake, a senior lecturer in food and nutrition at Northumbria University.

“Our urban landscape is full of shopping malls and fast food restaurants, escalators and huge car parks with people battling to get the space closest to the doors so they don’t have to walk very far,” Tim said. These environments are simply not designed for people to walk around in.

“We need to think seriously about what kind of environment we are creating for ourselves and have a sensible debate about what’s acceptable and what’s not in our towns and cities. Health needs to be back on the town planning agenda before it’s too late.”

Townshend has called for more green spaces and street trees to encourage more walking. He pointed out that graffiti and litter and poorly maintained areas deter pedestrians.

In my opinion urban environments do promote a lazy lifestyle with convenience food and facilities around every corner. It is not just urban environments that are guilty of this; I think we will feel the effects of ‘food deserts’ in years to come. Increasing numbers of large scale, edge of centre housing developments do not have facilities such as a local shop in which residents can walk to. As a result people are forced to get in their cars just to get a pint of milk, thus creating ‘food deserts’ which simply promote the use of cars and do not encourage people in any way to maintain an active lifestyle.

However I think in today’s fast paced urban environments convenience will always prevail and it is up to the individual to maintain a ‘trim waistline’. Creating urban environments which promote walking is a good idea in theory however in practise there will always be a desire to use cars. Drastic changes would have to be made in order to change people’s mindsets and obesogenic urban environments are only half of the problem.

In an effort to ensure that proposals for new school builds aren’t ‘squandered’ or ‘strangled’ by red tape, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, has unveiled new planning guidance for councils. These must be taken into account as a material consideration when determining the viability of applications (see the full statement here).

It is hoped they will help applicants avoid a lengthy and ponderous planning process and make it easier for promoters of schools to build new premises or adapt existing buildings.

In determining planning applications, local authorities should:

 - attach very significant weight to the desirability of establishing new schools and to enabling local people to do so;

 - adopt a positive and constructive approach towards applications to create new schools and seek to mitigate any negative impacts of development through the use of planning conditions or planning obligations, as appropriate; and

 - only refuse planning permission for a new school if the adverse planning impacts on the local area outweigh the desirability of establishing a school in that area.  Where a local authority refuses permission on this basis, the government will ask the Planning Inspectorate to deal swiftly with any appeal that is lodged.

The ‘free schools’ policy is proving to be a popular one and if the new guidelines are effective it could help to open up a lot of opportunity for businesses across the property supply chain.

It would be naive to assume that the process will always run smoothly and the new guidelines make no guarantee that every application will be granted. But, in attempting to simplify the decision making process Mr. Pickles and his team has taken the first steps in the right direction.

Each month, we will showcase a selection of our ‘hot’ properties currently being marketed by Sanderson Weatherall. The range will be varied and could include anything from retail space to offices, restaurants or even land with development potential.

Each property will include a brief description along with a downloadable PDF and contact details for the agent involved. Happy browsing!

Leeds – Town Centre House

Price/Rent: On application, Min area sq m: 177 (1906 sq ft) Max area sq m: 187.7 (2021 sq ft)

Bespoke office accommodation in the heart of the Civic Quarter

For further details please click here to download the PDF
Contact: Richard Dunn
richard.dunn@sandersonweatherall.com

London – 33 Great Portland Street, W1W 8QG

Price/Rent: On application, Area sq m: 278.7 (3000 sq ft)

First floor, open plan office space to let

For further details please click here to download PDF
Contact: Ben Holmes
ben.holmes@sandersonweatherall.com

Manchester – Road One, Winsford Industrial Estate, Cheshire, CW7 3QF

Price/Rent: On application, Area sq m: 18,700 (201,268 sq ft)

The property is located on a well established industrial location within close proximity to the M6 and comprises an industrial distribution warehouse constructed in 5 bays.

For further details please click here to download the PDF
Contacts: Frank Taylor / David Murray
frank.taylor@sandersonweatherall.com / david.murray@sandersonweatherall.com

Newcastle – 1 Chevy Chase, Eldon Square

Price/Rent: Base Rent £360,000 pa, Area sq m: 324.69 (3495 sq ft)

These premises are located in the refurbished Chevy Chase Mall which is situated between the Northumberland Street entrance and Blackettbridge

For further details please click here to download a PDF
Contact: Bob Fletcher
bob.fletcher@sandersonweatherall.com

Teesside – 1 Calvert’s Square, Stockton on Tees

Price/Rent: Asking rent £15,000 pa, Area sq m: 103.16 (1110 sq ft)

There are incentives available on this fantastic restaurant opportunity in the heart of Stockton on Tees.

For further details please click here to download a PDF
Contact: James Devany
james.devany@sandersonweatherall.com

In the licensed sector, 2010 may well be dubbed ‘the year of consolidation’. In 2009, we saw many businesses taking a long hard look at their overheads and beginning a sometimes painful, series of cutbacks.

Many operators are still reporting lower turnover figures year-on-year but with better cost control and focus on margins, profitability is still there in the business, as observed by this recent article in the Morning Advertiser where my comments featured.

Banks are now seeing this, with several recognised lenders looking to continue lending or re-enter the market. A note of caution though, these lenders will no longer just rely on traditional loan-to-value ratio to authorise money. More detailed inspection of both the current figures and the business plan for the customer will come under scrutiny, together with their CV and ability to maintain trade.

This should be good for the trade as it will improve the quality of the operators in the sector and without being a cliché, offer a better experience for the customer who will be looking closely at where to splash their disposable cash.

So what are the opportunities out there? Well, there is still a steady flow of instructions from the Pub Co’s divesting of their poorer performing units, several leasehold opportunities at very realistic asking prices and reasonable rents coming to the market. We are also talking to several operators who are looking to expand their portfolios now, sensing the time is right to re-enter the market. This is further quantified by the increase in the number of formal valuation instructions we are receiving from both the banks and operators looking for new areas of growth that combined with the focus on costs they can see a genuine return.

For the second half of the year we must continue to keep our feet firmly on the ground. However, there is some room for genuine optimism.