Building Reinstatement
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MARKETING REVIEW In Respect Of Bridge Road Bleadon Weston-super-Mare BS24 0AT Prepared by Tim Beare Lambert Smith Hampton Whiteladies House 51/55 Whiteladies Road Clifton Bristol, BS8 2LY Tel: 0117 926 6666 Fax: 0117 925 0527 Date: January 2013 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 THE PROPERTY 2.1. Location 2.2. Description 2.3. Accommodation 2.4 Business Rates 2.5 Tenure 2.6 Planning 2.7 Utilities 3. MARKET COMMENTARY 3.1. Introduction 3.2 General 3.3 Local Market 3.4 Summary 4. MARKETING STRATEGY 4.1. Brochure & mailing 4.2. Adverting 4.3. Websites 4.4. Quoting terms 4.5. Results 5. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 6. PERSONNEL 6.1 Lambert Smith Hampton 6.2 Adair Paxton Appendices Appendix 1 Property Brochure Appendix 2 Mailing List – Large occupiers Appendix 3 Mailing List – open storage occupiers Appendix 4 Screen shot – Invest West website Appendix 5 Advert for Estates Gazette Appendix 6 Screenshot – LSH, EGi & Focus Property websites Appendix 7 Schedule of Enquiries Appendix 8 Letter from Adair Paxton 2 Bleadon Works, Bridge Road, Bleadon January 2013 INTRODUCTION Lambert Smith Hampton was requested to market the Marshalls site in the village of Bleadon and, following instructions, commenced the marketing campaign in November 2011. The intention at the outset was to seek a new owner-occupier for the site and it was on this basis that the site was initially marketed. This report on set outs the process of marketing that has been undertaken in the twelve months that the site was on the market and provides findings for the exercise. The report has been prepared as part of the supporting material for a planning application. The following report has been prepared by: Lambert Smith Hampton Whiteladies House, 51-55 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2LY Tel: 0117 926 6666 3 Bleadon Works, Bridge Road, Bleadon January 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Address of the Property Bridge Road, Bleadon Weston-Super-Mare BS24 0AT 4 Bleadon Works, Bridge Road, Bleadon January 2013 2. THE PROPERTY 2.1 Location The subject property is situated in the village of Bleadon, approximately 4 miles (6.43km) south of Weston- super-Mare. The subject site is located approximately 200 yards (182.88 m) from Bridge Road’s junction with the A370, which in turn provides access to Weston-super-Mare to the north and Junction 22 of the M5 to the south. Bristol lies approximately 30 miles (48.28 km) to the northeast, with Bridgwater approximately 15 miles (24.14 km) to the south. 2.2 Description The site is a manufacturing facility producing concrete products. The accommodation on site includes a warehouse, portakabin type accommodation along with significant external concrete hard standing for open storage. The industrial accommodation is of varying ages and construction but predominantly comprise of steel portal frame construction with inset roof lights which are accessed by ground level roller shutter doors. Eaves heights range from 11.5 ft (3.5 m) to 23.8 ft (7.25 m). The offices are mostly carpeted throughout and benefit from suspended ceilings, recessed fluorescent strip lighting and air conditioning. 2.3 Accommodation The premises were measured in accordance with the RICS Code of Measuring Practice (6th Edition), from which the following gross internal floor areas were calculated. Floor sq ft sq m Main Warehouse 19,880 1,847.00 Ancillary warehouses & stores 6,474 601.46 Main Office 1,128 104.79 Covered storage area 1,455 135.20 Ancillary offices & welfare space 1,021 94.85 TOTAL 29,958 2.783.30 2.4 Business Rates The Valuation Office website has determined that the property has the following assessment: Property Rateable Value Factory and Premises £110,000 2.5 Tenure We understand that the site and premises are owned freehold and free of tie. 5 Bleadon Works, Bridge Road, Bleadon January 2013 2.6 Planning We understand that the site benefits from an established employment use and is currently used for the manufacture and distribution of concrete products. 2.7 Utilities It is understood that all mains services are connected to the property. 6 Bleadon Works, Bridge Road, Bleadon January 2013 3. MARKET COMMENTARY 3.1 Introduction The Marshall’s premises have been marketed for over 12 months, and industrial occupiers have been sought in that time to purchase the site. This report demonstrates the steps that have been taken in seeking an occupier and the results of that activity. The following section provides further understanding of the current market and reflects on the reasons why this site has not found an industrial occupier in the period since 2011. 3.2 General The North Somerset economy has fared no better than the rest of the UK over the recent economic downturns, which began to deteriorate over four years ago. The area has seen little evidence of a meaningful recovery and as and when this does begin, it is expected to be gradual rather than dramatic. The lack of available finance to occupiers and developers has led to a stalling of market transactions and this has inevitably resulted in a downturn in property and land values. Existing houses and land suitable for residential development have been particularly badly hit, with very little prospect for a return to the values of 2007. Demand for existing commercial properties has also slowed notably, in particular in tertiary locations such as Bleadon, where latent demand is minimal. Take-up has mainly been concentrated in the larger conurbations including Bristol, Birmingham and Exeter. The development of new facilities for commercial uses have been largely restricted to the main commercial centre Avonmouth in the region, with virtually no new buildings of any note witnessed elsewhere in the region. Undoubtedly the superior motorway links and readily available labour supply in Avonmouth and Bridgwater have been the driving forces behind these activities, but even towns like Weston-super-Mare have struggled to attract occupiers. Occupiers and investors have adopted a “flight to quality” approach to property, where they are noticeably more concerned about the ability to future-proof their assets. As a result they are tending to focus more on the prospects for future disposal of their premises, which is drawing them closer to motorway junctions. 3.3 The local market Bleadon is not an established industrial location. Although it is located within 4 miles of Weston-super-Mare, it does not benefit from easy access on to the M5 Motorway and is consequently overlooked by the majority of storage and distribution occupiers. Within the period of marketing the subject premises there have been no industrial relocations in the area. Weston-super-Mare and surrounding areas has also seen a dearth of industrial freehold transactions in the 15,000 – 40,000 sq ft size bracket. There have been no notable acquisitions on comparable sites in these areas throughout the duration of the marketing campaign. There are no known unmet requirements at present for comparable industrial or commercial space in the area. 7 Bleadon Works, Bridge Road, Bleadon January 2013 3.4 Summary The existing Marshalls site is unfortunately too large for its location so will always struggle to attract a commercial occupier. A continued use for manufacturing is unlikely due to the fact that this sector has been struggling for many years, and it is too far removed from the motorway network to be a viable distribution facility. The configuration of the buildings and the restrictive access in to the site also detracts from the desirability in the market. This position is likely to only get worse in the future as new allocations of employment space in Weston- super-Mare are likely to be developed and provide more attractive locations for employers seeking commercial space. 8 Bleadon Works, Bridge Road, Bleadon January 2013 4. MARKETING STRATEGY Following an appointment by the site owner a marketing strategy was prepared by Lambert Smith Hampton in order to identify a purchaser for the site. This strategy involved the whole range of marketing activities, which are described below. In order to fully expose the property to the commercial market, it was agreed that the following marketing initiatives were implemented:- 4.1 Brochure & mailing A marketing company were commissioned to prepare professionally produced property particulars (Appendix 1), for which we used aerial photography to fully illustrate the extent of the demise. The draft details were formerly approved by the client on 23rd January 2012. 500 brochures were printed. On 30th March 2012 Lambert Smith Hampton undertook a substantial mailing exercise, to cover 540 industrial occupiers whose businesses are centred on B1, B2 & B8 industrial uses (Appendix 2). The brochure was sent via email. On 11th October 2012 Lambert Smith Hampton undertook another substantial mailing exercise, to cover over 400 industrial occupiers whose businesses are centred around the use of open storage (Appendix 3). Hard copies of the brochure were posted to the occupiers. In addition, the brochure was also sent to David Wells, an Economic Development Officer at North Somerset Council, for inclusion on their property register. The brochure went live on www.investwest.org on 6th February 2012. (Appendix 4) 4.2 Advertising LSH carried out national marketing to maximise the property’s exposure. On 28th April 2012 we ran the advert nationally in the Estates Gazette (Appendix 5), the commercial property industry’s prime publication. The advert was deliberately designed generically to allow us to appeal to the maximum number of applicants. 4.3 Website LSH added the property to its list of available premises on its website (www.lsh.co.uk) which provides direct links to EG Propertylink (www.estatesgazette.com/propertylink/) and Focus databases (www.focusnet.co.uk/).