'Real facelift' plans for business estate

20/04/2011

 For many years it was the site of a smelly fertiliser factory.

 Then it was transformed into a 24 acre industrial estate.

 And now after a recent change of ownership the Tokenspire Park in Woodmansey is about to undergo another revamp.

 The site, which houses 51 units of varying size, was sold to LaSalle Investment Management for £7 million, a price reflecting a net initial yield of 11.19 per cent, last December.

 The new owners are now to invest further money into refurbishing a number of buildings, moving the gatehouse and resurfacing the roads.

 LaSalle Investment Management hope to improve the overall appearance of the site with better landscaping and flower beds.

 Janet Beckett, who has been site manager at Tokenspire Park for 13 years, said: "There have been quite a lot of changes over the years.

 "Quite a lot of work has been done on the site bringing it up to a better speck and now the new owners are investing quite a lot of money in doing up the site again.

 "We're going to give it a real facelift."

 Ms Beckett has seen the site change hands a number of times during her tenure.

 The area was originally transformed into a business park by Paul Theakston of Tokenspire Properties in the early 1980s.

 In 2002 the site was bought by PAT (Pensions) Ltd then taken over by Nelson Bakewell Real Estate in 2010.

 DTZ Investment Management then took the reins for a few months before selling its freehold interest in the park to LaSalle.

 The new owners have appointed the Leeds offices of Jones Lang LaSalle to manage the business, industrial and office space.

 They have also re-appointed Hull property firm Garness Jones as the sole letting agents for the park.

 There are less than 10 units currently available on the site, some of which will be undergoing refurbishment work as part of the overall upgrading of the site.

 Current tenants on the business park include Beverley Pine, Sargent Electrical Services, Tapco Europe and Qdos Entertainment.

 Earlier this year Garness Jones leased one of the vacant units to newly established East Yorkshire Scaffolding.

 Dale Gooderham, surveyor at Garness Jones who have been letting agents at the site for nearly 20 years, said: "I think the sites strength is its location out in the East Riding but with easy access to Hull.

 "It is an affordable alternative for businesses who perhaps want to be out of the city but within a reasonable distance."

 The estate, which is located along Hull Road is multi-let to more than 26 tenants by way of 31 occupational leases.

 Ms Beckett says it has come a long way from its factory origins.

 She said: "I grew up in Beverley and I remember it being Wiles Fertiliser and it was a smelly place with lots of muck lying around.

 "To see it now it is completely transformed."