Landlords investing in office improvements to meet demand for quality

11/07/2012

Investment by landlords is raising the standards of office accommodation in Hull city centre.

King William House in Market Place has been transformed following a major refurbishment by F&C Reit Asset Management and is now being marketed by Garness Jones.

And in the heart of the city centre, Garness Jones is working successfully with the Horncastle Group to promote 25 South Street, which has had a substantial makeover as part of the Gro With Horncastle campaign.

Work on the third floor of King William House is now complete, with the result that the property can offer high-class facilities with a great deal of flexibility – accommodation ranges from 1,500 sq ft to 17,889 sq ft.

Simon McIntosh, Fund Manager at F&C Reit, said: “There are a lot of options for sub-dividing the accommodation and all of the space looks good.

“There has been significant investment in the office areas and the core areas. The floor has been ground down and re-polished, there is new lighting, a new suspended ceiling in reception, the toilets have been totally overhauled and replaced and everything has been painted and decorated.

“There is a lack of office space of this size and of good quality refurbished office space generally, and that is what we are looking to tap into.”

Hull-based solicitors Myer Wolff have occupied the ground floor of King William House for 11 years.

Senior Partner Tim Durkin said: “It is a prominent site, a good location in a quieter part of the city centre.

“We completely remodelled our offices to suit us when we moved in but in addition to our main entrance opposite Holy Trinity Church the recent work has given us a dedicated side entrance, whereas in the past we shared that with the other tenants.

“The external work makes the building stand out far more than before and we were very impressed with the company that carried out the improvements and the way they accommodated our requirements in terms of noise.”

Improvements carried out by Horncastle Group to 25 South Street as part of the Gro With Horncastle campaign have already attracted Unique Comms Group into the building and the remaining space is expected to be let soon.

William Patterson of Horncastle said the refurbishment was carried out last year and was a factor in securing the deal with Unique Comms. Meanwhile existing tenant Hays Recruitment added some investment of their own.

William said: “Hays were already there when we started the refurbishment and they have done some additional work in their offices.

“There is strong interest in the remaining floor and there is no doubt that the improvements to the building have helped. People get a good impression of the building as soon as they walk in.”

Paul White, Associate Director at Garness Jones with responsibility for the office sector, said: “It isn’t easy to find high quality office space in the city centre and these developments are making a difference.

“The effort and investment that the landlords are putting in sends a strong message about their willingness to work with prospective tenants. A particular advantage of King William House is the size, with the capability to create large or small units.

“Over the years office-based organisations have headed out of the city centre to business parks with the view of securing car parking and modern facilities.  But city centre offices bring the benefit of conveniently-located amenities and easier access to public transport. 

“I’ve seen a shift in the level of enquiries for office accommodation, with people preferring to operate from the city centre. Due to a lack of quality office space in the city centre it has been difficult to meet those requirements so these developments can make a big difference.”