52,000 sq ft of spec build moves forward at the Advanced Manufacturing Park

Following Harworth Estates’ announcement that it is to develop a further 117,000 sq ft of business and industrial space at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) at Waverley in Rotherham, the first phase of 52,000 sq ft is now progressing following the appointment of CBRE’s Building Consultancy team.

The new accommodation will be the first speculative industrial development in Yorkshire for six years.

CBRE has been instructed as Monitoring Surveyor by Sheffield City Region Joint European Support For Sustainable Investment In City Areas (JESSICA) Fund, which also provided the £2.7m loan for the speculative development of Unit 3 (30,000 sq ft) and Unit 4 (22,000 sq ft) of Harworth’s ‘R-evolution @ the AMP’ development.  CBRE is currently undertaking a Due Diligence report for the construction of the new units and will be providing monthly monitoring of the development through to completion which is set for October this year.

Harworth Estates’ 740 acre Waverley development is being transformed into Yorkshire’s largest-ever mixed-use development with a new community of 4,000 homes along with shops, restaurants, schools, leisure and community facilities and parks as well as being home to world-class manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce and Boeing at the AMP.

Harworth has already sold parcels of employment land to accommodate 65,000 sq ft of new space at R-evolution in 2014.  Occupier demand for small sized, high quality units has led to the speculative development of the remaining 52,000 sq ft which will be split over two new, steel-frame industrial units to boost the reducing supply of available accommodation in the Sheffield City Region.

Ben Rennocks, Director of Building Consultancy at CBRE’s Leeds office, said;

“The AMP has a strong reputation as being one of the region’s most pioneering developments and it is easy to see why occupiers are keen to become part of the tenant mix. The recent pre-let deals indicate the current appetite for industrial accommodation so the decision to speculatively develop the new units is a measured one and offers a show of confidence for the whole regional property sector. CBRE assisted the Funder and Developer to ensure the development could commence in May 2014 and will continue to monitor the build out of Units 3 & 4 through to scheduled completion on 17th October 2014.”

The SCR JESSICA Fund, which is made up of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Growing Places capital, aims to provide funding for projects at competitive commercial rates where funding might otherwise prove challenging in the current markets. The Fund will commit capital to regeneration opportunities with a focus on office and industrial developments which meet the ERDF’s targets on employment, remediation and floorspace outputs.  The Fund is managed by CBRE Capital Advisors.