Joint venture partners and commercial property developers and investors, St Francis Group and iSec have confirmed details of the first of two deals with separate occupiers at its prestigious Horizon 38 development, a 1 million sq ft mixed use scheme in Bristol announced earlier in the year.
In the first deal, detailed planning consent has been granted by South Gloucestershire Council for the development of a new 35,000 sq ft Trade Centre for Selco on 2.45 acres. The deal will see Selco take a 15-year lease at an undisclosed rent. Building work is set to begin in March and be completed by October 2017.
Chris Cunliffe CEO Selco commented ‘Selco are pleased to confirm our deal with St Francis Group and iSec which will see Selco open their second branch in Bristol. This is a great opportunity for Selco as we continue our expansion in the UK and strengthen our position in the Bristol marketplace. This opportunity will see more than 50 jobs created to support the local community and will also offer genuine career opportunities.
We first opened in Bristol in 1995 servicing the Bristol builders from our Sheene Way Bedminster branch, over the years we have developed a strong business and this development is seen as an important strategic move in supplying the building trades and customers both new and old all their products and services under one roof from our branches”
In the second deal, St Francis Group and iSec have confirmed a deal with Village Hotels for the development of a new 153-bedroom hotel occupying the prominent plot on the corner of the A38 and Gypsy Patch Lane. Work on the hotel is due to commence in August 2017 following completion of the internal site infrastructure works and estate road construction. The hotel is expected to be open by summer 2018.
The new Village Hotel will deliver a business class hotel with a business and events HUB and a state-of-the-art health and fitness club including swimming pool, bar and restaurant. The new Village Hotel – which will create 100 new jobs – will act as a catalyst for the wider Horizon 38 scheme and represents an investment of £21m.
Iain Stackhouse, Head of Property at Village Hotels, said: “We’re growing the Village Hotel network by investing into quality new locations and Horizon 38 will be our 30th site. With plans to double the size of our portfolio within the next 5 years, we’re targeting premier locations like this and building outstanding facilities with a premium business and leisure offer. Here we’ll be ideally placed to serve a significant and expanding catchment and play a key role in the successful build out of the impressive Horizon 38 scheme.”
Both deals constitute a major milestone on this landmark new development, representing the first occupiers signed since work commenced on the scheme in the summer.
Horizon 38 is a landmark strategic development site, directing fronting onto the A38 in Filton near the former Filton airfield, Airbus and Rolls-Royce Engines manufacturing plants. It sits within the Filton Enterprise Area; the largest and most significant regeneration and inward investment project in the south west and just 3 miles from Bristol city centre and less than 2 miles from the M5.
Commenting on the announcement, Gareth Williams, Development Director at St Francis Group, said “We are delighted to announce today the double signing of both Selco and Village Hotels and welcome both occupiers onto Horizon 38. This development has been a long time in the planning and with work onsite now accelerating you can really start to see the new development coming out of the ground.
Both Selco and Village Hotels are high profile and successful national occupiers who we are very pleased to have anchoring the new 25-acre commercial park development that forms part of the site.
Also commenting Mike Forster, Development Director iSec, said “These deals endorse Horizon 38 as a key and prominent business location, within the rapidly evolving North Bristol area. We are already experiencing a significant shift in demand to this area, where we are able to offer mixed use and industrial opportunities that have not been readily available before”
Giles Weir of JLL, joint letting agent on the development together with Paul Hobbs of GVA, said: ‘”It is an excellent sign that these two deals have been secured at Horizon 38 at this early stage. The fact that the scheme has attracted a 153-bedroom hotel to the site shows that it is in a fantastic location, while Selco’s commitment to the development will no doubt result in the adjacent trade units getting snapped up swiftly. Initial levels of interest have been strong at this landmark scheme so we expect there to be more announcements to come soon.”
In other developments, steelwork has started to go up on the start of development of 580,000 sq ft of industrial space being built in four phases and funded by BP pension Fund.
In this first phase of development 210,700 sq ft of space is being developed across 5 units, with the first delivery of completed logistics and manufacturing space coming on stream in the summer of 2017 with later phases completed in 2018.
