Fast-growing engineering business Efinor is moving into one of Bristol’s landmark office buildings, Whitefriars, and it’s just the first of seven deals under offer equating to more than 30,000 sq ft.
Following a £1.3 million refurbishment to the reception and lifts, property consultants JLL, working as joint agents with Hartnell Taylor Cook and Burston Cook on behalf of the Topland Group of Companies, has secured deals across a range of sectors including charity, technology and recruitment.
Efinor is taking 4,949 sq ft in Whitefriars. It is part of the Efinor group based in Cherbourg, France, which specialises in project management, engineering and manufacturing within the nuclear, oil, gas, aerospace and naval defence industries.
In addition, two existing occupiers in Whitefriars Business Centre, which offers serviced business suites, are also expanding into larger space within the building on conventional leases.
The firm has a workforce of 22 people spread over three offices in Bristol, but it plans to bring the three offices together at Whitefriars and grow the team to 35 by the end of the year, as well as adding a site team at Hinkley Point C to support three major contracts it is carrying out there.
Steve Lane, associate director in JLL’s Bristol office, said: “We have secured tenants from a range of sectors adding to the diverse mix of existing tenants in this highly sought-after building. Its excellent amenities combined with a recent high quality refurbishment have helped attract new businesses to the property.”
The Whitefriars office building comprises 138,000 sq ft in total. It offers an extensive range of amenity space including a gym, large meeting rooms to rent, café, break-out space and a serviced office operation, as well as a contemporary reception, new lifts and an excellent on-site concierge team.
Alan Wiltshire, head of project office at Efinor, said: “We spent several weeks looking for new office space in Bristol. During this time, we found the team at Whitefriars and Topland very helpful in finding the right solution for our business. The whole team spent many hour engaging with Efinor to ensure the office refurbishment runs smoothly and is completed to our timescales.”
Steve Pope, group director of property and asset management at Topland, said: “Whitefriars is one of our strongest performing offices in the UK and we continue to let well the vacant space that arises in the building. Having completed the most recent phase of work to the property, we are really pleased to welcome a number of new occupiers to the building and drive on rental levels. We look forward to maintaining and improving on this progress and are delighted to see occupiers from our serviced centre develop into thriving businesses and take conventional office leases.”
