Domestic & General (D&G), the appliance care specialist, is to create a new flagship operations hub in Nottingham.
The company has pre-let 51,399 sq ft at 11 Station Street, a new Grade A office development in the city, adjacent to the Railway Station and Unity Square, where HMRC’s new offices are due to complete later this year.
D&G has agreed a 15-year lease on the whole building with developer Bildurn Properties, which will start on site immediately with a build completion date in 2022. The rent is undisclosed.
Property consultants CBRE advised D&G on the letting. JLL acted on behalf of Bildurn.
D&G has been based in Nottingham for more than 20 years and is one of the city’s largest employers, with 1,000 staff. Globally the company employs nearly 3,000 people, with operations in Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, Italy and Australia.
It has sold its existing premises at 77 Talbot Street in Nottingham to enable the creation of the new hub at 11 Station Street.
As well as the operational benefits for the business, D&G’s plans will unlock around £50million of direct investment for Nottingham, with the redevelopment of 77 Talbot Street and helping to kick-start the development of the wider Station Street mixed-use scheme.
Nick Ulycz, chief operating officer at D&G, said: “We want to create a world class operations hub in Nottingham, a city we know really well, and I’m delighted these plans will also unlock some significant new direct investment.
“We moved quickly last year to transition all our employees into a position where they can successfully work from home, and they have done a brilliant job serving our clients during the crisis. Their feedback from this experience has allowed us to push ahead with a refresh of our property mix, which will form a key component of our new hybrid working model, and it will allow for people to have a truly flexible work environment.”
Sean Akins, managing director at Bildurn Properties, said: “Station Street has been many years in the making and is an important gateway to Nottingham, connecting the redeveloped Midland Station, and its tram links, to the city centre.
“11 Station Street is the first completely new office building in the city centre for a number of years and has been designed and specified to to the highest BREEAM “Excellent” and British Council for Offices Grade A standards.”
Liz Bailey, director in CBRE’s office occupier advisory and transaction services team, said: “There were a number of drivers influencing D&G’s decision to relocate to new premises in Nottingham, not least that it has outgrown its existing space and the Talbot Street offices didn’t speak to the business’s brand and culture.
“We identified a number of viable sites and D&G selected 11 Station Street as its preferred option, due to its central location, high visibility and easy access to transport links.
“The new hub will deliver modern flexible office accommodation that will address the needs of the business now and well into the future.
“It was a pleasure to advise D&G on this project from the outset, helping it to understand what was possible and ensuring that it was delivered. I look forward to seeing the plans being realised over the next couple of years.”
11 Station Street concludes Bildurn’s Station Street redevelopment which, as well as the creation of the Vita residential scheme, also includes the refurbishment of the former Gresham Hotel and Police Station.
