Tram extension proves a turn-on for office development

Innes England and FHP have acted jointly in the sale of two more units on Poplars Court in Nottingham, driving the occupancy up to 75%.
 
Driver Hire Ltd and The Nottingham Journal are the latest occupiers within the popular development. Commercial property agents Innes England and FHP acted jointly for the landlord Sladen Estates in the deals, which will see the companies take up a total of 3,200 sq ft in Units 1 and 15.
 
Matt Sladen, from Sladen Estates, said: “We would like to welcome The Nottingham Journal and Driver Hire Ltd to Poplars Court. The companies join an already impressive list of businesses which extends to IT consultants, graphic designers, accountants and mechanical & engineering consultants.

“What’s been particularly alluring to these types of firms is the appeal of moving to high quality premises where they are able to have a say in the design of a bespoke layout to meet their requirements. This is managed and delivered by ourselves, and takes away one of the most time consuming aspects of any office move.”
 
Innes England and FHP have already disposed of nine other units at the popular location, and these two latest lettings mean that 75% of the offices are now occupied. Poplars Court is a strong indicator that there is still strong demand for well located, accessible and high specification offices in the city.
 
The units at Poplars Court vary in size and offer a diverse range of companies the opportunity of having their own front doors and dedicated car parking. Businesses have also been attracted to the location, as it is within minutes of the city centre and the national road network and now that phase two of the NET has been confirmed, this is also an added bonus as it will stop closely to Poplars Court, furthering enhancing the transport links available to tenants.
 
John Chambers of Driver Hire Ltd says: “Although Driver Hire Nottingham is a well established recruitment business within Nottingham, we have for some time been looking for suitable offices to allow us to create a much higher profile within the city. Poplars Court not only gives us a great visible location but also offers a high quality working environment for the staff along with great floor  space for our Driver CPC  training arm of the business”
 
Scott Osborne of Innes England said: “Since the confirmation over the second phase of the tram we have seen a marked increase in number of enquires specific for the development, and throughout 2011 we concluded with four deals completing.  The recent good level of demand for Poplars Court is not surprising given the quality of units on offer.  The remaining units are all available freehold and I am delighted to confirm that over the majority of the scheme has now been sold, with only a few units remaining, and in a state of market uncertainty where freehold opportunities are increasingly difficult to identify.”
 
James Hartley of FHP said: “With a lack of supply of freehold offices we have found a good level of demand in Poplars Court and this has been reflected in these two sales. The high quality fit out of the units combined with the developer’s ability to design and construct the bespoke layouts has proved extremely appealing. This coupled with the impending tram passing the site has meant that the small office scheme has attracted a number of owner occupiers to it.”