Welsh companies expand at South Gate House, Cardiff

Two tenants at the multi-let South Gate House office building in Wood Street, Cardiff have expanded into larger accommodation.

TV production company Rondo Media has taken a second suite in South Gate House to expand its TV production services in its existing 9th Floor offices. In addition Phoenix Legal Services has expanded in the building, by relocating from a 1,950 sq ft suite to the 4,232 sq ft 5th floor West.

Landlord Euranglo Cardiff Ltd was advised in both deals by Knight Frank.

Mark Sutton, office agency partner at Knight Frank in Cardiff, said: “South Gate House has seen a flurry of activity in recent months and these most recent tenant expansions have built on the success in the building over the last two years where we have transacted almost 18,000 sq ft in 6 deals. The landlord’s current vacancy has been reduced to just one wing. The building’s proximity to the main transport hub and the exciting redevelopment of Central Square including the new BBC headquarters makes South Gate House a compelling story for occupiers seeking space in the heart of the city centre.”

South Gate  tenants have included the British Medical Association, Sea Marshals, WE Bridge International, Object Matrix, Phoenix Legal and Leisure Time.

Rondo Media is a major Wales-based independent production company with offices in Cardiff, Caernarfon and Menai Bridge. The company produces drama, sport, music, events, factual and entertainment content. Rondo has a post-production facility in Caernarfon and a Cardiff post production base which recently expanded to house a 50 hour Channel 4 daytime series Find it, Fix it, Flog it – winner of the 2017 RTS Best Daytime Series award.

Rondo produces S4C’s flagship football series Sgorio and is also currently producing broadcasts of Wales’ World Cup qualifier matches.  Its twice-weekly S4C drama series Rownd a Rownd is produced at its base in Menai Bridge.   Rondo produces music and event coverage – including the bi-annual choral competition Cor Cymru and Karl Jenkins’s S4C commissioned work to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Aberfan tragedy:  Cantata Memoria.   A documentary on the Vietnam war photographer Philip Jones Griffiths won a Hollywood International Independent Documentary Award in 2017 and also went on to win a major New York festivals documentary award.

Gareth Williams CEO at Rondo commented “We have expanded our post-production facilities on the 9th floor with the addition of five new edit suites to enable us to deliver the Find It, Fix It, Flog It series for Channel 4.

“We have recruited 12 new staff and have moved some of our production team into the new offices on the 4th floor. The availability of high-speed data links in the city centre means we can also share work efficiently with our Caernarfon base.

“By moving to South Gate House in the heart of the city we have become part of a thriving community – soon to be further enhanced by the new BBC HQ taking shape a few yards from us.

Long term residents at Southgate House, costs lawyer Phoenix Legal Services (PLS) has seen steady growth escalate in recent years, heralding the need for more staff and more space.

Following a complete refurbishment of its 4,232 sq ft 5th floor West offices, with a major interior re-design, its new home provides a light, bright, modern HQ which is already proving a hit with staff.

Managing director Stephen Averill says “Our new home on the fifth floor of Southgate House, conveniently situated for all major public transport networks, is a first class operating base and offers us all an ideal platform and smart and comfortable environment from which to take Phoenix forward: I couldn’t be happier with our new premises and feel I can be proud to welcome clients and provide staff with an inspirational working hub.”

Phoenix Legal Services has over 20 years of experience as professional costs lawyers.  The firm supports a national client base in cases ranging from low value claims to multi million pound Group Litigation.