Crown Estate planning new £1.5 billion innovation district in north east Cambridge
The Crown Estate is planning to create a new innovation district worth at Cambridge Business Park in the north east of the city to include labs and offices for businesses to scale up and attract investment. The proposals involve over 4,000 new jobs, and more than 250 homes, along with skills and educational opportunities, new public spaces, and a lively leisure and cultural offer. The mixed use regeneration project is believed to have the potential to generate a £1.5bn gross development value through a new ‘innovation ecosystem’. The Crown Estate is a property business owned by the monarch but which is run independently and where profits go to the Treasury. Dan Labbad, CEO at The Crown Estate, said s: “The Crown Estate is investing where it can have the most meaningful impact in addressing areas of national need, meeting local challenges and realising opportunities. Our vision for Cambridge Business Park is to create an inclusive and connected place that is industry leading in terms of sustainable and innovative workspace.” The Crown Estate is also part of a partnership behind a new 100,000sq ft life sciences, technology and innovation space in Oxford. A public consultation on the plans for Cambridge – which ranks as Europe’s largest technology cluster – is due to be launched later this month.
Firms stay optimistic on growth but job-shedding continues
Private sector output in the East of England rose for the 11th month running in October and firms were more optimistic on growth over the coming year despite a falling in the volume of new business. The NatWest East of England growth tracker business activity index rose slightly from September’s 50.9 to 51.2, pointing to a modest rate of expansion. But workforce numbers in the region fell for the second month running reflecting hiring freezes, automation, not replacing leavers and a lack of incoming orders. Lisa Phillips, regional managing director, Midlands and East, commercial mid markets, said: “November’s cut in interest rates may help to boost demand towards the end of the year. The latest data on input prices suggests that inflationary pressures are on the wane, although companies continued to raise their own prices at an above-trend rate.
MBO at Ipswich-based bespoke joinery and interiors business
Ipswich-based Taylor Made Joinery Interiors has completed a management buy-out advised by Grant Thornton UK’s corporate finance team. Founded in 1981 by James Taylor, TMJ has more than 200 employees and a client base which includes Windsor Castle, 2012 Olympic Park, the Royal Opera House, Bloomberg’s London HQ and the Millenium Ceiling at St Edmundsbury Cathedral. The MBO team was led by Tim Coll, Sarah Warren and Kevin Pryke and the move is expected to bring increased operational efficiency and continued innovation. The deal will see Tim Coll move from contracts director to managing director, while James Taylor becomes chairman. Tim Coll said: “Our goal is to build on the strong foundation laid out by James. We are excited to enhance our services and continue investing in our talented team, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the industry.”
James Taylor said: “This is an exciting opportunity for the management team, and I look forward to supporting them as they navigate through this evolution.”
Stuart Davies, Partner at Grant Thornton UK, said: “It was a priority to find a solution that maintains the company’s values and brand, this has been achieved with the capable management team stepping up to lead the company in its next chapter.” Birketts provided legal advice to TMJ shareholders.
Photo: top row (l-r): Pat Coll, TMJ, Ned Brown, Grant Thornton, Stuart Davies Grant Thornton, Martin Holmes, TMJ, Alexandra Nelson, Birketts, and Emma Bysouth, Birketts. Bottom row (l-r): Oliver Taylor, James Taylor, Clare Taylor.
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Estate agency sets up in London to meet ‘burgeoning demand’ for Norfolk homes
Norfolk estate agency Arnolds Keys is establishing a presence in the capital to tap into what it says is a ‘burgeoning demand’ for homes in the county amongst Londoners. It has agreed a partnership with a property marketing operation, The Mayfair Group, with an office in the West End. Tom Corfield, partner at Arnolds Keys, said: “Norfolk is proving increasingly popular with buyers in the capital and the southeast, including families wanting to relocate to achieve more space, those retiring or downsizing, and second home-owners. A partnership office in the West End working alongside our local Norfolk offices is a natural step in providing an even better service. From London we will be concentrating on achieving the maximum coverage for our clients’ properties”.
Bank boosts facilities for new Norfolk solar park
Virgin Money is doubling the banking facilities to £18 million for a renewable energy investment fund, which is acquiring a major solar park in Norfolk. The move increases the bank’s support for Gresham House Solar Distribution to £42m. The new 21MW Burgate Solar Park will produce enough electricity to power 6,300 homes and the deal takes Virgin Money towards its goal to to lend at least £750m to sustainable energy and environment projects and companies by 2027. “We are fully committed to support the drive to renewable energy across the UK,” said Virgin Money senior director, Adam Heslop, “and we have every confidence in Gresham’s investment strategy in their solar park fund.” Gresham House Solar Distribution has raised more than £60m from investors to fund the acquisition of its portfolio of operational ground-mounted solar parks in England and Wales.
New £17 million development in Thetford set to help meet demand for affordable homes
Housebuilder Tilia Homes, part of untypical group, has partnered social enterprise, Places for People, in a deal worth around £17 million for affordable homes to its new development in Thetford. Sovereign Gate, on Norwich Road will provide 130 new energy-efficient one-to-four be homes. Projections indicating a need for more than 10,000 new dwellings by 2038 in Greater Norwich alone. Gareth Jacob, regional managing director for untypical’s Eastern region, said: “There is a significant demand for new homes across Norfolk, including affordable homes, and Thetford is no different.
Law firm completes pre-Budget deals worth nearly £1 billion
Law firm Birketts completed more than 75 corporate transactions for clients worth over £930 million in the run-up to the Budget. Client acquisitions, sales, demergers, buyouts and other deals were finalised across a range of sectors, including energy, healthcare, food and drink, technology, professional services, insurance, and hospitality and leisure. Instructions were received across all six of the firm’s offices in London, East Anglia and the South East. Rafael Ruiz, partner and head of the corporate team at Birketts, said: “This flurry of activity reflected the desire of business owners to finalise deals in an environment of certainty. Anticipation and uncertainty around this first Budget from the new Government was motivation for many clients to get transactions completed before Budget day.
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Ipswich warehouse let to landscaping products company
A major warehouse in Ipswich has been let to a landscaping products business. Penn Commercial arranged the letting of Suffolk House, Unit 2, Whitehouse Business Centre to Azpects for client, Newell Properties Developments for a 12-year term.The warehouse has an internal area of just over 34,000sq ft, offices of around 4,500sq ft and on-site car parking. Azpects was founded in 2009, with a mission ‘to produce products that make creating and maintaining hard landscaping easy’. Vanessa Penn, Managing Director of Penn Commercial, said: “From placing the unit onto the market, Penn sourced the tenant within just three weeks, and negotiated terms for a swift completion.”
