Rotherham and Harworth sell speculative industrial unit at the Advanced Manufacturing Park
Rotherham Investment and Development Office, the regeneration service of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, and Harworth Estates, the UK property regeneration company and strategic alliance partner of PLP, has secured a high-quality occupier for a new 30,000 sq ft industrial unit at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) at Waverley, Yorkshire.
X-Cel Superturn (GB) Ltd, which produces precision-machined components to the petrochemical and power generation industries, has bought the newly-completed unit from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council for £2.75 million in order to triple the size of its operation at the AMP. The company had previously moved into a 10,000 sq ft unit at the “Evolution” development at the park in June 2012.
The new unit is located at Harworth’s “R-evolution@The AMP”, a seven-acre development which Harworth began in April this year. The development will comprise five units, of which three have already been acquired by owner-occupiers planning expansion at the AMP: X-Cel Superturn, Maher, a supplier of high-performance alloys, and Nikken Kosakusho Europe, a supplier of precision engineering products.
The X-Cel Superturn unit was owned by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, after it completed a forward purchase of three units totalling 52,000 sq ft from Harworth in March this year for £4.3 million. Harworth retained responsibility for the delivery and disposal of those units, which were completed this week. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is now looking for high-quality occupiers for the remaining two units, totalling 22,000 sq ft.
Andrew Taylor, Chairman and Managing Director of X-Cel Superturn, said:
“Our rapid growth has meant that we have quickly outgrown our premises at Evolution but we are delighted to be able to stay on the Advanced Manufacturing Park by moving to a much larger unit on R-evolution.
“Being located in a prestigious building on the AMP raises the profile of our company, it impresses our customers and makes it easier to recruit and retain skilled staff”.
Owen Michaelson, Chief Executive of Harworth Estates, said: “We are delighted to see another key advanced manufacturing company expand at the AMP. The disposal of three of the five units at R-evolution so quickly justifies our decision to build speculatively and reinforces the strength of demand for high-quality industrial space at the development.
“We are accelerating our plans for a second phase of R-evolution on five acres of the 68 acres that remain to be developed for employment use at Waverley. That will be followed by a larger development of up to 300,000 sq ft, called “AMPlify” on a further 21 acres”.
Dominic Beck, Cabinet Member for Business Growth and Regeneration at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, added:
“The approach by a successful advanced manufacturing company to buy the 30,000 sq ft detached unit reveals a continuing high level of business confidence and strong demand for high-quality commercial property in Rotherham, whilst supporting our desire to attract high-value lasting employment.
“The council decided to purchase three units from Harworth Estates at the Advanced Manufacturing Park at Waverley last year to support and stimulate economic growth at the site. Whilst we always had confidence that this would be a successful investment our financial model was built around an assumption that the council might have to hold on to the units for up to five years until the investment market strengthened sufficiently to allow the council to achieve an acceptable sale price.
“We have been extremely pleased with the level of interest our investment has generated and, in respect of this particular offer; the council is able to achieve all of its financial and regeneration objectives immediately without the need to hold the units”.
Local Growth Minister, Penny Mordaunt, said:
“X-Cel Superturn’s decision to expand into new premises at Sheffield City Region’s Enterprise Zone shows that it’s a great place to do business.
“Harworth Estates and Rotherham Council understood this when they invested in this fantastic new building and the fact it is paying off shows real confidence in the local economy.
“We are supporting that confidence by investing £25 million to further develop the zone. That will mean more jobs, more businesses and more investment at this world-class site. It’s all part of our long-term economic plan that is driving forward business and bringing real benefits to hard-working people.”
Concluding, James Newman, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, said:
“In April 2012 I welcomed X-Cel Superturn to our Enterprise Zone and I am pleased that since then the business has continued to grow and grow.
“The X-Cel Superturn success story is being repeated across our Enterprise Zone because businesses that locate here get access to a highly-skilled talent pool, excellent transport connections and the best tax incentives available – perfect conditions for growth.
“Over the past decade, Sheffield City Region has been one of the fastest growing economies of the North. This is because landowners like Harworth Estates, local authorities like Rotherham Council and businesses like X-Cel Superturn are all working together to build our private sector and create jobs.”
R-evolution@The AMP and X-Cel Superturn are both part of the Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone – the UK’s number one location for modern manufacturing and technology companies.
Since 2012, 18 new companies have located on the Enterprise Zone with 480 jobs already created on site and around 400 set to be created in the coming months. The Enterprise Zone is also home to over 160 students at the University of Sheffield’s AMRC Training Centre which provides the skills that manufacturing companies need to compete globally.
“R-evolution@The AMP” is the first speculative industrial development in Yorkshire for six years. Funding for the development came from a £2.7 million loan from the Sheffield City Region Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) Fund.
The money from the SCR JESSICA Fund has paid for infrastructure works and the construction of the new units at R-evolution to speed up its development.
The SCR JESSICA Fund, which is made up of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Growing Places capital, aims to provide funding for projects at competitive commercial rates where funding might otherwise prove challenging in the current markets. The Fund will commit capital to regeneration opportunities with a focus on office and industrial developments which meet the ERDF’s targets on employment, remediation and floorspace outputs. The Fund is managed by CBRE Capital Advisors.
William Church, Director of CBRE Capital Advisors, investment advisor to the SCR JESSICA Fund, added:
R-evolution@The AMP is exactly the type of development the Fund (created by the SCR LEP and Local Authorities) was established to provide funding for; one which will benefit the local economy, and where there is clear occupier demand but little interest from the traditional lenders. We are delighted that we were able to deliver the necessary financial package, alongside Rotherham Borough Council, to enable this speculative development to happen”.