BT let confirms property revival: Rent of pounds 1.89m will give Argent 8% yield
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
THE announcement of one of the biggest office pre-let agreements for several years and the planned construction of a pounds 100m shopping centre yesterday provided further evidence of the gathering momentum of the property revival.
Argent, the property company that came to the market in June with a pounds 140m price-tag, has agreed terms with BT to occupy a planned 120,000 sq ft (11,148 sq metre) office building at its Brindleyplace development in Birmingham.
The letting is the first at the 17- acre (6.87 ha) site, which Argent acquired from the receivers to Godfrey Bradman's collapsed developer Rosehaugh.
At an initial annual rent of pounds 1.89m, the property will give Argent an 8 per cent yield on its estimated pounds 22m development cost. It is expected to be valued at pounds 26m.
Interest in the Brindleyplace scheme is seen as an indication of the shortage of modern office space in Birmingham, where it is estimated there is less than 100,000 square feet of new facilities.
Argent recently announced British Airways Pension Trustees funding for another of the nine proposed office buildings at Brindleyplace.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire Water and Evans of Leeds are teaming up with Land Securities, the UK's largest property company, to build a pounds 100m, 600,000 sq ft shopping centre on the edge of Leeds. The project gained planning approval in 1991 before a Department of the Environment decision to clamp down on out-of-town shopping.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments