Wednesday 07th October 2009
STRONG INTEREST IN THE HUB
The first unit on a speculative west Hull business park has been let to a national company and work has started on a second phase.
Euro Car Parts has taken up new premises at The Hub, in Witty Street, to set up a trade counter in the building to serve both the business-to-business market and private customers.
Work is underway on the second phase of the development, with a third also in the pipeline.
Hessle based property company PPH Commercial is the agent for Scruton & Co, which has developed the site.
Ben Medhurst, partner at the practice, said the letting showed there was life in the speculative market.
He said "This is a very interesting development. The vast majority of speculative developments have ceased in the city, but the developer, Scruton & Co, is cracking on with this. Phase one is completed. The site is in a great location and the buildings are of an excellent quality. The second phase will continue the theme of high design standards".
Work is underway on the second phase of The Hub and is due to be finished in the next few months.
Mr Medhurst said this was perfectly timed for the traditional pre-Christmas flurry of activity in the commercial property market.
He said "The market always picks up in September and October. We do a lot of deals for businesses wanting to be in a new property and trading from January 1. These units fall within that category".
Mr Medhurst said they were aimed at the trade counter and light industrial market. "There's a lot of interest in the second unit of phase one", he said. "And there's interest in phase two. For businesses in 1,500 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft premises, these are the natural progression".
All units at The Hub are available to rent only. They are based on a steel portal framed construction, with high quality feature cladding to the walls and roof. The units are built to an open plan format so they can be fitted out to the specific occupier's requirements.
Ian Scruton, managing director of Scruton & Co, in Livingstone Road, Hessle, said he has a lot of confidence in the area as a business location.
He said "We developed a business park in adjoining Scarborough Street which is fully occupied and very popular. With the Hub, we are looking to construct high specification units. It is a difficult time in the speculative market, due to financial constraints, but we are confident in the location, which has easy access to the A63.
We have built a high quality product and know from experience that discerning occupiers will be impressed with the end product.
I am happy to build speculatively in this part of Hull because the combination of the specification and location make The Hub very hard for other developers to compete with".
