FEBRUARY COMMERCIAL PROPERTY NEWS - 10.02.12
Quintons Commercial Property agents are continuing to see improvements in the commercial market with a number of lettings completed in January.
63b Bartholomew Street, Newbury has been let as a retail unit to a dog grooming parlour. The new name for the shop is Hair Off The Dog Groomers and a new 5 year lease has been taken.

We have also let a number of offices in January, these include 2 The Pentangle, Park Street, Newbury. The space totals 1,084 sq. ft and has been let on a short term lease to MPG who are currently fitting out the residential units above Parkway.

Further office lettings include Windmill Road, Headington, Oxford where we have have let 725 sq. ft of first floor offices to a local accountant on a new 5 year lease. Moving west we have let offices at 5c Station Yard, Hungerford to a dental operation. The space has been taken on a new 3 year lease.

On the industrial front we have let Units 3 & 7 Norman House to Banjo Cycles on a new long term lease. The space will be used as a concept store.  There are 5 further units at Norman House which are currently available, interest however is picking up which usually happens when one tenant signs.

 

We are delighted to have finally completed on the letting of the former Monks Lane Filling Station at the junction of Newtown Road close to Tesco. The property was the subject of a planning application which has finally been granted. The new operation is a hand car wash which has signed a long term lease. Please see our BLOG page detailing the history of this listed building.

We are continuing to market Kelvin House, Kelvin Road, Newbury. The space currently comprises 9,188 sq. ft of office space which can be let or sold as a whole or split into two and let on a per floor basis. The property would be fully refurbished for an office occupier. The space which fronts the A339 can also be used as a car showroom, trade counter unit or retail space subject to planning. 

Unit 8 Minerva House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston is still vacant and this property totals 2,472 sq. ft and is available to purchase. The guide price is £175,000. The property has workshop/ lab space downstairs with offices above and also includes 8 parking spaces and a loading door.

Finally, The Sandwich Shop in Queens Road is still available as a going concern despite strong interest. The business and the property is being offered to rent or to buy freehold, guide price to buy is £135,000.

For further details on any of the above properties please contact Shane Prater – 01635 551441

NEW LEASE SIGNED ON MONKS LANE FILLING STATION - 30.01.12
Quintons are pleased to have recently let the old electric filling station at the corner of Monks Lane /Newtown Road, Newbury. The new tenant is Mr Mukiella Rama who has previously operated hand car wash businesses at Faraday Road and more recently at the old Texaco petrol filling station on London Road. Mr Rama is delighted with his new premises and extremely pleased with the service given to him by Quintons. Shane Prater from Quintons has negotiated all three deals for Mr Rama over the last 7 years and Mr Rama says “Shane is the best”.

Work is being carried out at Mr Rama’s new premises and should be completed in two weeks so that Newbury Hand Car Wash can be opened as soon as possible. Opening times will be Monday to Saturday 8am until 7pm and he hopes to open on a Sunday from 9am until 5pm. Many people in the town will be delighted that Muki is back!

Some interesting history has been written about the GRADE II Listed Newbury Electric Filling Station which opened in 1934. When it was built the A34 (Newtown Road) was the main trunk road. The service station was designed and built by R. A. Wickens, a local builder, for Mr Murray and Mr Whitaker who owned two other filling stations in the area at the time.
The filling station was known locally as the ‘electric garage’ because it featured the new electronically operated petrol pumping system rather than hand pumps. The filling station was advertised at the time as the most modern filling station in the district. At the time, a gallon of petrol cost 1s, 6d or 7 1/2p. Calladine & Morrison 1998 said it was “The first building to clearly announce itself as a functional building self-consciously devoted to the service of the automobile.”
At the start of the 20th century petrol was sold in cans. With the growth of the automobile industry came the sale of petrol from roadside hand pumps. The combined effect of the 1927 Roadside Petrol Pumps Act and the Petroleum Act of the following year meant the appearance of new electric filling stations from where petrol was to be sold. The stations provided suitable covered areas for filling up vehicles and other amenities such as toilets. Later changes in transport needs, coupled with cars capable of carrying more fuel, led to more people filling up further from home.

Quintons are delighted that this wonderful old building has been put to good use again and wish Mr Rama every success.

Information courtesy of the risky buildings web site and Sarah Duncan.

2012 PROPERTY BOOM OR BUST!? 13.01.12
Reports out this year are predicting a gloomy year for the property market but Quintons have started 2012 with a flurry of activity which includes the sale and letting of a number of properties and a number of new instructions. Not really Boom but definitely not Bust!

Deals that have completed in the last month include the sale of an office building in Marlborough. The property comprises a self contained building of 2,500 sq. ft located just off Marlborough High Street. The property includes a large car park to the rear. It has been purchased by an owner occupier who will not be using the whole building and therefore surplus office space is available to let. The space available comprises 1,600 sq. ft to include parking. The guide rent is £12.50 per sq. ft.

New instructions this month include Units 1 & 9 Inch’s Yard, Newbury which comprises 2 retail units. Unit 1 totals 272 sq. ft and is available on a new agreement at a rent of £7,500 per annum. Unit 9 totals 450 sq. ft and is available at £10,500 per annum.
Further new instructions on the retail front include Unit 4 Eight Bells Arcade. The space comprises 156 sq. ft and is available to rent on a new agreement at £500 per month exclusive of bills. The property was previously used as a hairdressers but would suit a range of other uses.
On the office front we are instructed to market Unit 13 Langley Business Court, Wrolds End, Beedon near Newbury. The offices are arranged over ground and first floor and include a loading door for giving access for large pieces of equipment or to provide a storage area. The property includes ample parking with other occupiers on site including Q Associates, Mayprint, Sonic Labs and Cool Solutions.
Due to abortive negotiations The Litten has become re-available. This property comprises a period office building with parking situated on Newtown Road, Newbury and totals circa 3,800 sq. ft of space and includes a car park for 10+ cars and garden to the front. The property is available to purchase at £675,000 freehold. As well as office use, this building could also be used as a dwelling or be converted to a number of flats subject to the necessary planning consents.
We are continuing to market ADO House, Abex Road, Newbury. The property comprises 6,576 sq. ft of mixed office and workshop space on a large site with plenty of parking and is available to purchase with the guide price being £500,000.
45 Bartholomew Street is also on our books which totals 840 sq. ft and is available to rent or possibly to purchase. The property is clean and tidy internally and highly visible on Bartholomew Street. The guide rent is £12,500 per annum.
We continue to market premises on Faraday Road, Newbury formerly occupied by One Stop the car repair people. The premises totals circa 4,300 sq. ft and is available as a whole or in 2 parts. The space includes reception area, forecourt parking, large workshop and a first floor which could be rented separately as an office or retail outlet to include coffee shop. The property is available on a new lease the length of which is open to negotiation.
For further information or full details on any of our properties for sale or to rent, please contact Shane Prater - Tel 01635 262510 or email shane@quintons.co.uk

The Litten                                       45 Bartholomew St.                   Faraday Road

RAISING FINANCE FOR SME's - 13.12.11
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the U.K.’s key source of economic growth and employment.  A report published by the City of London Corporation in March 2010 estimated that SMEs account for almost 60% of our total private sector employment and 50% of private sector turnover. However, in the wake of the credit crunch and subsequent financial crisis, many SMEs are still struggling to find bank finance.
So, what other funding options are there?

1. Private Equity or Venture Capital Finance - VCs typically invest in return for equity in the form of shares with a minimum investment at around £2M and they require a large earning potential, a high return on their investment within a specific relatively short time frame and for these reasons private equity is not normally suitable for smaller or start up SMEs. In addition, most business owners are deterred from seeking equity finance because they do not want to relinquish control and a recent government green paper stated that only 2% of SMEs have recently accessed equity finance.

2. Business Angels - Business angels (or dragons) are wealthy individuals who invest in high growth businesses in return for equity.  Some angels invest individually, others as part of a network club or syndicate and an important benefit is that in addition to providing finance, angels can bring business experience and access to contacts.
Angels require businesses to have a proper strategy and demonstrate sustainable growth.  The British Business Angels Association states that a typical angel network may receive about 800 enquiries a year but only around 2% will successfully gain funding.

3.Government Assistance - The government intends to continue the Enterprise Capital Funds programme for the next four years providing investment in early stage innovative SMEs with a high potential for growth. It invests public money alongside private equity investment with the aim of attracting further funds from private investors. The government also plans to continue the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme which helps SMEs with insufficient collateral or financial history to access commercial debt finance by providing lenders with a guarantee from the government for 75% of their exposure. However, this programme has been criticised by SMEs who have discovered that banks may still require extensive personal security.

4. Asset Based Finance - Asset based finance generally takes the form of invoice discounting or invoice factoring which allows the borrower to draw down a percentage of their outstanding sales invoices in advance of such invoices being paid in return for a fee and interest payable to the lender.  It also allows the borrower to retain ownership of the debts due under the sales invoices and responsibility for credit control.
Invoice factoring on the other hand results in ownership of debts being transferred to the lender in exchange for immediate finance, again for a fee. For many SMEs, debtor balances are the largest asset on the balance sheet often representing two or three months worth of sales.  Invoice discounting or factoring is therefore becoming an increasingly common form of finance.

5. Stock Markets - Growth markets such as AIM or PLUS can help some larger SMEs to raise finance.

6. More Bank Finance - The banks are keen to impress that they do have funds to lend but do not wish to return to the arguably irresponsible lending of the last decade and are happy to lend to firms where their business plan is robust and businesses need to show that they have enough coming in to repay any borrowing.