Savills was instructed in August 2015 on the development of Finzel Reach, and to date has provided a wide range of services to Cubex and Palmer Capital that include: development consultancy, land disposal, investment, residential investment and development, office agency, residential development sales and management of the overall estate.
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Located in Bristol city centre and overlooking the Floating Harbour, the development comprises the former Courage Brewery complex and extends to approx. 4.7 acres. It is one of the leading examples of city centre mixed use development in a UK regional city.
Palmer Capital acquired the site in 2013. Their local development partner Cubex is currently overseeing the development that, when complete, will include over 400 residential units (open market and BTR), a 168-room hotel and over 250,000 sq ft of commercial space.
Savills has provided residential sales advice on the open market sale units. In addition, three development parcels were marketed with the benefit of detailed planning and were subsequently sold on a forward fund basis to Grainger plc for 194 units specifically designed for built-to-rent (total value of £45.5 million).
From a commercial perspective, Savills provided occupational and investment agency advice on Bridgwater House (Finzels Reach), a 114,600 sq ft prime office that was let to EDF Energy, Barclays and BDO LLP, and then sold to overseas investors for £56.3 million. We also acted on the forward funding by Axa of the 164-room Premier Inn Hotel.
Most recently, Savills acted in a joint agent capacity on the only speculative office building in Bristol, known as Aurora, which is a 95,000 sq ft grade A office fronting Counterslip in Finzels Reach. The building was 85 per cent pre-let at the point of practical completion achieving a new record rental level for Bristol in the process. Savills acted on the subsequent investment sale of Aurora to Royal London Asset Management for £62.1 million achieving 4.75 per cent net initial yield in September 2018.