o:p> OUTLOOK    June 2006

 

An e-newsletter covering Industrial, Commercial & Retail Property, in North Oxfordshire, North Gloucestershire, South Northants and South Warwickshire. Published by BANKIER SLOAN CHARTERED SURVEYORS. REGIONAL PROPERTY HELP LINE: 01869 338866. Acquisitions: Sales: Lettings: Planning: Lease Renewals: Rent Reviews: Rating: Management.

 

Please "forward" to any friends or colleagues you think may be interested and hopefully they will reply directly to us saying "YES PLEASE" and we'll add them to our register. Our e-mail address is reception@centre-p.co.uk

 

st1:place>Upper Heyford – Freehold for Sale

Advertised for the first time in this issue of Outlook we are pleased to confirm that we have instructions to offer for sale an interesting commercial freehold, with we believe potential for residential development on Camp Road, Upper Heyford. The property is currently an office with hard standing for approximately ten cars, and a grassed area. We believe the site totals approximately one fifth of an acre. We are seeking offers based on £175,000 and we are sure that this will generate a considerable amount of interest. If you wish full details please send your full postal address to heyford@centre-p.co.uk. Viewing is easy, please just telephone this office and an early appointment can be made. In practice an external initial viewing is probably recommended as the potential of the site is we believe easy to appreciate.

 

Two copies of OUTLOOK?

If you have just received two (or possibly more) copies of OUTLOOK by e-mail, we apologise. Please notify us by writing “Two Copies” in the Subject Box and we will delete the second e-mail address from our mailing list.  Please e-mail reception@centre-p.co.uk.

 

Story Time – three short stories

Rent review evidence in Brackley…I smiled to myself earlier in the month when I received a call from an agent based in Crawley, or was it Croydon…(it makes little difference) who said they were involved on behalf of tenants with a rent review in  High Street, Brackley. They had appreciated that we were the closest Chartered Surveying practice in the area that dealt exclusively with commercial property. The gentleman asked whether I could be of any assistance, and in accordance with our usual practice I was happy to try and help. Rapidly realizing I could be of no immediate assistance I suggested maybe he should wait until the landlord’s agents made a proposal, and then ask them for their evidence. He replied that a proposal had already been made but the landlord’s agent had no evidence as he was based in Colchester! It continues to amaze me how often people instruct agents who have absolutely no knowledge of the area that they are dealing with, and then are sometimes surprised that the advise they get is very, very poor!!! (Sadly it does not surprise me, that the agents actually accepted such instructions).

 

Fire Insurance

A warning…I have recently been involved in assisting a client whose property was partially burnt as a result of vandalism. The loss adjusters have been very professional and have insured that appropriate payments have been made as the work has progressed. It may be of interest however to many readers that it was made very clear to me at an early stage that had the fire destroyed the recent improvements (an excellent office within an industrial unit) which had been constructed by previous tenants at a cost of approx’ £20,000, the insurance company would not have paid for the replacement. As they had no record that such work had been carried out, they could not be responsible for it’s insurance! The improvements had been left in place by the outgoing tenants, with the approval and knowledge of the landlords, but as the landlords had failed to notify the insurance company that this was the case, these improvements were not covered…a situation which I am sure exists in many properties around the country! Advise: Check with your insurance company exactly what is covered.

 

Motorway Roadside Advertising

As many of you may have noticed in recent months there has been a decline in the amount of advertising now seen on the side of motorways. There was a court case late in 2005 where a farmer was fined substantially for breaching planning regulations. The basic case law relates to whether a vehicle is “usually mobile”. The court upheld the planning authority’s view that a trailer parked in a field was not “usually mobile”, unlike advertising on taxis or a bus both of which are "usually mobile". This has resulted in many planning authorities now pursuing farmers without giving them notice and there has as a result been a considerable reduction in the amount of such advertising. Need advise?  Contact reception@centre-p.co.uk

 

* * * * *

Investments Wanted

We like many surveying practices around the country have constant requests for investments, at the present time however there are two that particularly come to mind. We have one investor who is prepared to spend up to £300,000 on freehold property on any of the industrial estates in Banbury, with or without a tenant, and another who would like to spend up to £1.75 million, preferably in two lots and is prepared to accept a return of 7% plus. We would be grateful to receive any details of such properties. Please notify investments@centre-p.co.uk

 

Comments:  We are always grateful to receive comments on Outlook, comments@centre-p.co.uk  If you welcome receiving this by e-mail we would appreciate it if you ‘Forward’ to a friend or colleague…they may also welcome a copy. Thank you in advance.

 

Rugby (Bilton)

Within the next three months we expect to have solved our clients requirement for outside storage at Bilton and as a result we will be placing on the market a site which already has outline residential planning permission. If you wish information when it becomes available for this site which could probably house eight to ten units please e-mail bilton@centre-p.co.uk.

 

Apologies

Apologies to those who have had to wait a month for the rent review evidence on both Church Lane, Banbury and George Street, Oxford. The former if you have not received it in the last twenty-four hours should be with you in the next twenty-four hours, the latter is actually awaiting final signature of the memorandum but this should be completed within the next month. If you missed the May issue and are intrigued please write to zoneA@centre-p.co.uk indicating your interest.

 

Rent Reviews

We are surprised how many times when notified by new clients of leases that are coming up for renewal that the renewal date is less than six months in advance. We strongly recommend that if you have properties with reviews you make contact with our Deddington office as early as possible in the review process. If you need help please call Ian Sloan on 01869 338866.

 

Cricket

It will come as no surprise to most of you that the beginning of the Premier Division of the South Northants Cricket League season, which is sponsored by Bankier Sloan, has been disrupted by the weather…we are however privileged and delighted to be once again sponsoring the league, a sponsorship which started in 1998.

 

Available Properties

We are constantly getting new instructions to sell and offer on lease properties throughout the region. Full details of these premises are available on request by e-mailing availableproperties@centre-p.co.uk. We will attempt to find you a suitable property for your requirements. As some information is best sent by post we would appreciate your full address.

 

Edited by Ian Sloan FRICS   1st June 2006.

 

BANKIER SLOAN, The longest established Chartered Surveyors in the region dealing exclusively with Industrial, Commercial & Retail Property. North Oxfordshire, North Gloucestershire, South Northants and South Warwickshire.  Deddington 01869 338866 Brackley 01280 700756 Moreton-in-Marsh 01608 652888 Coventry 02476 545556

 

If we have sent this to you by e-mail and you are NOT interested in receiving further issues approximately every four weeks then we are sorry to have troubled you. PLEASE reply and just write the words NO THANKS and your name will be taken off our e-mail list.