OUTLOOK   November 2007

An e-newsletter covering Industrial, Commercial & Retail Property, in North Oxfordshire, North Gloucestershire, South Northants and South Warwickshire.  Published by BANKIER SLOAN CHARTERED SURVEYORS.

Acquisitions: Sales: Lettings: Lease Renewals: Rent Reviews: Planning: 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

Regional Property Helpline :  01869 338866

Free to give away - Portacabins: We have two portacabins sitting in an industrial unit in Moreton-in-Marsh which we expect to be able to offer free in the next fortnight, providing someone arranges their own transport. Both have been used internally for approximately 15 years and are in reasonable condition.  They both measure 28' 6" x 8' 6".  One is already loose from its fixings, the other may need a little bit of TLC before moving. 

Central Banbury:  I mentioned last month the imminent marketing of a unit in the centre of Banbury which I thought would generate interest from investors/developers and owner/occupiers.  We now do have formal instructions to market this property which is located in Lower Cherwell Street, adjacent to the Oxford Canal and very close to the town centre.  If you have already received details and wish to view please contact this office. If you have not yet received the basic details please e-mail reception@centre-p.co.uk writing the words Central Banbury in the subject box and these will be sent to you.   For those that might be interested we received 27 enquiries in relation to this property last month and I am now expecting a further batch.

Calthorpe Street, Banbury: This retail unit is now ready for occupation. It has been beautifully fitted and is very close to Banbury High Street. We are seeking a rent of only £35,000 per annum. This equates to a zone A in the region of £28 and I am sure someone will love this location www.centre-p.co.uk/Calthorpe%20Street,%20Banbury(2).pdf. The development of this unit may have taken slightly longer than planned but it does now look good...it's well worth viewing.

Small Industrial Investment, Thorpe Way Industrial Estate: We have a client who would be interested in disposing of a small industrial property on Thorpe Way Industrial Estate. The current rent is £13,500 per year. The unit currently used as a motor mechanic’s workshop is 1,500 sq ft, and is held on a 6 year lease by two individuals on a lease originally commencing in 2005. If you are interested please e-mail reception@centre-p.co.uk  and let us have your full postal address.

Duns Tew: We have received instructions to market an interesting and well located rural workshop on the edge of the village of Duns Tew. This has been used for many years as a kitchen showroom / workshop, and has planning permission for such a use. Details of the site are available at www.centre-p.co.uk/pdfs/Duns%20Tew.pdf.  I think it has a variety of potential uses and we would welcome all ideas.

Upper Heyford: For those who may be interested we have now exchanged and completed on the sale of the little office site at Upper Heyford,  as previously promoted in Outlook.

Google: Many thanks to those who continue to view our website at www.centre-p.co.uk on a regular basis. We know lots of people enquire via the main search engines, so if you have a property to sell or let please consider using what we believe is the most visited site covering this area. We do not have a paid for/sponsored site, however if you write for example “Industrial Units, Banbury” we are number 1 of 320,000. If you type in “Industrial Property Banbury” we are number 1 of 249,000. Possibly just as pleasing however is our national recognition. The leading national property magazine in the UK is the Estates Gazette, and if you type in “Estates Gazette” you will find us currently at around number 65 of 793,000. Other examples are available if you click www.centre-p.co.uk/pdfs/Google(1).pdf

Free photograph and plan: As many of you know we pride ourselves on our comprehensive knowledge of the industrial estates within Banbury, which we have worked for nearly 24 years. If you wish us to provide you with a photograph of a property on one of the industrial estates with a map identifying its location please just let us know and hopefully with 72 hours we will send this to you in a PDF format. Many we already hold on file and will be available by return. Before the end of the year we anticipate this service to be available via a link on our website. This offer is available to all, be they owners, occupiers, agents, accountants or bankers. Please send us an e-mail clearly setting out your request, which will be acknowledged by return , and an estimated time scale will be provided to you.

Price reductions: We have been asked by clients to reduce the price of two properties we are currently marketing. One is an interesting office property owned by a client currently based overseas who now feels he would like to put his funds elsewhere http://www.centre-p.co.uk/pdfs/Shutford(Nov07).pdf. The second is a freehold, detached unit in Middleton Cheney which may be we did originally over price at £100,000, and are now prepared to offer at around £92,500. All sensible offers will be considered. My clients are wishing to sell, sadly due to a deterioration in health, and are hoping to exchange and complete this transaction before Christmas http://www.centre-p.co.uk/pdfs/Middleton%20Cheney(hairdressing%20shop).pdf. oh...please also remember we have a lock-up shop available in Middleton Cheney available on lease.  For full details of the Industrial, Retail and office properties we are currently marketing across the region  please visit http://www.centre-p.co.uk/availableproperties.htm

Surveyors Fees: For the benefit of my friendly solicitor who tells me I never tell stories about surveyors, let me tell you one now…and maybe it should act as a lesson to all to read the small print in their terms of engagement before signing documentation. A new client asked me recently to review a fee invoice he received for over £8,000 from a firm of surveyors who made a rating proposal on his behalf back in 2005. The assessment has finally been settled within the last two months. The client was surprised at the size of his bill, however when I studied the original letter from the surveyors the terms clearly stated “the fee for any agreed or determined reduction in rateable value is 15% of actual savings over the course of the 2005 rating list as estimated at the date of agreement”. What this has allowed the surveyors to do is to create an account based not only on the actual payments due in 2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2007/2008, but has allowed them also to estimate what they believe the rates payable will be in 2008/2009 and 2009/2010..and create an account covering all five years. If the government do not revalue again in 2010 then according to the terms of engagement the surveying practise involved may well feel they are at liberty to continue to charge a fee until a new rating valuation list is prepared! I would be grateful for anyone who might have a professional view on this, and for those readers who may be occupiers or owners of properties please be very careful and ensure you fully understand what it is you are signing.

 

                   BANKIER SLOAN

Edited by Ian B Sloan FRICS – 1st November 2007

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