Two landmark deals have been struck to bring the first occupiers to the Horizon 38 business park, Bristol’s largest speculative industrial development for decades.
The deals with building materials supplier Selco and Village Hotels are being viewed as a clear vote of confidence in the 65-acre, 1m sq ft mixed-use scheme on the former Rolls-Royce East Works site at Patchway.
Joint venture partners and commercial property developers and investors, St Francis Group and iSec confirmed details of the deals this week on the £120m site.
In the first, detailed planning consent has been granted by South Gloucestershire Council for a 35,000 sq ft trade centre for Selco on a 2.45-acre site
Selco has taken a 15-year lease at an undisclosed rent. Building work is set to begin in March and be completed by October.
Village Hotels will build a 153-bedroom hotel on the prominent plot on the corner of the A38 and Gypsy Patch Lane. Work on the hotel is due to start next August following completion of the internal site infrastructure works and estate road construction. The hotel is expected to be open by summer 2018.
Horizon 38 is in the Filton Enterprise Area – the largest and most significant regeneration and inward investment project in the South West. It will have 27 units, with the first completed logistics and manufacturing space coming on stream next summer with later phases completed in 2018.
St Francis Group development director Gareth Williams said: “We are delighted to announce the double signing of both Selco and Village Hotels and welcome both occupiers onto Horizon 38. This development has been a long time in the planning and with work onsite now accelerating you can really start to see the new development coming out of the ground.
“Both Selco and Village Hotels are high-profile and successful national occupiers who we are very pleased to have anchoring the new 25-acre commercial park development that forms part of the site.”
Iain Stackhouse, Head of Property at Village Hotels, added: “We’re growing the Village Hotel network by investing into quality new locations and Horizon 38 will be our 30th site. With plans to double the size of our portfolio within the next five years, we’re targeting premier locations like this and building outstanding facilities with a premium business and leisure offer. Here we’ll be ideally placed to serve a significant and expanding catchment and play a key role in the successful build out of the impressive Horizon 38 scheme.”
iSec development director Mike Forster said the deals endorsed Horizon 38 as a key and prominent business location, within the rapidly evolving North Bristol area.
“We are already experiencing a significant shift in demand to this area, where we are able to offer mixed use and industrial opportunities that have not been readily available before”
Giles Weir of JLL, joint letting agent on the development together with Paul Hobbs of GVA, said: “It is an excellent sign that these two deals have been secured at Horizon 38 at this early stage.
“The fact that the scheme has attracted a 153-bedroom hotel to the site shows that it is in a fantastic location, while Selco’s commitment to the development will no doubt result in the adjacent trade units getting snapped up swiftly. Initial levels of interest have been strong at this landmark scheme so we expect there to be more announcements to come soon.”
In other developments, steelwork has started to go up on the start of development of 580,000 sq ft of industrial space being built in four phases and funded by the BP Pension Fund.
In this first phase of development ,210,700 sq ft of space is being developed across five units, with the first delivery of completed logistics and manufacturing space coming on stream next summer with later phases completed in 2018.
