Watling Real Estate acquires second major industrial unit in Barnsley in a month
Watling Real Estate has acquired a second major industrial unit in Barnsley in a month.
Following on from the acquisition of a 60,000 sq ft unit at Valley Road Industrial Estate by Glenbrook Investments, Watling Real Estate has completed a second deal to buy the remaining 133,000 sq ft former Safestyle UK manufacturing distribution hub for a private regional investor.
The latest acquisition includes a modern distribution unit of 67,234 sq ft together with a manufacturing unit of 66,133 sq ft, on a site of 7.96 acres. It was on the market for £6 million.
Hilco Global Real Estate Advisory advised the seller.
Ian Whittaker, capital markets director in the Manchester office of Watling Real Estate, said: “It’s great to be involved in another acquisition on Valley Road Industrial Estate in the space of a few weeks for another proactive client.
“We identified an opportunity to acquire the site at short notice and were able to complete the transaction in under a week. This transaction perfectly demonstrates Watling’s ability to identify opportunities and piece together deals in what is still a fairly sluggish and slow market with limited stock.”
Law firm DLA Piper acted for the seller with the buyer advised by Hill Dickinson.
Companies fined after teenage worker exposed to asbestos
Two companies have been fined after a teenage worker was exposed to asbestos.
The 16-year-old had been working for P Turnbull Joinery and Building Services Ltd on an outbuilding of a domestic property after the firm had been hired by Alt Berg Holding Limited to refurbish the property in Richmond, North Yorkshire.
He had been breaking up cement sheets taken from the roof of the property and putting them into a skip on 7 June 2021. Asbestos was later found to be in the cement sheets, exposing the worker to asbestos fibres.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Alt Berg Holdings Limited had failed to carry out an asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey of the property, which would have identified the asbestos. P Turnbull Joinery and Building Services Ltd had not properly assessed the work and failed to prevent the worker being exposed to asbestos.
P Turnbull Joinery and Building Services Ltd, of Attwood Terrace, Wolsingham, Durham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £500 in costs at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2024.
Alt Berg Holdings Limited, of Moor Road, Melsonby, Richmond, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(4) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,950 in costs at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2024.
HSE Principal Inspector Chris Tilley said: “A suitable and sufficient asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey of the building undertaken by the client and provided to the contractor before work started would have identified the presence of asbestos in the roofing materials. The contractor could have ensured that suitable controls were put in place and the asbestos removed safely before further work was undertaken.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by the provision of suitable and sufficient pre-construction information, effective communication between the parties and the use of correct control measures and safe working practices.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Chloe Ward and supported by HSE paralegal officer Rebecca Withell.
Private equity firm invests £12m in water management consultancy
Stefan Gunn, Investment Director at LDC, added: “Neil and the team at Waterscan have a great deal of experience having pioneered the self-supply model post market deregulation in 2017 and are hugely passionate about helping businesses to achieve their sustainability goals.
“They are supporting customers across all corners of the UK and helping them to optimise water usage at a time when all consumers are starting to recognise the increased value – and indeed scarcity – of water.
“We’re excited about what the future holds for Waterscan as it continues to invest in Waterline and broaden its services, and are pleased to welcome Neil Penhall to the board as he brings significant and relevant experience.”
LDC was advised by RSM UK (corporate finance and tax), Womble Bond Dickinson (legal), Grant Thornton (financial due diligence), PMSI (commercial due diligence) and Coppett Hill (value creation due diligence).
Waterscan was advised by KPMG (corporate finance) and Stevens & Bolton (legal).
Working capital facilities were provided by Virgin Money.
Finance manager who cost employer hundreds of thousands of pounds jailed for fraud
A woman whose crimes cost her employer hundreds of thousands of pounds has been jailed for more than three years, following a police investigation.
Louise Chambers, 41, from Thirsk, worked as finance manager for a group of Knaresborough-based companies from March 2021 to November 2022, when she was dismissed.
A review then identified fraudulent payments from company accounts to accounts linked to Chambers, including a current account, a credit card and a council tax account.
North Yorkshire Police were called in, and a criminal investigation was launched. Chambers was arrested and interviewed. Police enquiries identified fraudulent transactions totalling more than £34,000.
Further discrepancies were discovered in the accounts in relation to an invoice discounting facility which saw the company having to pay back over £300,000 due to Chambers’ actions.
Chambers was charged with two counts of fraud by abuse of position. She pleaded guilty at York Crown Court in May 2024. On 25 June 2024 at the same court she was jailed for a total of three years and one month.
After the hearing, DC Amy Webster Gonzalez, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Chambers’ crimes caused significant financial damage to a local business with a good reputation, risked the livelihoods of other staff members, and put significant financial and emotional strain on company directors.
“She abused her position for her own selfish gain. But her dishonesty was uncovered, and the investigation has ensured she has now faced justice for her actions.”
Ramsdens boosts real estate team with eighth partner
Yorkshire-wide law firm Ramsdens Solicitors is continuing to build its real estate team with the appointment of Ian Hartley as partner based across the firm’s York and Leeds offices.
With extensive experience in real estate law and the Leeds and Yorkshire markets, and nationally, Ian joins from Squire Patton Boggs where he spent seven years, most recently as director in the Leeds real estate team. Prior to that, Ian trained and spent 15 years at Walker Morris where he was an associate and senior associate in its real estate team.
Ian acts for occupiers, developers, investors and funders across a range of sectors, including residential/living, hotel and leisure, industrial and logistics, retail, agricultural and energy, with a particular focus on development transactions.
He said: “I am delighted to have joined Ramsdens’ growing real estate team, particularly at this exciting time as the firm is building on its already strong reputation in the Yorkshire region and looks to expand its real estate offering. I’m excited to take up this opportunity and looking forward to playing my part in the firm’s continued success.”
Kirsty Jackson, Ramsdens Solicitors’ head of real estate, said: “We are really pleased to welcome Ian to the Ramsdens team. His extensive experience and outstanding client-centric reputation in the real estate arena make him a valuable addition to the firm.
“Ian’s appointment reflects our ongoing commitment to attracting top talent to ensure we continue to provide the highest quality service to our clients.”
CEG boots leadership team with new MD
Matt Farrell, formerly at Invista, Grosvenor and Trophaeum Asset Management, has joined CEG as Managing Director, a new role in the company.
CEG, which has offices in Leeds, Birmingham and Cornwall, as well as London, recently secured a British Council of Office award for the quality of its Globe Point development in Leeds and is currently shortlisting a joint venture residential delivery partner on its Kirkstall Forge development.
Matt will manage and grow the 150-strong team at the property company, which has a development pipeline of more than £2bn and £800m of assets under management.
Farrell has extensive asset management, finance and asset repositioning expertise and leaves his Managing Director position at Trophaeum to join CEG. He said: “CEG has a strong 35-year history of investment and value-add asset management, setting a benchmark for new regional office developments.
“Benefiting from a diverse portfolio, supported by a proactive strategic land team, there are many existing projects to bring to fruition. I’m also excited by the new capital we have to deploy, which comes at an opportunistic time in the market.”
Farrell will work closely with Gerard Versteegh, chairman and founder, and Andrew Woods, who co-owns the business.
Gerard Versteegh explained: “Matt shares our vision for CEG and with his new ideas and energy he will pioneer new investment strategies. He will also support the team in progressing many exciting new developments, both within the new build and refurbished office sector we are known for, but also through the growth of our business space and strategic land portfolios.”
Yorkshire-made linseed paint chosen for £20m Natural History Museum renovation
The team that is renovating the landmark Waterhouse Building at the Natural History Museum, one of London’s most iconic 19th century buildings, will use historically accurate and sustainable linseed paint, made in North Yorkshire, to restore each of the structure’s hundreds of original cast iron windows as it undergoes the latest phase of a £20m restoration project.
Yorkshire-based Brouns & Co, which manufactures traditional linseed paint in Sherburn in Elmet, from flax crops grown nearby, has been appointed to the project as part of a team of specialists led by London-based Avanti Architects, which was awarded the contract to manage the latest phase of works to repair the façade of the Natural History Museum’s grade 1-listed Waterhouse Building.
The firm’s CEO, Michiel Brouns, is a conservation expert who gained expertise in restoring and renovating historic buildings in his native Netherlands before moving to the UK in 2006 and setting up Brouns & Co in Yorkshire.
“In Scandinavia, which has a long tradition of using linseed paint, original coats of linseed paint have survived on houses that are more than 500 years old,” said Brouns. “Linseed oil paint is fully protective against the weather; unlike modern plastic-based paints, its wicking properties enable humidity to evaporate, instead of trapping moisture under an impermeable film, and it’s absolutely historically accurate to the period of this iconic building,”
He added: “We are really excited to work on this important project to restore the Waterhouse Building with Avanti and the other conservation experts who are leading the field in this vital area of work.”
Avanti Architects director Fiona Lamb said: “As specialists in the conservation and heritage sector, we work hard to ensure we specify the correct materials in the repair and care of historic buildings. Paint is so often key to protecting and extending the life of materials like timber and metal; using the wrong paint can be disastrous for the building and the environment.
“Whereas modern paints are made from plastics, which are tinted with synthetic pigments and filled with drying agents, Brouns & Co’s linseed paint, which we are using on the original cast iron windows that were installed when the museum was built in 1881, is made in the traditional way by grinding powder pigments into boiled linseed oil.
“The modern formulation has zinc oxide rather than lead as the mould inhibitor and with the right combination of zinc white and titanium dioxide, the paint has great efficacy and produces a paint that is safe for the environment, great to work with and enhances the protection of wood and metal.”
£106.6m land deal to see development of hyperscale datacentre
Harworth, a regenerator of land and property for sustainable development and investment, has exchanged contracts for the conditional sale of 48 acres of land at its Skelton Grange site in Leeds to MSFT MCIO Limited (Microsoft) for a total consideration of £106.6m.
The plot comprises two adjoining land parcels.
Plot 1, which comprises 27 acres, will be sold on an unserviced basis for gross consideration of approximately £52.9 million. Completion of the sale is targeted for H2 2024. Alongside completion of the sale of Plot 1, the Group will be reimbursed approximately £0.5 million for the costs it has incurred in securing additional power capacity for the site.
Plot 2, which comprises 21 acres, will be sold on a serviced basis for gross consideration of approximately £53.2 million. Completion of the sale is targeted for H1 2026.
The former Skelton Grange power station site was purchased by Harworth in December 2014 for £3 million.
Since acquisition, Harworth has secured approval in November 2023 for 800,000 sq ft of Industrial & Logistics space, and most recently in May 2024, a reserved matters approval for a further 320,000 sq ft of Industrial & Logistics space.
Previous transactions at the site include a 19.5-acre land sale to Enfinium in 2020, on which it is developing a 49MW energy-from-waste (EfW) renewable electricity generation facility for its own operation, and the grant of a lease in 2021 to facilitate the development of a 100MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility on a 5.7-acre demise.
Harworth acquired a further 21 acres of adjoining land in 2023.
Upon completion of the transaction, Harworth will have invested £36.7 million in the site and generated £135.7 million of sales. The Group will retain 16 acres on which to promote 250,000 sq ft of employment space. This is in addition to the 77 acres owned by way of joint venture with The Aire Valley Land LLP at a neighbouring development, Gateway 45.
Once the development is complete, Skelton Grange is expected to provide 250,000 sq ft of Grade A Industrial & Logistics space, a hyperscale datacentre, a BESS facility, an EfW facility, and 28 acres of land returned to a natural habitat alongside improved green travel infrastructure, which Harworth estimates will represent in excess of £4 billion of inward investment providing a substantial boost to the local economy.
Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive, Harworth Group, said: “Since re-listing in 2015 Harworth has successfully completed a number of significant transactions that create value for our shareholders but this sale at Skelton Grange is the Group’s largest to date and is yet another exemplary case study that demonstrates the successful regeneration of brownfield land.
“It highlights Harworth’s capabilities in identifying and acquiring complex sites, creating planning-friendly masterplans that maximise site potential, and deploying timely and effective investments into remediation and infrastructure. This transaction further builds our expertise to include datacentres and evidences the growing spectrum of industries that continue to be attracted to the schemes that Harworth brings to the serviced land market.”
University of Leeds quantum security spin-out secures £2.2m
Northern Gritstone has made an £850,000 Seed investment into Cavero Quantum, a disruptive quantum security spin-out. It comes as part of a £2.2 million Seed round led by Foresight.
Cavero Quantum, a University of Leeds spin-out, has developed a new encryption technology for secure key generation and authentication.
Compatible with legacy hardware, requiring little bandwidth and secure against cyber-attack by quantum computers, the technology is attractive to a wide range of sectors and has immediate market application by replacing multi-factor authentication and one-time passwords with a high security, frictionless, password-less form of authentication.
Founded by Professor Ben Varcoe and Dr Frey Wilson, Cavero Quantum will use the funding to begin commercialising its technology and launch its first product. Ben will support Cavero Quantum alongside his existing role as Professor of Quantum Information Science at the University of Leeds, while Frey will become Chief Technology Officer.
They will be supported by newly appointed CEO James Trenholme and Andrew Wallace as Chair. James is an experienced software entrepreneur and Andrew has significant deeptech experience in quantum computing.
Northern Gritstone CEO, Duncan Johnson, said: “Cavero Quantum’s technology is applicable today and has the potential to allow individuals, businesses and nations to function safely in a post-quantum world.
“Spun out of the University of Leeds’ innovation ecosystem, one of Northern Gritstone’s university partners, Cavero Quantum is an example of a world-class business of tomorrow built on the amazing science and technology that exists in the North of England today.”
James Trenholme, CEO at Cavero Quantum, said: “The technology that Ben, Frey and the experimental quantum science team at the University of Leeds have built is ground-breaking.
“It is the first solution in the world that can replace security standards like ECDH without compromising on architecture and customer experience, keeping data safe for the next 30 plus years as quantum computing becomes the norm. It’s an honour to lead Cavero Quantum and it’s great team. I’m looking forward to building a great business together.”
Professor Nick Plant, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation, University of Leeds, said: “It is inspiring to see how the experimental quantum science team at Leeds, with support from Northern Gritstone, has developed solutions for such a critical issue in online security.
“Cavero Quantum’s technology will have a major impact on our global community, making sector-leading improvements and bringing financial savings to businesses. It is testament to the world-leading, innovative technology being driven by our region.”
Historic business park appointment for LSH
Lambert Smith Hampton’s (LSH) Industrial & Logistics team has recently been appointed as agents to market two significant industrial buildings at Humber Enterprise Park (HEP).
The historic business park, formerly the BAE Systems estate where Robert Blackburn converted and built planes for World War 1, spans 86 acres and offers high-grade production and storage units, office spaces, and versatile business areas. Building 74 comes at 63,026 sq ft and Building 22 at 167,486 sq ft.
HEP is located west of Hull City Centre, a short distance from the M62, M18, A1M, and M1 motorways. It sits just off the A63 motorway south of Brough, and is adjacent to Brough’s mainline railway station, offering direct access to the North of England and London Kings Cross.
Scott Morrison, Director at Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “HEP offers a significant opportunity for occupiers looking for much needed second hand space at very affordable rental levels. HEP is a gated and secure estate, with excellent links to the Humber Ports and we are delighted to be appointed by Westcore and Citivale to find a new occupier for these units.”
Lambert Smith Hampton are acting as joint agents alongside PPH for Westcore and Citivale.
