Commercial property consultancy Hartnell Taylor Cook has announced that national property company Countrywide will be moving into a new 3,077 sq ft office in Bristol’s landmark office building, Whitefriars.
Acting on behalf of landlord Topland and alongside joint agents JLL and Burston Cook, Hartnell Taylor Cook secured the latest letting in the recently-refurbished building, which has seen a string of deals in recent months and continues to capitalise on post-pandemic occupier demand. With businesses rethinking their workplace strategies as the pandemic’s dust begins to settle, the city is seeing a ‘flight to quality’ whereby companies are seeking quality, well-located and sustainable offices that support flexible working – a trend that sustained activity at Whitefriars, including Countrywide’s letting, highlights.
Located in the heart of Bristol, Whitefriars houses 138,000 sq ft of good quality office space that is continuing to evolve to cater to changing occupier expectations. Now, it is one of the only central Bristol offices with an on-site gym and also offers tenants a café, conference rooms and a short walk to amenities like Cabot Circus and Broadmead Shopping Centres. To meet tenant demand for ESG credentials, the building also provides EV car charging points and cycle storage, as well as offering a short walk to Bristol Bus and Coach Station.
As businesses continue to compete for quality stock in the city, Hartnell Taylor Cook, JLL and Burston Cook are marketing the remaining available suites in the building on the 1st, 5th, 6th and 8th floors, ranging from 1,277 to 10,743 sq ft.
Commenting on the news, Lizzie Boswell, Senior Surveyor at Hartnell Taylor Cook, said:
“It’s fantastic to see such a well-known name like Countrywide entering the building after several other businesses have signed leases in recent months. Just as Whitefriars is buzzing with new occupiers moving in, so is the broader Bristol office market with Q4 2021 seeing the second highest take-up level that the city centre has seen since 2016. We’re therefore delighted to have been involved with this letting from start to finish. The market really is competitive as businesses are searching for their ideal post-pandemic HQ, and offices like Whitefriars offer them exactly what they’re looking for.”
Steve Pope, Group Director of Property and Asset Management at Topland, also said:
“We have seen a sustained rate of lettings at Whitefriars in recent months thanks to the competitive market pricing and available amenities attracting a variety of tenants. In the year ahead, as more businesses begin to crystalize their ‘return to work’ strategies, we expect the building to remain one of incoming occupiers’ top choices in the city. Bristol is booming post-pandemic and we are delighted to be a part of it.”
