There may be only one candle on the cake, but there’s a significant number of deals to celebrate as Carter Jonas celebrates the first anniversary of its return to the commercial property market in Winchester.
Managed by chartered surveyor Paul Russell and assistant surveyor Keith Enters, the division actually brought a wealth of experience in the Hampshire commercial property field to the Jewry Street office, Paul having spent 30 years in practice in Southampton and Keith fresh from running a Carter Jonas commercial office covering north Hampshire.
“We are very active in lease renewals and rent reviews but there is less consistency than there used to be,” comments Paul. “It takes years of skill and experience to interpret limited comparable evidence when setting or agreeing terms but my many years in the area before joining Carter Jonas has given me a good library of knowledge.
“The strength of the market is shown by limited good stock available in Winchester as the city continues to be popular, although some property types are more in demand than others.”
Keith Enters points to the variety of deals done during the year, from finding a home for a language school in Southgate Street to helping the internationally known Moss Bros move to a larger store in the High Street. He and Paul have also taken time to find a new home for the Carter Jonas residential lettings team in Winchester, luckily next door to the current Jewry Street office.
Along the way, he has also moved Utopia Wines into a redundant Stockbridge bank and let a storage compound at Belbins in Romsey as well as making his own contribution to keeping Winchester’s retail units occupied.
“When compared with other urban centres, Winchester has a far lower ratio of empty retail premises – good for landlords and owners wishing to sell but harder to negotiate strong terms in favour of tenants when the boot is on the other foot,” comments Keith.
