The completion of a major office deal on Exeter’s Pynes Hill business park heralds a significant improvement in occupancy levels at Exeter’s premier office park, as well as welcoming a well-known name back to the city.
Acting on behalf of Cobham Defence, we have let Melrose House Redrow Homes, who have not been represented in the city since they closed their former offices at Exeter Business Park some years ago.
The 6,500 sq ft detached building, set on its own site with 33 parking spaces, occupies a prominent position on the way onto the estate. The property sat empty for much of 2012 while Cobham undertook internal reviews which culminated in the decision to close operations in the South West and consolidation of their businesses in Dorset and Hampshire.
We negotiated the surrender of the remaining three years of Cobham’s lease in conjunction with our structuring of a new lease to Redrow Homes. The housebuilder is now undertaking extensive fitting out and enhancement works at Melrose House ready for full occupation in June.
This is the second deal we have completed at Pynes Hill so far this year, following the letting of a suite at Tourism House to Mitchell Architects. The letting to Redrow is the largest deal done by Stratton Creber Commercial at Pynes Hill since our involvement in the letting of 10,000 sq ft to Micros on behalf of Eagle One in 2012. We currently have a further 8,200 sq ft of office space under offer on Pynes Hill, meaning that take-up on the estate so far in 2014 is already well ahead of the whole of 2013. With availability of modern offices also in decline at Exeter Business Park and Sowton, this year is shaping up as a good one for landlords, while tenants should take note that falling supply will lead to fewer options and a firming up in lease terms.
