Newark’s Advertiser Media Group will soon take up new premises at the nearby Fernwood Business Park following a deal by Richard Watkinson & Partners.
The newspaper group has sold its headquarters in Appletongate and Magnus Street in the town centre and will relocate to modern office accommodation at the out-of-town business park.
Local business PrimarySite has been lined up to take over the Appletongate building as it looks to expand – in a deal also looked after by Richard Watkinson & Partners.
Kirsty Keeton, director at Richard Watkinson & Partners, handled the sale of the group’s existing premises and the acquisition of 9/10 Halifax Court at Fernwood as well as the sale of the existing Advertiser Group building to PrimarySite, relocating from its current Beacon Hill Road premises.
She said: “I have been working with the Newark Advertiser for a number of years on their property matters. Their former town centre property has been occupied by the Advertiser Group for more than 100 years, and served the business very well over this time. Despite this, times change and as the business continues to evolve, ready to find new premises to enable them to successfully continue as a media group in the town.”
The deal has enabled The Advertsier Group to move to modern premises, promoting more efficient and sustainable ways of working, whilst at the same time retaining a Newark base and accessibility to the local market.
Kirsty added: “As well as acquiring new premises for the Advertiser Group, I was also thrilled to be able to agree a sale of their existing building to PrimarySite. The acquisition will give them room to further expand their business and take advantage of a town centre location.”
Richard Watkinson & Partners worked closed with PrimarySite and Advertiser Media Group throughout the sale and acquisition as well as assisting with the co-ordination of the move.
Joanna Parlby, chairman and managing director at Advertiser Media Group, said: “We’ve been delighted with Kirsty and her team at Richard Watkinson & Partners throughout this process, which has delivered us excellent modern facilities that will no doubt improve productivity and create a more positive working environment.
“As a business it is essential that we continue to evolve and this move, while not something we have taken lightly, is part of that.”
The newspaper group will still maintain a base in the town centre where members of the public will be able to place family announcements and adverts. There will also be a post-box for letters and news reports.
Kirsty added: “This is an exciting move for the Advertiser and we are very pleased to have been able to play a part in it.”
Geoff Millington, founder and managing director at PrimarySite, is delighted to be making the move into the town centre.
He said: “The business is really growing, we now employ more than 50 staff, and we were on the lookout for premises that could accommodate our team now and allow for further expansion in the future.
“We will be undertaking some modernisation works on the premises, making sure to look after the beautiful traditional features which attracted us to the building, ready for us to move in next spring.
“This is the first time we have ever owned our own building, so this is a very exciting time for everyone at PrimarySite.”
