Hicks Baker, acting on behalf of The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre Plc, have completed the acquisition of a new 25,500 sq. ft. facility on Globe Park, Marlow. This brings to an end a highly successful 12 months for Hicks Baker who, since April 2017, have acquired 78,917 sq. ft. of Thames Valley commercial accommodation on behalf of 9 diverse clients including public sector, professional services, IT and bio-sectors companies, and an international charity.
‘The Ralph’ will be one of the largest veterinary facilities of its type in the South of England and will provide an extensive range of services for cats and dogs including Orthopaedics, Soft Tissue Surgery, Internal Medicine and Neurology & Neurosurgery. There will also be Emergency and Critical Care departments and will operate 24/7, just like a ‘human’ hospital.
The acquisition came to fruition after a longstanding search for suitable premises across the Thames Valley. The Ralph will occupy a commercial building formerly occupied by UPS specialists Vertiv who have moved to Maidenhead. The current configuration of offices and warehouse accommodation is being transformed into a state-of-the-art veterinary facility after change of use was granted by Wycombe District Council. The Ralph will open in late 2018 and is presently undergoing a 9 months’ programme of upgrading, refurbishment and redesign in order to meet their specific needs.
Iqbal Dhanji, Co-Founder and Finance Director was full of praise for Hicks Baker’s support with this transaction, commenting: “We have ended up with a great building, in the right location and with plenty of room for expansion – relative to a number of other buildings we considered. Your assistance in negotiating the lease was fundamental and we really appreciate your experience and persistence on a number of the finer points”.
This follows a successful year of property acquisitions for Hicks Baker, most notably with the acquisition of 26,740 sq. ft. offices for 3 separate tenants in the iconic Thames Tower building immediately opposite Reading station. BDO moved into 14,040 sq. ft. (11th Floor) in Q3/17, law firm Clarkslegal LLP have recently relocated to 8,550 sq. ft. on the 5th floor, and major global charity Make-A-Wish Foundation will shortly be moving into their new 4,150 sq. ft. hub on the 7th Floor.
Commenting on the various projects, Stephen Head, Director of Hicks Baker, said:
“We have had considerable success over the past 12 months acting for a diverse range of commercial clients, for whom each project produced its own particular issues and challenges. We have found that detailed market knowledge and an insight into the acquisition process is fundamental in order to secure the best possible outcome for any incoming tenant in terms of achieving the best financial terms possible, hitting critical operational deadlines and limiting their commercial risk.”
