Building Briefs - August 31st

• LSPIM completes £236m regional office acquisition

The properties are 133 Finnieston Street in Glasgow, Buchanan Gate; Lightyear at Glasgow Airport; St James Business Park in Paisley; St James Business Centre and the Tim Hortons at St James Business Park. In Edinburgh, Quantum Court (expected to complete at the end of September).

Over 93% of the portfolio’s value comes from 27 regional office properties that provide over 1.6 million sq ft of space to 192 tenants. The remainder of the portfolio comprises two industrial units of 120,020 sq ft, a residential property with 12 tenants and a Tim Horton’s Drive-Thru restaurant.

The contracted annual rent roll for the portfolio is £21.9 million. This corresponds to a net initial yield of 7.8%, but LSPIM expects to ultimately realise a yield of 11%. This will be achieved through a series of asset management initiatives in the coming years to improve occupancy, rental income and capital value.

The acquisition marks a significant step in LSPIM’s execution of its strategy to focus the Regional REIT portfolio on high-yielding office property that is either mispriced in the market or offers significant asset management potential. Of the REIT’s portfolio, which was valued at £732.4m at 31 December 2020, over 83% was in office assets. This acquisition, combined with the recent disposals in August of c.£60 million of industrial property, significantly increases the portfolio’s regional office focus. The small number of non-office properties in this acquisition will be included in LSPIM’s ongoing disposal programme for non-core assets.

• University spinout supports HS2 jobs forecasting

A University of Dundee spin-out company is helping to support the skills strategy for Britain’s new low carbon high speed railway.

Whole Life Consultants Limited (WLC Ltd) has led on the delivery of a report to forecast the labour and skills requirements for the HS2 high-speed rail project. The document also assesses the occupations where skills gaps will be more prevalent as the project progresses.

WLC Ltd led a consortium of skills forecasting experts, including the National Skills Academy for Rail.

Using expertise developed in Dundee to forecast labour and skills demand, the team were able to use advanced data analytics to understand the labour and skills requirements at previously unachievable levels of detail.

Through this intelligence, HS2 and its supply chain can better plan, manage workforce risks and achieve the legacy of a highly skilled and diverse workforce for the UK. This work updates and enhances previous work carried out by the same team three years ago.

HS2 is a new high-speed railway linking London, the Midlands, the North and Scotland serving over 25 stations, including eight of Britain’s 10 largest cities and connecting around 30 million people.

The analysis estimates that there will be a peak workforce on HS2 in 2027/28 of more than 34,000 people.

• Renewable firm boosts team with five hires on back of expansion

Renewable energy company Engenera Renewables Group has unveiled five new hires as it continues to roll out ambitious UK-wide expansion plans, which saw it recently open a second office in Scotland.

Based in the North East of England, the firm works as a decarbonisation partner with large companies looking to reduce their carbon emissions and operate using cleaner, greener – and often cheaper – energy.

The business has worked with the likes of Nissan, Walker Filtration, Eddie Stobart and Faerch Group to develop long-term decarbonisation plans leveraging a range of green technologies that can also slash bills and generate revenues (usually with no upfront costs). It has access to a £100 million green fund that means it can fund installations at no cost to the client.

It has boosted its ranks with five key hires, who will help it deliver on its growing pipeline of renewables projects with companies across the UK.

In a key hire for the company, Joanne Bell has joined as chief financial officer. Bell, previously the group finance director of High Street Group, has been tasked with managing the company’s finances at a key time for the company in the context of its access to the £100 million green bond.

Nick Turnbull-Murphy comes on board as major projects manager, having served in various sectors of the construction industry for many years. Turnbull-Murphy’s knowledge of a wide range of construction techniques, and his understanding of the importance of adopting a cradle to grave approach, will prove vital as the business transitions into the utility sector.

Joe Breen and Scott Hunter have joined on the operation and maintenance side of the business. Breen, with a background in civils work and construction, and Hunter, with 10 years’ experience within the HR department at the NHS, is also highly experienced in customer service. They will both now be responsible for the ongoing maintenance and operational excellence of the company’s many connections and energy-related assets, to ensure they are performing as they should and maximising returns for clients.

On the design team, Philip Rickeard takes up the position of technical designer. With a BA in Mechanical Engineering and City & Guilds in electrical installation, he brings a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of renewable tech design.

Finally, the business has also strengthened its in-house legal team with the appointment of Ashlyn Rutheford, as a paralegal, supporting the existing team. Rutherford will help with the review and execution of corporate contracts such as Power Purchase Agreements.

• John Lamont MP visits Reston station site

As work continues to create the £20 million Reston station, John Lamont, Member of Parliament (MP) for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, visited the site to see first-hand the progress that has been made.

The plans for Reston will see the construction of a two-platform station on the East Coast mainline, with 70 car parking spaces and a new access road to the station. The station itself will be fully accessible with lifts and a footbridge connecting both platforms.

Work until now has seen the embankments widened, significant progress on construction of the new platforms, signalling alterations, pilling to support the installation of new overhead line equipment and work has started on the new access road.

The team onsite are currently excavating lift shafts on both platforms and work has started on pilling for the footbridge foundations as well as ongoing work to create the platforms.  The next phase of activity will focus on the footbridge and lifts as well as construction of the access road and car park.

Completion of the station will see trains call at the Borders village of Reston for the first time in more than half a century.