Peter Holt is confident that 2010 will see a significant improvement in the industrial and commercial markets in Coventry & Warwickshire.

The Coventry City Centre Regeneration is moving forward on several fronts. The £160m first phase development programme of Coventry University is up and running with three new buildings now on their way. The £35m Student Enterprise building fronting Jordanwell, the £60m Engineering & Computing building fronting Gulson Road, and a multi-storey car park at the bottom of Far Gosford Street with 4 storeys and 450 spaces. All these will open by early 2012.

Coventry City’s Jerde Masterplan is progressing with the announcement that the first regeneration phase will be on the south of the City Centre. This will link in with the planning application submitted in early October by Cannon & Kirk, the developers of Friargate, which will provide a mixed use scheme of 3.2m sq ft comprising a major portion of offices, 2 hotels, leisure, residential, and supporting retail uses. The masterplan covers some 28 acres, the majority of which is already in the ownership of Cannon & Kirk, advised by D&P Holt and Coventry City Council, and include

a platform over the Ringway to provide a “seamless” vibrant and attractive approach to and from the City Centre and the Station.

Severn Trent’s new headquarters, being developed by Stofords and advised by D&P Holt, have recently been topped out and will provide a new freehold office building of 170,000 sq ft on 8 floors at the City Centre St John’s site. MCD have recently completed and handed over the new office building for the QCA Government Department on The Butts.

Industrially, the market is picking up, with the recent disposal of a number of buildings. On instruction from Morris Tooling, we have sold their building in Bedworth Road, North Coventry, at a price close to the guide of £750,000 to XL Motors. Unit 1 at Quinn Close on the Seven Stars Estate has been leased to Coventry Prototype Panels, who have recently won a new order (on behalf of the BP Pension Fund). Having been instructed in June, the letting was completed in late October by D&P Holt.

In early July D&P Holt were instructed by the owners of The Old Hall, The Cassidy Group, in Tamworth Road. A considerable amount of interest was shown in this facility and a fairly early deal was agreed leading to a sale at close to the guide figure of £1.3m being completed in late September.

Cosmo Restaurants this year purchased property on Corporation Street through D&P Holt opposite the new Belgrade Plaza scheme in the heart of the City Centre, occupying approximately 30,000 sq ft at a cost of circa £1.1m. Cosmo carried out a major £1.5m refurbishment to the building and opened the restaurant in Summer this year offering seating for up to 350 people.

D&P Holt are jointly advising on Opus 40, the 30 acre development at Warwick which is reaching an important stage with planning on site for a new hotel and negotiations with a number of occupiers for the remaining site.

Particularly these instructions/disposals show that for the right product there is still a demand out there. Funding, although slower than before the credit crunch, is beginning to come forward and it is much hoped that this pick up in the market place will continue into 2010.

In the meantime, may we wish all our clients, prospective clients and customers all the best for 2010.