Property agents interested in relocating their business clients to Cheltenham’s £12m new landmark office building have flocked to see Honeybourne Place take shape.

More than 45 agents from Bristol, Swindon and the South West came to Cheltenham to tour the live construction of the 64,000 sq ft of prime grade A office space which will be ready for occupation from early 2019.

Up to 500 workers are expected to be based at Honeybourne Place, with some likely to be jobs new to the town. The site visit took place as agents begin to ramp up their interest in the first new build office development of this scale in Cheltenham for more than 15 years.

Detailed discussions with potential occupiers are already progressing, with part of the top floor under offer and a pre-let deal close to fruition. The potential occupiers for Honeybourne Place are a mix of relocations within the town plus new entrants to Cheltenham.

Richard Crabb, partner at the project’s agent THP, said: “Honeybourne Place is a significant innovation in Cheltenham’s office market. A lot of office space has been lost to residential conversions, diminishing the supply of offices that are attractive to occupiers.

“A building with real presence, of the highest quality specification, Honeybourne Place is of a premium standard not just in the local context but in the regional picture too. It would be entirely at home in the business districts of a major city like Bristol or London.

“That’s why so many agents from across the region, and further afield, came to take a look at a building that will stand tall in the regional context. New employers, drawn to the building and to the town, will be a welcome inward investment for Cheltenham.

“These businesses would not be interested if this was just another office building. Honeybourne Place fits their expectations of the quality they are looking for.”

The flexible and high-specification space is in a superb Business Quarter location with excellent transport links and boasts a highly insulated design, by Roberts Limbrick architects of Gloucester, maximising the use of daylight and featuring high quality materials including limestone, glass and rainscreen cladding.

Developer Formal Investments and contractor Barnwood Construction welcomed the agents, showing them how the full height glazing, dramatic external lighting and commanding views will make Honeybourne Place an attractive addition to Cheltenham.

Available space starts from 1,000 sq ft and range from 6,990 sq ft on the ground floor to more than 11,600 sq ft on the middle storeys with more than 10,000 sq ft on the top floor.

Formal Investments, the award-winning developer based at the nearby Festival House on Jessop Avenue, is creating Honeybourne Place as a speculative build thanks to its confidence in Cheltenham’s Business Quarter. Formal Investments, at the forefront of developing in the Cheltenham office market, believe rent in excess of £30 per sq ft is likely to be a reality.

Clare Savage, head of estates and asset management at Formal Investments, said: “The high level of interest from the agents, who visited in significant numbers, reflects the quality and desirability of Honeybourne Place. This will be a very special building for Cheltenham, an impressive new landmark with an exceptional level of finish and a real wow factor.”

Richard Crabb can be contacted at 07908 576332 and by email to: [email protected]

Surveyors and other property and construction professionals enjoyed an access-all-areas tour of the £12m new landmark office building taking shape in Cheltenham.

From early 2019 Honeybourne Place will provide more than 64,000 sqft of prime grade A office space in a superb Business Quarter location with excellent transport links.

Developer Formal Investments and contractor Barnwood Construction welcomed more than 15 members and guests of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to see the emerging structure of the first new build office development in Cheltenham for many years.

The six-storey building at Jessop Avenue is designed to attract up to 500 new jobs to a site that had been a private car park. The sustainable highly insulated design, by Roberts Limbrick architects of Gloucester, maximises the use of daylight and features high quality materials including limestone, glass and rainscreen cladding.

With full height glazing, dramatic external lighting and commanding views across the town, Honeybourne Place will be an attractive addition to Cheltenham’s built landscape, from the ground floor up to the rooftop terraces. The available spaces range from 7,400 sqft on the ground floor to more than 11,600 sqft on the middle storeys with more than 10,000 sqft on the top floor.

Formal Investments, the award-winning developer based at the nearby Festival House on Jessop Avenue, is creating Honeybourne Place as a speculative build thanks to its confidence in Cheltenham’s business quarter. Formal Investments, at the forefront of developing in the Cheltenham office market, believe rent in excess of £30 per sqft is likely to be a reality.

Nicholas King, a director at Formal Investments, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome RICS members to Cheltenham’s premier grade A office scheme, giving them the opportunity to see this substantial building being created in the town. We look forward to inviting them back in 2019 to see the finished property.”

The RICS visitors got a behind the scenes look at progress on the building’s external envelope and the use of mast climber access to the entire perimeter, a system common on major city centre developments but not much used in the Cheltenham area. Samantha Organ, a senior lecturer at the University of the West of England, building surveyor for The National Trust and chair of RICS Matrics Gloucestershire, said: “The visit went really well and everyone was complimentary. What a fantastic building Honeybourne Place is. The sights from the top were absolutely breathtaking. Whoever takes the top floor will have wonderful views from their offices.

“RICS Matrics is a group for junior surveyors, professionals working towards their chartered status and newly qualified surveyors. We had quantity surveyors, building surveyors, planners and developers attend and we all learned about the design, construction and how they have removed all the internal columns.”

Adam Welland, senior contracts manager at Gloucester-based Barnwood Construction, said: “We are excited to be helping create this excellent new addition to Cheltenham’s Business Quarter. Having worked with Formal Investments on previous projects, we know that Honeybourne Place will be a building of the highest quality and a real positive for the local economy.”

Architect Aled Roberts, a director at Roberts Limbrick, said: “Honeybourne Place is an exciting development for Cheltenham, a striking and contemporary design providing very high quality, flexible office space. Sustainability is designed in, including excellent cycling facilities plus close and convenient connections to public transport.”

Agent Richard Crabb, partner at thp, said: “There has been a significant change in the Cheltenham office market with a major drop in supply and a real shortage of quality, open plan accommodation. Honeybourne Place is eagerly awaited and we are already talking with occupiers needing to move and expand and wanting to stay with the heart of the town.”

Honeybourne Place is located at Jessop Avenue, Cheltenham GL50 3SH: honeybourne-place.uk

Richard Crabb can be contacted at 07908 576332 and [email protected]

Construction has begun of the £12m office development Honeybourne Place, which is the first new build office space in Cheltenham for many years, and will bring up to 500 jobs to the town.

The town’s MP Alex Chalk, Cheltenham Borough Council leader Councillor Steve Jordan and Cheltenham Development Task Force managing director Jeremy Williamson were among guests who today (15 August) attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the site on Jessop Avenue.

A Formal Investments project, Honeybourne Place is a major new addition to Cheltenham’s Business Quarter. Its 64,000 square feet of Grade A office space has been pre-let to a single occupier.

The first phase of construction will see the core building passed to the occupier, a global business whose identity is not yet disclosed, for a fit out to its specification ahead of occupying the offices in 2019.

Nicholas King, managing director at Formal Investments, said: “For everyone involved in the future commercial vitality of Cheltenham this is an exciting milestone as we get the construction of Honeybourne Place under way.

“This landmark building will help deliver economic growth and bring further major inward investment to a location that has cemented itself as a key business district for Cheltenham.”

The striking building is designed by Gloucester based architects Roberts Limbrick and the construction project is being managed by Gleeds with the lead contractor Barnwood Construction. Honeybourne Place will feature full height glazing, dramatic external lighting and commanding views across the town centre.

Honeybourne Place will complete the redevelopment of the former St James railway station site which closed to passenger trains in 1966. The most recent development on this site was the Waitrose store which opened in 2002.

Nicholas King said: “We have a track record of bringing innovation to our projects which enhance their immediate locations and their wider communities. Honeybourne Place is no exception.

“This development will see a fenced off, temporary car park turned into an aesthetically pleasing modern building with landscaped areas opening on to an upgraded pedestrian plaza.

“It will not only contribute to the economy of Cheltenham and increase the demand for local business services but it will also make the area a more vibrant and social part of town.”

The construction of Honeybourne Place will use an innovative piling method called continuous helical displacement (CHD) piling which compacts the soil as it drills down rather than bringing spoil up to the surface.

The firmer ground around the hole enables a shorter pile requiring less concrete. Both impacts positively reduce the number of lorry movements and the process is very quick – the hole is drilled and filled with concrete and a metal re-enforcing cage all within six minutes.

Formal Investments is currently in the final phase of a total refurbishment of Formal House in St George’s Place, Cheltenham, and has recently been granted planning permission for a visionary scheme on a 110 acre London site near Heathrow.

Further information about Honeybourne Place can be found at honeybourne-place.uk