After standing empty for two years, UK Land Estates has completed the refurbishment of a 46,000 sq ft Tyneside factory for a local engineering company.
The regeneration is part of a wider multi-million pound refurbishment of the development company-owned Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate east of Newcastle. So far it has invested more than £2.4m in the upgrade of 12 smaller units within the site, including new roofs, external cladding and the modernisation and redecoration of office space.
Chirton Engineering has signed a 15-year lease on the larger factory for its precision engineering facility and has recently invested £1m on three new machines for its new premises.
Founded in 2005 with four employees, Chirton now has a 69-strong workforce making and supplying equipment for the oil and gas and renewable energy sectors. In line with its own “eco philosophy”, part of the modernisation included the installation of a biomass fuelled heating system to reduce the occupier’s carbon footprint.
“We have worked extensively with Chirton Engineering to fully understand their business and ensure they have the ideal premises to keep the company on course to double their turnover within the next three years,” explained UK Land Estates director, Adrian Bartle. His company is the biggest commercial and industrial property holder in the North-East with more than 1,300 properties on 40 estates.
Work was also recently completed on the 103,311 sq ft former Marks & Spencer depot on the estate with a new tenant already signed. Transformed into a flexible manufacturing and distribution space with 6,568 sq ft of offices, its rapid turnaround is an indicator of the shortage of suitable Tyneside space.
Mark Proudlock, logistics and industrial associate at agents Knight Frank, said: “The refurbishment programme undertaken by UK Land Estates has generated a great deal of interest with a number of lettings.
“This level of interest, despite a challenging market, suggests that there is definite demand for the right product.
“The Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate has a great location so close to the now duelled Tyne Tunnel and the Coast Road and has always been a popular location,” he added, “but the upgrading of the Tyne Tunnel has transformed connectivity north and south of the river creating even stronger appeal for this location.”
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