December 5, 2014
EDF Energy is close to signing a deal for 80,000 sq ft in Bristol – the largest office deal in the city since 2008.
The French energy giant is understood to be eyeing the remaining space at Palmer Capital and Cubex Land’s Bridgewater House at the £150m Finzels Reach scheme.
The 110,000 sq ft building will be fully let when the deal for 77,938 sq ft over four floors goes through. Asking rents stand at £27.50/sq ft.
The move comes amid a sudden flurry of deals in the Bristol office market, which has been sluggish since the financial crisis.
Last month, Property Week revealed that KPMG was under offer at Skanska’s 66 Queen Square, while its rival PwC took three floors at Salmon Harvester’s Two Glass Wharf earlier this year.
EDF’s decision to take a new office in the city centre will exacerbate the shortage of grade-A space available, with only a few buildings, including
Two Glass Wharf and Benson Elliott’s Templeback, left to compete for sizeable lettings.
The energy firm has been on the hunt for space in the South West after its plan to build a new nuclear power plant at Hinckley Point C was approved by the European Commission in October.
EDF had previously been considering 65,000 sq ft at Key Point at the Aztec West Business Park on the outskirts of Bristol but was gazumped by TSB, which took the space while EDF was awaiting EU approval.
The energy firm will join accountancy firm BDO and Barclays Wealth in the five-storey Bridgewater House.
The letting will mark a turning point for the wider Finzels Reach redevelopment, which stalled during the recession.
The regeneration of the former Courage Brewery site was started by HDG Mansur in 2009, but receivers at Savills were appointed in April 2013 after the developer failed to make a payment on a development loan. The debtagainst the scheme was bought by Palmer Capital, backed by US investor the Townsend Group, in November last year.
Palmer and partner Cubex have since signed a deal with Premier Inn for a 168-bed hotel on the scheme, which also has consent for 400 flats, 300,000 sq ft of offices and 90,000 sq ft of retail.
BNP Paribas Real Estate advised EDF. Knight Frank and Savills are letting agents on Bridgewater House. All parties declined to comment.
Author: Hannah Brenton, Property Week