May 2012 Commercial E-newsletter

MAY 2012

Fifield Glyn Commercial Update – A Busy
12 Months!

It has been a busy time all round, since we relocated our
London Residential Management to our Mayfair office in June.  You
may be surprised to learn about some of the work we have been involved in.

Fifield Glyn Buys Spencer Lewis – A Residential Block Management
Specialist

At the end of January 2011 we acquired Spencer Lewis to
strengthen our residential block management services.  Since then we
have amalgamated the two London offices and moved to our offices in
Carlos Place, Mayfair, which has enabled us to expand our service offer to
include a comprehensive management service for mixed use schemes.  We
are now able to provide additional building management services and are
seeking to expand our management portfolio across all property sectors.

Commercial Property Management

Alongside the expansion of our residential management, our
commercial property management has continued to grow, with the receipt of new
instructions increasing total assets under our management.  The
portfolio includes retail, office, industrial and roadside properties,
convenience stores and car parks.

Dilapidations

We have continued to deal with an increased amount of
dilapidation work for both landlords and tenants, with detailed knowledge of
this specialist subject area helping us to achieve some great results for our
clients.  We advised on claims with a total value in excess of £6.9m
during 2011, with claims ranging in value from £5,000 to
£5,000,000.  In our experience early consultation with the client is essential
to obtain the best results.

Project Management / Development

Project management and development advice is another service
we have been able to expand.

We are currently advising Cats Protection on the
development of a new headquarters in Padgate, Warrington.  Having
identified a new site for development, advised on planning and arranged the
demolition of the existing building, we are now project managing the
construction of a new state of the art facility due to be opened in early
2013.

We are also advising Tata Chemicals on their new 1,673 m2
(18,000 sq ft) office in Northwich.  Our instructions included assessing
the client’s requirements, preparing a design brief, selecting a construction
contractor and procuring finance by way of a forward sale and
leaseback.  We are now acting as client’s representative during the
course of construction and practical completion is expected before the end of
the year.

We are also advising clients on the development of a number of
budget hotels and roadside schemes, where we have identified potential sites,
produced development appraisals and advised on planning, forward funding and
investment sales.

Strategic Advice and Planning

Stena Line have recently moved their ferry port facility to
the new £200m deep water Loch Ryan Port at Cairnryan and Fifield Glyn have
been instructed to advise on the redevelopment of their former base at
Stranraer.  The relocation allows the regeneration of Stranraer’s
waterfront area, in which Stena Line own a strategic 5.42 ha (13 acre) site,
which is to be redeveloped with 9,294 m2  (100,000sq ft) of retail,
together with housing and a new transport hub.  Fifield Glyn has been
appointed by Stena to advise on the development, find a joint venture partner
and liaise with Dumfries and Galloway Council.

We also continue to provide strategic advice on property
portfolios.

Agency

Whilst current market conditions remain challenging, we have
managed to let and sell a number of properties.

One resilient area has proved to be the central London retail
market and we recently sold a shop lease on Mount Street for an £800,000
premium.

We have also acquired a number of properties for both freehold
and leasehold occupiers.

Rating

We are advising many occupiers on rating matters, making
appeals in relation to current 2010 rating list assessments in order to
reduce their business rates liability. We also advise in relation to
minimising empty property rates liability and represent clients in discussions
with the Valuation Office Agency and Billing Authorities.

Valuation

Our RICS Registered Valuers have remained busy, providing
valuations for clients including family trusts, pension funds, property
companies and commercial businesses, for a variety of purposes including loan
security, purchase reports and financial reporting.

In 2011 we provided valuations of properties across England,
which ranged from single assets to portfolios, with an aggregate value of
over £20m.

Investment Agency

No matter what the economic conditions, opportunities do arise
and, despite another challenging market, we have been able to complete a
number of transactions.  We also have a number of clients actively
seeking new acquisitions, especially on an off market basis.

Corporate Property Advice

We have continued to provide corporate property advice for our
clients, recently adding Tate & Lyle and Syngenta to our client list.

Rent Reviews and Lease Renewals

Economic conditions have continued to affect the number of
instructions we have received in this area, but a number of our clients have
benefited from taking early advice and planning ahead.

Expert Witness / Arbitration

Whilst rent
review, independent expert and arbitration work has been reduced over the
last few years, we continue to receive appointments.  We are also
involved in acting as expert witness for service charge and valuation
disputes.

Another Fellow for Fifield Glyn

We are pleased to
report Edward Fifield has been elected a Fellow of RICS, joining John
Fifield, Charles Fifield and Steve Jones, and confirming that Fifield
Glyn continues to uphold the highest professional standards.

The above is a
brief resumé of some of the work in which we have been involved. Please do
not hesitate to contact one of the Directors to see how we could help you
further.

Fifield Glyn does
and will always provide a personal professional service tailored to suit
the individual needs of all our valued clients and delivered by senior
personnel.

Further information is available on our updated website www.fifieldglyn.com.

We grow by recommendation – please do not
keep us a secret.