Building Briefs - May 20th

• Neptune Energy’s Aberdeen HQ sold in city’s biggest office deal since pandemic began

The Grade A office building – let in its entirety to a subsidiary of Neptune Energy Group, the exploration and production company – has been sold by a limited partnership managed by Tritax to Glade Capital.

The property was marketed with an asking price of £15.25 million.

Knight Frank and DWF advised the vendor, while Dentons acted for the purchaser.

A prominent building in Aberdeen, 16 North Esplanade West consists of 40,764 sq. ft. of Grade A office space spread over five storeys. The building was completed in 2014 and is highly sustainable, with a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’.

The deal for 16 North Esplanade West means that Aberdeen’s investment market has already outperformed last year’s office investment deal activity, which totalled £5.5 million as the economic impact of Covid-19 subdued transaction volumes and led to a decline in the price of oil.

• Fife invests £1.6m in crematoriums

Fife Council is to invest almost £1.6 million in its crematoriums.

• Savills and Knight Frank appointed as joint agents for Aberdeen’s largest innovative office project

LaSalle Investment Management has appointed Savills and Knight Frank to jointly market one of Aberdeen’s largest and most ambitious office projects.

Wellheads Avenue is to benefit from a multi-million-pound refurbishment, with the intention of making it an exemplar for Aberdeen’s sustainable energy future.

Currently occupied by energy giant bp, the Grade A office building at Wellheads Avenue spans 210,000sqft across seven wings and a full height central atrium. The building will be renamed, removing any affiliation to its previous occupier and repositioned to become a market-leading campus that will capture the interest of a wide array of organisations.

With the emphasis on the highest sustainability and environmental standards, the project aims to offer tenants the ability to meet their net-zero aspirations. Sustainability, flexibility and wellbeing will be at the heart of the refurbishment and LaSalle and their agents aim to cater for post pandemic changes in attitude to the workplace.

All the amenities on offer are currently being explored with a focus on innovation and market-leading best practice in sustainability. The building is expected to feature smart technologies including those which reduce touch points, a state-of-the-art digital app system, an electric car share initiative, electric car charging points, bike racks, and a fully equipped modern gym, as well as much improved use of the outdoor green spaces.

The campus will also boast excellent food and beverage facilities, offering extensive choice through a restaurant, lunch deli and coffee shop.

The asset hopes to set the benchmark for sustainability in office design and build. The original design achieved ‘Very Good’ BREEAM certification thanks to innovations such as its rainwater harvesting system. The new design will aim to go beyond this, alongside achieving numerous other environmental accolades.

The redevelopment is to commence once bp vacates in December 2022.

The project is based on Wellheads Avenue in Dyce, located approximately seven miles north of Aberdeen city centre and occupies a prominent roadside position in close proximity to Aberdeen International Airport, Dyce railway station and a range of energy companies within several business parks.

• Graeme Bruce appointed head of sustainability at Link Group

Link Group has taken a significant step in its sustainability journey in recruiting Graeme Bruce as its new head of sustainability.

Mr Bruce, who has held a senior role with Link partner West Highland Housing Association for over 12 years, will lead the delivery of Link’s ambitious decarbonisation programme.

Sustainability is a key strand of Link’s new Business Sustainability Plan (BSP), which was published last month.

Underpinned by the UN’s and the Scottish Government’s sustainability goals, Link’s BSP focuses on supporting people and communities, building success and corporate wellbeing.

Mr Bruce’s recruitment is another important milestone in what has been a period of significant growth for Link, which, following a successful tenant ballot, is welcoming the Weslo Housing Management team and tenants into Link – making it one of the largest and most geographically diverse social housing organisations in the country.

• Work begins on Deans South council housing in Livingston

Work has begun on twenty nine new council homes at Deans South in Livingston.

They include a mixture of two, three, four and five-bedroom houses and two and three-bedroom bungalows.

Construction work by CCG (Scotland) started last month and work is expected to be complete by early summer 2022.

Overall, over 3,000 new affordable homes will be made available by March 2023 including a mixture of new build homes and homes purchased from the open market and made available for social housing. The 3,000 homes are made up of council and Registered Social Landlord properties.

• Deadline approaches to submit applications for Highlands Regeneration Capital Grant Fund

The Highland Council is accepting expressions of interest for the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund for 2022-2023, with interested parties given until May 24 to submit a form.

The fund, which is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Government, supports locally developed regeneration projects for communities, helping with job creation and support, and in building sustainable communities. A total of £25m is available through the fund across Scotland.

The opening of applications marks Round 9 of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund. Since the grant fund opened in 2014, 14 projects from The Highland Council region have received funding. Among the projects that have previously secured grants are Midmills Creative Hub with a £1,700,000 grant, Armadale Redevelopment with a £311,652 grant, Eigg Community Hub redevelopment with a £1,200,000 grant, and Merkinch Welfare Hall received a grant of £200,127.

Applications must be submitted by The Highland Council so organisations and projects interested in applying should submit an expression of interest form on the Council’s website. This will be used to develop an official application should the project satisfy the criteria of the fund.

Among the criteria for projects are ones that focus on areas suffering from high levels of deprivation and disadvantage, that demonstrate clear community involvement, that will deliver large scale transformational change with strong regeneration outcomes, and projects and programmes that can encourage additional investment and address market failure.

The form can be downloaded from the council’s website.

• Ayrshire holiday site approved

A glamping site in the Ayrshire countryside has been given the green light.

Nick Wise applied for planning permission to build three glamping pods outside Straiton in a garden and paddock area beside Bennan Farm.

Councillors gave permission for the venture last Thursday.

The pods are to be made primarily from wood with timber cladding and roofing according to a document lodged with the council.