Galliard Group is launching Evolve, a £100m commercial property business which will build affordable workspace units with lifestyle amenities across London and the South East
Evolve will offer investors the opportunity to buy value-for-money workspace units for rental investment and start-up and established companies small and medium sized units to rent/purchase.
The first Evolve scheme is in Colchester, a 5.7 acre site and 50,000 sqft two-storey development offering 90 workspace units (phase 1) and five other stand-alone traditional office buildings (phase 2).
The first three Evolve projects have been designed through collaboration between Evolve and architectural practice Bowman Riley.
The typical workspace unit will offer 456 sqft (42.4 sqm) of accommodation with a ground floor area of 304 sqft (28.2 sqm) which can be used for reception, showroom, workshop or double height storage, with an upper mezzanine workspace of 152 sqft (14.2 sqm) for meetings or offices.
The units can be finished in either a commercial specification, ideal for workshop or storage use, or a premium specification designed to provide a stylish office space, with the option of interior design styles including loft style, 1960s retro, contemporary or bespoke.
There will also be two private boardroom/business suites and a fully equipped gymnasium with shower, changing and locker facility. The lounge areas, gymnasium and outside landscaped areas provide users with the perfect escape for recreation and invigoration, creating a ‘home from home’ tailored for modern 21st century working.
Under current plans, the Milton Keynes Evolve project, located off Junction 29 of the A12, will offer 90 small business units designed around a central hub with foyer, lounge and lifestyle facilities, complete with landscaping and parking facilities.
Milton Keynes Evolve is anticipated to launch in early 2020.
The Watford project is an existing commercial site where Evolve are proposing to infill areas of buildings, creating a shipping container office section in the middle of the site and creating newly built units around the sides. The proposals will allow the current tenants to operate as normal through the construction period, due to the prefabricated shipping containers as well as an external steel transfer deck and offsite constructed modular units.
The Watford project is anticipated to launch in late 2019.
There are three key audiences for the new Evolve offering.
Audience 1
The first are investors, who have the opportunity to buy work space units for rental investment. The rental income can be offset against costs making the investment tax efficient. The investor acquires a freehold commercial property, benefitting from zero stamp duty and zero business rates (depending on circumstances), which can be placed in a SIPP or investment portfolio. In terms of rental return, the units at Colchester have a projected gross yield of 8%.
Audience 2
The second audience is start-up and established companies who can acquire small and medium sized work space units to rent or buy. Occupiers will benefit from flexible leases and the opportunity to move into a brand new, split level, ‘ready to go’ unit with high speed internet, lifestyle facilities and parking.
Audience 3
The third audience is land/building owners and investors who may wish to partner with Galliard Group and develop an Evolve workspace scheme, transforming existing or redundant premises into a vibrant new business community.
The Evolve business is led by Operations Director Richard Conway, board director at Galliard Group and Andrew Endean MRICS, Development Director.
Stephen Conway, Executive Chairman of Galliard Group says: “For over 25 years Galliard has helped young professionals and individual investors in the housing market get onto the property ladder.
“This launch of Evolve moves our buy-to-let investment work into the commercial property sector, providing investors with a value-for-money opportunity to acquire units for rental investment, alongside enabling small firms wanting to rent or buy workspaces to get onto the commercial ladder and move into a vibrant business community complete with lifestyle facilities.”
