REPURPOSING OF HISTORIC WHITBREAD BREWERY STABLES APPROVED IN ISLINGTON

Over the past 2 years, Montagu Evans has provided heritage advice to CIT on a scheme to repurpose the grade II listed former Whitbread brewery stables at Garrett St, Islington.

The building was constructed in 1897 to keep up to 100 dray horses across 3 levels, each accessed by ramps. The dray horses were used to pull carts laden with beer for delivery in the local area. The nearby brewery ceased in 1976, although the horses did not leave until 1991. A very different occupier, Travis Perkins, had resided in more recent times.

The engineering to create the ramps and structural integrity of each floor was not novel for the period, although the building is of special interest as a relatively rare example of a multi-storey stable, its architectural appearance, including the handsome frontage and vaulted ceilings and its historic association with Whitbread.

The proposals for CIT, designed by Horden Cherry Lee, comprised the repair and restoration of the listed building, plus extension at roof level and courtyard, and interior alterations for the use of the building as workspace. This would consist of 1,000 sqm (GIA) of relocated affordable workspace from Finsbury Tower (aka the HYLO building) as well as additional affordable workspace fitted out to Cat B. The reallocation of affordable workspace to the Garrett St site was driven by Islington’s Inclusive Economy Team, who considered the standalone industrial building to be both more suitable and attractive to prospective occupiers.

Our assessment identified harmful elements of the proposals but several countervailing benefits. Throughout the process, we tested various options to ensure that those harms were minimised or were absolutely necessary to deliver the workspace which all parties considered as the optimum use. The benefits included the removal of previous attritions and reinstatement of the original plan form arrangement, plus the reuse of the original horse ramp as an integral part of the circulation space. The rooftop and side extension to the listed building has been carefully considered. We went through a detailed pre-application process to reach the final design, including meeting with the LBI conservation officer and design review panel.

The scheme was recommended for approval by officers at the LBI. On Tuesday night, members went with that recommendation and unanimously approved the scheme. The scheme will provide much-needed fit-for-purpose affordable workspace to the borough whilst bringing this fantastic building back into use and enabling the public to appreciate its rich history.

Image by Horden Cherry Lee.

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Why London Why Now?

At Montagu Evans, we’re looking at London in a new light to build the city of tomorrow for a sustainable economic recovery post-pandemic and post-Brexit, and helping our clients with solutions to challenges that have accelerated as a result of these seismic changes.

Significantly, major forces are leading to fundamental shifts in the built environment, creating opportunities and threats for our public and private sector client base. As a result, this idea means fresh thinking on key areas and a greater emphasis on creating social value and the journey towards net-zero carbon.

In our city of tomorrow campaign, we will explore three core themes – workspace, society and delivery – looking at key trends in real-time across our industry, drawing on a diverse range of perspectives and experiences, and offering practical advice alongside high-level thinking. Watch the video below on some of our key takeaways so far:

MONTAGU EVANS IS A PROPERTY CONSULTANCY RUN BY A TEAM OF PARTNERS

For the last decade, the role of UK Town Centres has shifted significantly, with far-reaching and diverse expectations. Once the beating heart of high streets across the country, now they face ever-increasing challenges impacting how we live, work, communicate and connect.

The impact of Covid, an ever-increasing demand for housing, a drive for sustainable buildings and the rise of vacant retail stores are just a few of the issues we continue to face. Over the next year, we will be debating these (and many more) across 6 themes with our colleagues and clients to understand where we can make a difference and address change.

Montagu Evans presents… Retail & Leisure

Montagu Evans retail and leisure sector team are proud to provide high-quality occupational and capital markets advice to owners and occupiers of retail, foodstore and leisure property.

Our client focus is underpinned by unrivalled expertise across the agency, asset management, lease advisory, planning, rating, and capital markets that allows us to provide detailed, strategic advice that anticipates, reacts and adapts to changes in the market.

Agency and Asset Management

Acting nationwide for owners, developers and occupiers gives our experienced team extensive market knowledge. In addition to the acquisition and disposal of units, we specialise in unlocking complex asset management opportunities, working closely with our planning and capital markets colleagues to ensure the most value accretive outcome for our clients.

In addition, we are retained by some of the biggest national operators such as Boots, Wickes and McDonalds in helping them secure sites in and out of town, nationwide and on a freehold and leasehold basis.

Key contacts: Tim Hayns

Lease Advisory

We are market-leading experts in lease advisory specialising in food store and out-of-town retail and leisure rent reviews, lease renewals, regears and lease restructuring across the UK.  The team regularly act as expert witnesses on disputes and is experienced in all forms of dispute resolution.

Key contacts: Rob Lawson

Investment and Capital Markets

Our integrated teams allow our experienced capital markets and investment team to fully appraise sale and acquisition opportunities. Over the past 3 years we have transacted over £2bn of retail, leisure and food-store property throughout the UK.

Key contacts: Ed George and Mark Girling

Planning

Our planning department invests its expertise in understanding the political environment, the communities they operate in, relevant policies affecting development prospects, and their connections with decision-makers and other stakeholders in the retail and leisure industry.

Key contacts: Craig Blatchford and Lucy Turner

Additional Service Lines

Alternative Use Value: AUV offers a strategic assessment of potential alternative uses for properties, maximising their value and providing clients with informed insights to optimise their investment decisions.

Key contacts: Simon Rogers and Harry Charman.

Rating: Business Rates significantly impact total occupancy costs and as such are an important, and sometimes overlooked, factor in appraising property for both owners and occupiers. Our specialist team can navigate the complex landscape of exemptions and reliefs and proactively review and challenge assessments to ensure that the financial burden is minimised.

Key contact: Josh Myerson

Valuation: Accurate valuations are crucial to make informed business decisions.  Our experienced valuers employ rigorous methodologies combined with deep market knowledge shared across the business to determine the true value of retail, food store and leisure assets.

Key contacts: Liz Dovey and Fred Woods

Montagu Evans presents… Offices

The spaces and places (or offices) in which we work to enrich our communities and our economy are a vital component of successful placemaking. As our ways of working change, so must the nature and typology of the physical spaces where we carry work out.

A successful working environment caters for the diversity of all who work there. Competition for talent continues, and differentiating through employee experience, values and partnering with technology is proving successful for many businesses. Wellbeing is high on the agenda for businesses and their employees, and successful locations need to be complemented with a mix of retail, leisure, and food & beverage.

Traditional office space has changed, and co-working is not just for millennials or start-ups. Understanding the market and the trends in office and workspace provision is a necessity for those in real estate. As the market changes, so must we, and that involves a particular understanding of micro-requirements at the geographical or sector level. At the macro-level, its understanding workspace patterns, trends, planning policy and how workspace can fit into successful mixed-use schemes and urban centres.

It’s about work, community and connectivity. Quality office provision is as important as quality housing. Understanding occupier and developer requirements whilst taking a longer-term view of the product being delivered will ensure the success of schemes both at the development stage and into the long-term attractiveness to the occupier market.

This fast-changing sector requires expert advice from initial planning and development through to investment or leasing. Whatever the requirement, whether occupier, investor or developer, our expert collaborative approach provides agile market intelligence for a joined-up solution to make workspaces work.

Montagu Evans presents… Town Centres & Repurposing

The vitality and vibrancy of our town centres are based on the ability to create a stable community, one that has ownership of its vision, understands its requirements for housing delivery, employment growth, connectivity and the confidence to embrace its purpose.

As generations change the role of the town centre or high street has become less about shops, and more about place. Council leaders, the community, businesses and private investors all have a role in shaping the future of our towns, although revenue generation and initial capital to invest sits at the heart of every vision. Longer-term placemaking and improved public realm, too, takes substantial time to implement and demonstrate return.

Now, however, we see many examples of private and public partnerships working together, which allow councils to take advantage of access to private sector expertise, understanding lease options, reduction in capital outlay and overall longer-term opportunities. For investors, access to an in-depth understanding of local consumers, constituents and connections vastly improves the ability to identify and exploit huge opportunities.

Town centres play a huge part in addressing wider economic issues and there are many other options at both public and private sectors to help understand positioning, investment and point of differentiation. Advisers who support collaboration when seeking out authentic investment and repurposing propositions will be essential to delivering change in a time when ‘do nothing’ remains the easiest option but the need to act is increasingly pressing.

Introduction

Executive Summary

VIEW THE FULL REPORT

The purpose-built office has only been a major feature of our cities for less than two centuries. It has become central to our working lives, to pension fund portfolios, and to city centre economies. But the sector is being challenged as never before in its relatively short history. Long-term structural shifts are fundamentally changing the patterns of occupation, investment and development within the sector. There are huge consequences which reach beyond the property industry to the wider business and local communities and both local and central government. The office will remain a major feature of our cities. But, the overall stock is likely to be smaller and more concentrated in a handful of locations.