Cooke & Arkwright
News
Full letting at One Kingsway
01/04/04
Number One Kingsway, Cooperative Insurance Society’s £14m, 68,000 sq ft development in the heart of Cardiff overlooking the Civic Buildings and Cardiff Castle has now been fully let. The last floor of just over 10,000 sq ft has been taken by construction consultancy Halcrow.
Halcrow provides planning, design and management services for infrastructure development worldwide. Regional projects include the design and construction of the Second Severn Crossing, the £50 million PFI scheme to develop Neath General Hospital and providing transport advice to the Welsh Assembly Government and local authorities.
Regional Director, Dr Barrie Jones, said, “The Welsh market is an integral part of Halcrow’s business and our plans for long-term development. With over 35 years’ success in Cardiff, our new office at One Kingsway, which can accommodate more than 100 professional and technical staff, will enable us to continue to help our clients develop a sustainable future for Wales. Wales has a wealth of local expertise and skills we can draw on as part of this growth strategy. One Kingsway provides a high standard of accommodation and a superb aspect and central location. I am sure that our new office will prove to be an excellent foundation for the future, and will help create an environment that reflects our confidence in Wales and in Cardiff as its capital.”
Rents of between £17.50 and £17.75 have been achieved for the lettings in One Kingsway, all of which were to top quality occupiers including Price Waterhouse Coopers, Bank of Scotland, Abbey National, Scottish Equitable and New Opportunities Fund.
Roger Thomas, Chairman of joint agent Cooke & Arkwright, which advised on the original acquisition and funding and also manages the building, said, “The quality of tenants attracted to this building is a testimony to the long term view taken by its owners. I am delighted that we will still be managing it.”
Ben Bolton of Cooke & Arkwright added that the letting left Cardiff with a complete absence of new office space of a similar standard in the heart of the city. “Caspian Point and Callaghan Square provide excellent accommodation for those companies who like to be a little further from the centre,” he said. “But there is a great opportunity for development in the city centre if the appropriate site can be acquired.”
One Kingsway is a landmark building in Cardiff. It took two years to construct and stands opposite the Hilton on a site previously occupied by Magnet House, home to former South Glamorgan County Council’s architects and engineering division. DTZ Debenham Tie Leung was joint agent.