City deals round-up

The sale of an architecturally renowned business premises heads the list of deals done in Derby in recent weeks.

Salloway Property Consultants has completed the sale of Olivetti House, in Downing Road, on the West Meadows Industrial Estate.

The property occupies a 1.02-acre site and provides more than 8,500 sq ft of office, industrial and storage accommodation, together with a secure yard and workshop.

The detached 1970s building, originally designed by renowned architect Edward Cullinan for the Italian typewriter manufacturer Olivetti, comprises a mixture of office and storage accommodation, alongside a separate steel portal frame workshop.

William Speed, associate director at Salloway Property Consultants, said: “We’re delighted to have completed the sale of Olivetti House.

“The property offered a really interesting combination of accommodation and land, which is increasingly difficult to find in Derby.

“Having over an acre of secure commercial land, together with more than 8,500 sq ft of accommodation, gave the property genuine flexibility and attracted strong interest from the market.

“It is another good example of the demand we are seeing for well-located freehold commercial property across Derby, particularly where occupiers can acquire a substantial site rather than simply lease accommodation.”

In the city centre, BB&J Commercial has announced the letting of 50-52 Green Lane on behalf of our retained client.

The two-storey retail premises have been let to Tripple O Solutions Limited, which will occupy the property as a new beauty and haircare salon.

Cameron Godfrey, agency surveyor at BB&J who oversaw the transaction, said: “We are delighted to have secured a new tenant for our client.

“We wish the team at Tripple O Solutions Limited every success in their new premises and look forward to seeing the business thrive.

BB&J Commercial has also secured the sale of a Derby workshop/industrial unit to an engineering company.

It has sold 16 and 18 Lloyd Street to BJS Services (Derby) Holdings, a firm with expertise in engineering, manufacturing and fabrication.

Cameron said: “The sale presented an excellent opportunity to acquire a versatile industrial/workshop premises in a well-established location close to Derby city centre.

“Following negotiations with several interested parties, we were delighted to secure a sale to BJG Services (Derby) Holdings Limited, a successful and growing local engineering business whose operational requirements were well suited to the accommodation on offer.

“We wish them all the best in their new premises.”

In retail, the Derbion shopping centre is welcoming a wave of new occupiers this autumn: health and beauty retailer Savers, aesthetics clinic Thérapie, luxury fragrance specialist Royal Oud and Derby-founded cake shop and craft café Dew.

Royal Oud has already opened its doors, welcoming customers to its new store in Crown Walk.

The 655 sq ft store is Royal Oud’s third location outside London and Leicester and offers more than 250 fragrances.

Savers will also open on Crown Walk in the coming weeks, with a new 3,207 sq ft store.

Thérapie will add to Derbion’s growing health and beauty offer with a new 2,004 sq ft clinic on Level 1, providing treatments including laser hair removal, cosmetic injections and advanced skincare.

Completing the new line-up is Dew, a Derby-founded cake business and craft café, which will open a 1,340 sq ft venue in London Road.

Beth McDonald, managing director at Derbion, said: “These four openings bring even more choice to Derbion, from well-known national names to exciting independent businesses.

“We’re especially pleased to welcome Dew back to its Derby roots, while Royal Oud, Savers and Thérapie all add something different to our retail and leisure mix.

“Alongside other recent announcements including Superdry & Co and Barndawg, there’s plenty for our visitors to look forward to over the coming months.”

Elsewhere in the city centre, a previously vacant city centre unit has been transformed into a vibrant hub for events and lifestyle products with grant support from Derby City Council.

Named The Agora, the historic building located at 30 Sadler Gate is the latest business to benefit from the council’s Vacant to Vibrant scheme, receiving £50,000 in grant funding to help bring the empty unit in the Cathedral Quarter back into use.

Vacant to Vibrant is one of the several ways in which the UK Shared Prosperity Fund supports business initiatives in Derby.

The project supports the reactivation of empty units in the city centre.

Councillor Gurkiran Kaur, the city council’s cabinet member for city centre, culture and tourism, said: “The Agora offers something different for Derby, combining a business space and creative experiences with unique lifestyle products and journal-making within one building.

“Projects like this help to strengthen Derby city centre’s position as a vibrant city which provides the opportunities for businesses to expand, increase footfall, and create new opportunities for people to visit, work, and invest in.”