News

Power firm settles on airbag site

News

Paul Norman

01 April 2006

Scottish & Southern buys 11.5-acre Havant site from Autoliv for headquarters redevelopment

Scottish & Southern has finally completed its year-long search for a 170,000 sq ft headquarters.

The power company, which appointed Cushman & Wakefield to fulfill its requirement more than a year ago, has bought an 11.5-acre brownfield site in Havant from Swedish car airbag manufacturer Autoliv for £10.5m.

Scottish & Southern’s internal major contracts team will redevelop the warehouse complex at the Broadmarsh industrial estate as a 164,000 sq ft office and call centre. Planning consent for a change of use was granted in January.

The group is also in negotiations to buy an adjacent 1.3-acre site from the South East England Development Agency for further development.

Around 1,700 staff based in company-owned offices in Havant and nearby Cosham will be relocated to the new scheme over the next 12-18 months.

Scottish & Southern had initially agreed terms to buy Block F at IBM’s six-building headquarters at North Harbour in Portsmouth early last year.

However, it changed its mind after Autoliv announced it was moving its operations to Eastern Europe.

The Broadmarsh industrial estate is the focus of SEEDA’s and Havant council’s regeneration plans for the area. SEEDA will next week announce its choice of development partner for the nearby 10-acre Harts Farm Way site, where a 173,000 sq ft industrial and office complex is proposed.

Peter Hall, head of the Portsmouth office at Austin Adams, which acted for Autoliv jointly with Stephen Bleakley Management, said progress on both schemes was “a win for Havant and its regeneration plans”.

Solent opportunities

Developers are circling a 14-acre mixed-use opportunity on the outskirts of Southampton. British American Tobacco, advised by Colliers CRE, has gone to market with just over half of its former factory site on Regents Park Road. The world’s second-largest tobacco producer said last year that it was closing the Southampton factory, its last in the UK.

Elsewhere in the area, a key site in Southampton city centre has been sold for a hotel and apartment scheme. A private London client of Austin Adams paid Southampton City Primary Care Trust and the Hampshire Ambulance Service Trust, advised by Savills, close to £9m for the 1.1-acre East Park Terrace.

Scottish & Southern buys 11.5-acre Havant site from Autoliv for headquarters redevelopment Scottish & Southern has finally completed its year-long search for a 170,000 sq ft headquarters. The power company, which appointed Cushman & Wakefield to fulfill its requirement more than a year ago, has bought an 11.5-acre brownfield site in Havant from Swedish car airbag manufacturer Autoliv for £10.5m. Scottish & Southern’s internal major contracts team will redevelop the warehouse complex at the Broadmarsh industrial estate as a 164,000 sq ft office and call centre. Planning consent for a change of use was granted in January. The group is also in negotiations to buy an adjacent 1.3-acre site from the South East England Development Agency for further development. Around 1,700 staff based in company-owned offices in Havant and nearby Cosham will be relocated to the new scheme over the next 12-18 months. Scottish & Southern had initially agreed terms to buy Block F at IBM’s six-building headquarters at North Harbour in Portsmouth early last year. However, it changed its mind after Autoliv announced it was moving its operations to Eastern Europe. The Broadmarsh industrial estate is the focus of SEEDA’s and Havant council’s regeneration plans for the area. SEEDA will next week announce its choice of development partner for the nearby 10-acre Harts Farm Way site, where a 173,000 sq ft industrial and office complex is proposed. Peter Hall, head of the Portsmouth office at Austin Adams, which acted for Autoliv jointly with Stephen Bleakley Management, said progress on both schemes was “a win for Havant and its regeneration plans”. Solent opportunities Developers are circling a 14-acre mixed-use opportunity on the outskirts of Southampton. British American Tobacco, advised by Colliers CRE, has gone to market with just over half of its former factory site on Regents Park Road. The world’s second-largest tobacco producer said last year that it was closing the Southampton factory, its last in the UK. Elsewhere in the area, a key site in Southampton city centre has been sold for a hotel and apartment scheme. A private London client of Austin Adams paid Southampton City Primary Care Trust and the Hampshire Ambulance Service Trust, advised by Savills, close to £9m for the 1.1-acre East Park Terrace.