ON THE MARKET WITH ANOTHER AGENT FOR 12 MONTHS – SOLD BY FHP WITHIN 4 WEEKS!

Industrial/Warehouse News

A LANDMARK industrial building which languished on the market unsold for a year was disposed of within four weeks after its owner switched marketing to the Nottingham property consultancy FHP. 

Steve Nyland, the head of the post-press equipment business Nyland Graphics, had been trying to sell the 45,000 sq ft property at Grange Close, Alfreton so he could switch to a more suitable location. But after 12 months on the market with another property agent no buyers had come forward.

But when marketing was taken over by Tim Gilbertson, industrial partner at FHP, a deal was secured within the space of a month.

Tim Gilbertson said: “Even if you are not marketing a property you can only get a rounded picture of the market by making yourself familiar with everything that is out there, and I had been aware of the Nyland Graphics site for some time. It is a large, modern building in a well-known strategic location and the apparent lack of interest really surprised me.

“I first got to know Steve Nyland because he contacted FHP to discuss the options for relocating, and I had no hesitation in saying to him that I believed the demand for his site was definitely out there and that we could probably secure a sale relatively quickly. Four weeks later we proved the point! 

“There is no question that the market isn’t easy because of all the negative sentiment out there, but people have become far too quick to dismiss the potential for opportunities. I have been operating in the east Midlands industrial market for years and I know that underneath all the headlines there is a bedrock of demand still out there from specific industry sectors and from those carefully-run privately-owned businesses who have conserved their cash.

“Some of these businesses need to expand and give themselves breathing space and they see this kind of market as the right time to strike a competitive deal. I’m not going to apologise for saying that if there is a deal out there to be had then FHP will find it!”

Gilbertson added: “In the case of Nyland Graphics we not only had a modern, high quality building within yards of the A38 and less than a mile from the M1 at Junction 28, we also had a site which offered substantial room to expand further. The only puzzle was why it hadn’t sold – but we solved that puzzle very quickly!”

FHP secured a sale after relaunching the building with fresh marketing material containing high quality photography. It also focused the marketing on the property’s key selling points – a well-equipped building which was ready to occupy, good secure space with room to expand, and an almost perfect location which puts your business within easy reach of theMidlands’ main arterial route network.

“We found a purchaser literally within a matter of days, agreed terms quickly and instructed solicitors. The total time from first point of contact to finally submitting our invoice was only eight weeks!” said Gilbertson.

Steve Nyland commented: “I became aware of FHP when I started looking for somewhere to relocate to. Tim made every effort to offer what was available, he was straight-talking and he knew what we wanted. So I had every confidence that he was the right man to sell our site in Somercotes. He is now concluding our relocation purchase and I want to say a big ‘well done’ to FHP.”

Tim Gilbertson says that while wider market conditions remain difficult, the bedrock of demand in the industrial sector in theEast Midlandsis now butting up against a dwindling supply.

He added: “We can’t promise we will be able to dispose of everything we see, but it is clearly wrong to dismiss the market out of hand. I have known this market for years, I know there are businesses out there who do need to relocate – and I know a good prospect when I see one!”