Bristol-based specialist property developer Urban Creation has struck its first deal in Bath after spending £500,000 speculatively refurbishing a city centre building to provide state-of-the-art workspace.
Pioneering Artificial Intelligence firm Cognisess has relocated to the refurbished grade II-listed office from elsewhere in the city to meet its need for a more collaborative working environment.
The firm, which provides a market-leading software platform that helps businesses identify, nurture and retain talent, has pre-let 4,128 sq ft of prime space in 10 Henry Street, pictured.
According to joint agents Bath-based CSquared Real Estate and the Bristol office of national firm Savills, the building offers one of the highest spec offices in Bath, with exposed services and with new VRF (variable refrigerant flow) air conditioning, mechanical fresh air ventilation, LED lighting and showers.
Details of the deal have not been disclosed but Urban Creation described the rent as ‘premium’. Top headline office rents in Bath are around £31 per sq ft.
Urban Creation specialises in transforming unusual and often historic buildings into high-end student accommodation and commercial space. Its Bristol projects have included high-profile buildings on, and near, Park Street.
Managing director Jonathan Brecknell said: “We had confidence in the office market due to the Bath’s supply dynamic and backdrop of a strong local economy and SME base.
“The construction programme was not without its challenges given the nature of a Grade II-listed building within a World Heritage City, but we are pleased to have completed a best-in-class refurbishment coupled with a pre-letting at a premium headline rent.”
Harry Allen, an associate director in the office agency team at Savills Bristol said the speculative investment programme in the building had paid dividends, especially as construction started during the second lockdown last autumn.
“It shows the developing market trend of a ‘flight to quality’ as office tenants seek to provide the best working environment for their staff,” he added.
Cognisess has agreed a new six-year lease on open plan office space across the building’s lower ground, ground and first floors.
Cognisess CEO Chris Butt said: “10 Henry St will be an incredible location and office for us as we return to a more collaborative and networked space to work from; made possible by the high standards and forward thinking designs from the team at Urban Creation.”
