Waters sites come to market
Lambert Smith Hampton has started marketing two buildings on behalf of Waters Corporation, the US manufacturer of mass spectrometers which begins moving into new 220,000 sq ft headquarters in Wilmslow next month.
LSH has been instructed to sell the long-leasehold on a light industrial unit in Crewe Road, Wythenshawe of 22,000 sq ft and the freehold on a 45,000 sq ft three-storey office building in Atlas Business Park in the centre of the Manchester Airport City Enterprise Zone. The building consultancy team at LSH is also advising on the issue of dilapidations in relation to two other properties where there are lease terminations, in Wythenshawe and Altrincham.
LSH has worked with Waters Corporation over the past six years on a strategic plan to secure a site for the new facility resulting in a deal to buy the 37-acre site of the aborted Wilmslow Office Park from Royal Bank of Scotland.
The new HQ will include open plan offices, customer demonstration laboratories, R&D labs, storage and manufacturing and assembly facilities. There are 500 staff relocating from existing properties in Altrincham, Wythenshawe and Sharston.
The company makes mass spectrometers, complex machines used for testing chemicals in a wide range of industries including food, medicine and pharmaceuticals.
Adam Jackson, senior surveyor in office agency at LSH Manchester, said: "Waters Corporation is a market leader in the field of mass spectrometry, and it was critical for the project to succeed that we were able to secure such a good quality site in South Manchester to build and develop the company's worldwide offering. The new R&D headquarters will strengthen the region's reputation as a global hub for scientific innovation, whilst the buildings which are being vacated will all provide excellent opportunities for business looking to expand their regional operation in a mix of offices and industrial premises."
