Barking and Dagenham Council have signed an agreement with global media real estate leader Hackman Capital Partners (HCP) to build London’s largest film and TV production centre in Dagenham. Eastbrook Studios London will be the capital’s largest studio campus. The project comes with planning permission, and HCP’s ambitious plans include up to 12 sound stages, three acres of backlot, offices and ancillary space, totalling over half a million square feet. HCP’s hundreds of millions in direct investment will also involve an endowment to maximise local jobs, placements, apprenticeships, community outreach and supply chain opportunities. “This investment is fantastic news for the screens sector, for east London and for the UK. It’s a real vote of confidence in our industry’s ability to return to the growth we saw prior to the pandemic and exceed it in coming years. With our industry COVID Guidance in place, over 85% of high-end UK productions are safely starting up again, creating the outstanding content audiences are craving. Hackman Partners bring extensive industry expertise of building and running studios around the world and will be a significant additional asset to the UK Film and TV infrastructure ecosystem. Today’s announcement is proof that the private investment climate is resilient and bold decisions such as this will further bolster London and the UK’s world-class studio offer, supporting economic growth and creating new jobs,” said Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission. The studios will be a major boost for the borough, the entertainment industry and the capital, creating an estimated 1,200 jobs, contributing £35m per year to the local economy and inspiring more development into thriving East London. The capital has a hugely successful film and TV industry and, with more than £3.6bn spent in the UK last year on film and high end television production, it will play a key role in London’s economic recovery. Following work by Film London and the British Film Commission to help the industry through the pandemic, it is currently estimated that over 85 per cent of film and TV production is running again, supporting more than 100,000 jobs, with the majority in London and the South East. The UK is one of the most sought after countries in the world for major feature film and high-end television production. The Dagenham site will add much needed sound stage capacity to the overall industry.

More than 50 suppliers have won a place on a major new consultancy framework following one of the most competitive procurement exercises ever held by the Council. The move is expected to unlock up to £95m in architectural, engineering and project management contracts over the next four years – helping to boost the local economy beyond Covid-19 and support the delivery of state-of-the-art new schools, early years centres, sports facilities and affordable homes for residents across the Capital. The inclusion for the first time of Passivhaus Architects in this framework will ensure that new buildings are energy efficient and that the city’s net zero carbon by 2030 target sits at the heart of all capital projects, while the Council’s commitment to prioritising small business spending has resulted in more than 70% of successful bidders being SMEs. Every supplier is also committed to paying the Living Wage and carrying out community benefits as part of any work they secure. Following approval from members of the Finance and Resources Committee today (Thursday 29 October), plans for the Professional Services Framework will be finalised in the coming weeks. Councillor Rob Munn, Finance and Resources Convener, said: “With over 180 bidders vying for a place, this is one of the biggest procurement exercises we’ve ever undertaken as a Council. “We have an ambitious capital investment programme to make sure we build the schools, homes and community facilities Edinburgh needs for the future, and I’m confident that the successful suppliers we have listed offer the right mix of expertise to help us deliver on our aims. “At a time when the Council faces great financial pressures, the flexibility offered by the new approach is also expected to generate efficiencies of more than £10 million over four years.” Councillor Joan Griffiths, Vice Finance and Resources Convener, said: “The commitment of everyone under this framework to provide the Living Wage and put energy efficiency and community benefits at the centre of construction projects in Edinburgh is an important step and will help us make sure we work with our consultants to the benefit of local neighbourhoods. “Now more than ever we need to put plans in place for a fair economic recovery – both on businesses and their employees, and on the future of our planet – so I’m pleased that we’ve also been able to secure so many quality SME suppliers. This has been a challenging time for the industry but the investment we’ll be making in Edinburgh’s future can support employment too.”

Midlands contractor G F Tomlinson is celebrating being a successful finalist for both the East and West Midlands 2020 LABC Building Excellence Awards. Announced via a virtual ceremony, the LABC Regional Building Excellence Awards are the largest business to business awards in the UK, and recognise outstanding public sector construction projects in 12 regions across England and Wales. Successful projects that G F Tomlinson delivered were winners of the ‘Best Small Commercial Project’ in the East Midlands awards, and ‘Best Public Service or Educational Building’ in the West Midlands Awards. Chesterfield-based project Ashgate Hospicecare was named as the winner of ‘Best Small Commercial Project’ in the East Midlands awards – completed last year, the refurbishment of the hospice included the creation of nine new private bedrooms for end of life care patients. G F Tomlinson has been a longstanding supporter of Ashgate Hospicecare, and as its designated charity partner, the firm has been supporting the important work of the hospice since 2016. Another successful project in the East Midlands Awards was The University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, and works involved the construction of a world-class educational facility for research into identifying breakthroughs in the treatment and diagnosis of serious diseases. The project was awarded highly commended for the ‘Best Public Service or Educational Building’ category in the awards. The Central Science Laboratories, Keele University project was the winner of the West Midlands ‘Best Public Service or Educational Building’ category, and works for this included the construction of a new 5,300 sq. metre, four-storey building which was completed in 2019, bringing state-of-the-art laboratories for geography, geology, forensic science and astrophysics courses to the Keele University Faculty of Natural Sciences. “We are delighted to have been successful in both the East and West Midlands LABC Building Excellence Awards this year. The awards recognise the hard work put into delivering high-quality public-sector schemes and all of our schemes that have been finalists in this years’ awards have made a positive impact on the local community – which is something that we are incredibly proud of. Well done to everyone involved,” commented Andy Sewards, managing director at G F Tomlinson.

The Apartment Group (TAG), a North East leisure operator, has expanded its portfolio with the purchase of two County Durham hotels through specialist business property adviser Christie & Co. The two purchases joining The Apartment Group’s portfolio of hotels, restaurants, bars and wedding venues located across the North East of England are Whitworth Hall Hotel & Deer Park and Jersey Farm Country Hotel. For the future, the company plans to invest millions of pounds at both sites. Whitworth Hall & Deer Park is a grade II-listed mansion that dates back to the 17th century. Meanwhile, the Jersey Farm Hotel, located just outside of Barnard Castle, will be renamed as Runa Farm. “It is our plan to create an individual and special destination for boho, honest and earthy experiences, with the farm and its produce at the very heart. As well as laid-back and luxurious standout bedrooms and suites, you will also find cool glamping at Runa Farm, courtesy of the fabulous shepherd’s huts and pig houses, intended for guests looking to spend time learning about nature, life on the farm and each other,” said Chief operating officer Debrah Dhugga. “Our plans for Whitworth Hall are completely different to Runa Farm. Where Runa Farm will be luxurious boho and earthy, Whitworth will be an excess of opulence, sophistication and glamour, with a Chapel, ballroom, and bedroom suites like nothing else in the UK.” The sales were completed by Mark Worley, director at Christie & Co. “The sales point to the healthy demand for hospitality businesses in the north east region at present, particularly those which are able to host weddings, and which are reliant on leisure-based trade. The foreign travel restrictions imposed upon us all, have benefitted the domestic pub and hotel industry and as wedding income has been pushed into next year and beyond, hospitality buyers can now see the financial appeal of purchasing this type of business,” commented Mark. Runa Farm will be open at the end of 2020, with Whitworth Hall following on in early 2021.

A newly refurbished building in Leeds city centre has signed a six-year lease with Freeze Debt on its 1,070 sq ft on Ambler House’s third floor. Carter Towler secured the second office tenant for building in Boar Lane, opposite Trinity Leeds. “It’s really encouraging to have found such a great tenant for Ambler House – especially at a time like this. We have all been facing new challenges and uncertainty since the onset of lockdown, but so far we’ve had an incredibly positive response to the £2 million revival of this magnificent grade II-listed building,” said Harriet Lawson of Carter Towler. “Although Freeze Debt is a relatively new company, it is already making quite a reputation for itself in the FinTech sector. The company has developed a smartphone app that helps people manage their debts more effectively and it is attracting a lot of attention. “Ambler House is the perfect location for growing companies like Freeze Debt who are looking for distinctive, high quality, centrally located offices. We have a selection of different sized suites remaining within the building ranging from 875 – 3,835 sq ft,” Harriet continued. Freeze Debt chief executive Harjit Moore also commented on the news: “It has been fantastic working with the landlord’s managing agent Petit Papillon and Carter Towler to secure these offices. We are at a very exciting stage in the growth of our business and Ambler House is the perfect base for our expanding team. It will enable us to attract the additional high calibre personnel we want to join us.” Ambler House, which forms part of the Trevelyan Square estate, is managed by Petit Papillon and Carter Towler is retained as the sole letting agent.

A £15 million investment lined up for Allerton Manor has been approved, which includes a purpose-built golf pavilion and club house comprising a golf shop, changing rooms and locker rooms, as well as an indoor practice putting area. An adventure golf course is also lined up, as is the restoration and conversion of the grade II-listed Allerton Manor, which is considered to be “seriously dilapidated and at risk”, to create a 31-bed boutique hotel, spa and function space. “I’d like to thank the professional and supportive approach we have had from the planners, and the constructive dialogue with local ward councillors,” said Green Circle property director Craig Coley. “By working together, we have been able to bring forward an exciting plan that will create a fantastic amenity for the city, whilst preserving Allerton Manor’s unique heritage and landscape.” The main aspect of the application is reconfiguring the existing nine and 18-hole courses to create a par 72 championship site with a new driving range. For this project, up to 150 jobs could be created. The plans have been developed by Liverpool Council’s operating partner, Green Circle, and will be funded entirely by private investment.

The £54 million Littlewoods Film and TV Studios project has landed one of the North West’s largest commercial deals of the year. Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) has been confirmed as the education partner at the much-anticipated scheme, which is being developed by CAPITAL&CENTRIC with Liverpool City Council. The establishment will be co-located alongside Twickenham Studios and provide a direct link between academia and industry in what will be one of the most prominent facilities of its kind in the UK. “Our intention is to keep Liverpool ahead of the game, so the combination of training and talent pool are a key part of the recipe. Our renowned Screen School prepares professional film-makers, producers, digital artists, journalists and scriptwriters, and we will be working closely with our industry partners to ensure the talent pipeline supports this key sector in Liverpool’s economic future,” said vice-chancellor professor Ian Campbell. It has signed up to take more than 75,000 sq ft of space for an Entertainment Technology Centre, in conjunction with Hugh Baird College, focused on professional training for TV and film. LJMU will offer a full range of further and higher education courses, all designed to equip locals for a job in the region’s rapidly growing film and TV sector. “Getting an education partner on board has been what we’ve been waiting for and it will ensure that local people have the right skills to take advantage of the huge opportunities on offer. Clustering film and TV with education is something pretty unique and Littlewoods Studios will be the biggest facility of its kind in the UK,” added Adam Higgins, co-founder of CAPITAL&CENTRIC. A £17 million funding commitment from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Strategic Investment Fund was announced last month, with the project identified as a key component of the city region’s £8.8 billion Building Back Better recovery plan. “The university has a fantastic screen school and their involvement will add a unique educational element to the project. This partnership will provide invaluable career making experiences for students. It’s a great development, one which will further strengthen the city’s reputation in this key creative sector and develop a solid platform to support more productions and jobs in the future,” said Mayor Joe Anderson. The ten-acre Littlewoods Studios will be operational by 2023.