- What Real estate investor buys one of South West city’s largest developments
- Why Soapworks encompasses the regeneration of a grade two-listed warehouse as well as two new-build blocks for use as offices and homes
- What next Barings and development manager Socius to build out the project
Real estate investment manager Barings has acquired Soapworks, a mixed-use development in Bristol with a gross development value of £215m, React News can reveal.
Barings has completed the investment on behalf of a retaine[brian]d client and will work with mixed-use developer, Socius, to deliver the scheme.
Soapworks is the regeneration of a sizable site on the edge of the city centre, within five minutes’ walk of Temple Meads station and the new £500m University of Bristol campus. The project totals two new-builds alongside the restoration of a grade two-listed former soap factory that dates back to the 1860s and was acquired from local furniture retailer Gardiner.
The scheme has planning consent for 154,000 sq ft of offices, which will target a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating and aim for net-zero carbon in operation, as well as 243 build-to-rent apartments, 20% of which will be for affordable tenures. The development also includes 18,800 sq ft of ground floor retail, hospitality and leisure space.
The workspace will be divided into 18,000 sq ft in the listed building and 136,000 sq ft in a new building which will aim to address the shortage of modern, sustainable workspace in the city.
Bristol has a high graduate retention rate of 51% and current office availability of just 106,000 sq ft, less than half the five-year average.
Barings will deliver the development in partnership with Socius, formerly part of First Base, which conceived the scheme and secured planning consent, and will be retained as development manager.
Amongst other schemes across the country, Socius is also bringing forward the £180m MK Gateway in a joint venture with Patron Capital, and recently launched the search for a funder for the 33-storey residential tower at the heart of the scheme.
“Already a landmark in Bristol, Soapworks will be an iconic place to live and work in the city”
Darren Hutchinson, Barings
Darren Hutchinson, managing director and head of UK real estate transactions at Barings, said: “Already a landmark in Bristol, Soapworks will be an iconic place to live and work in the city, with new and much-needed homes, Grade A office space, and a revamped public realm and vibrant ground-floor retail and hospitality. Working alongside Socius, we’re working to retain as much of the original buildings as possible, and thus the embodied carbon, so that we can create a first-class destination with as little environmental impact as possible. Due to the quality of this space, it will not only be a landmark within Bristol but an example of excellent place-making across the UK.”
Barry Jessup, managing director at Socius, said: “Barings share our long-term vision for a new vibrant district in the heart of Bristol which blends much-needed flexible and sustainable workspace with new homes and an eclectic retail and dining mix. We look forward to working together with the council and local community to delivering this exciting project in what is one of the UK’s most dynamic and fast-growing cities.”
Colliers and Ashurst acted for Barings, and Savills and DWF acted for the vendor.
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