KEEPING YOU IN THE LOOP

12 new places to eat in Bristol this spring

The new Finzels Market has been featured on Visit Bristol as one of the 12 new places to eat in Bristol

“With one of Bristol’s latest city centre developments, Finzels Reach, comes an exciting new street food market. Taking place opposite Castle Park every Friday from 12-2, there’ll be a different tasty line-up each week. From Thai street food to Paella, Cantonese dumplings to mac ‘n’ cheese, it’s perfect for an out-of- the-ordinary lunchtime refuel.”

Read the full story here

PRS developer plans surge of new building

Private rental scheme (PRS) developer Grainger has unveiled plans to build six new apartment developments in the next two years.

The company has just presented shareholders with half-yearly results showing a 13 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £41 million. It said this reflects the current favourable climate and it will prompt the construction of more new developments.

Noting that 20 per cent of all homes in England are now privately rented – the highest proportion on record – chief executive Helen Gordon said now is an ideal time for further investment and said fundraising efforts will reflect this.

She added: “We have secured £439 million of private rented sector investment, over half of our £850 million target, and have good visibility on additional investment opportunities to meet our overall target.

“We are making good progress delivering our pipeline, and on average we are completing a new PRS building every two months over the next two years.”

The company’s current plans include the £46 million Finzels Reach development in Bristol. When it is finished in 2019, it will contain 194 homes.

In addition to this, the firm has £425 million of further schemes in the planning or legal stage, Ms Grainger noted.

These is a demonstration of how PRS schemes have not just spread beyond London to other major cities across the country, but also to towns within commuting distance of the capital.

Palmer Capital secures £225m of equity for largest-ever fund

The Palmer Capital Development Fund IV builds on the success of the third fund, which invested £175m of equity in 15 projects between 2014 and 2016. Alex Bignell, head of UK at CBRE GIP, said the track record of the previous funds made it “an easy decision to launch a fourth fund”.

The new four-year fund will have the same two-year investment window as the previous vehicle, as well as the same target to deliver a 15% internal rate of return (IRR) for CBRE GIP investors.

Chris Button, head of value-add real estate investment management at Palmer Capital, said that although it was now later in the property cycle, the firm was confident of delivering the same returns because of the lack of competition for the type of deals it was pursuing.

“We believe that uncertainties in the property market and flight to prime assets will create buying opportunities for value-add investors, which we are well positioned to exploit,” he said.
The fund will explore three broad investment themes. The first is to acquire land with a view to securing planning permission for residential development, the second is to speculatively develop new regional offices and sheds and the third is to add value to standing investments through asset management.

Leverage will also be used to enhance returns up to a limit of 50% loan-to-value – although the gearing level is likely to be lower than this.

Committed

About £25m of the fund’s equity has already been committed across three acquisitions. The biggest deal is the £11.3m purchase from Tesco of Kingsmead Business Park on Howland Road in Thame, where the leases of the two main occupiers, DAF Trucks and Kubota UK, are set to expire this July and in 2018.

The fund has also bought 5.7 acres of land in Spofforth in North Yorkshire with a view to securing residential planning consent.

It has further acquired 125 acres of land on the south-eastern outskirts of Ayr, Scotland, for £3.4m. The land benefits from planning permission in principle for a mixed-use scheme that the firm will reconfigure to increase the residential component.

FINZELS REACH STREET FOOD MARKET, BRISTOL

Great review of the Street market by Gingy Bites

“You know I love my street food and after 7 months away from Bristol, I’m pleased to see that the scene here is as buzzing as ever. In fact, we’ve just got back from a quick lunch at the brand new Finzels Reach Market which launched today.

Gavin Bridge, director of Finzels Reach developers Cubex, added: “This new market will provide an opportunity for people living and working at Finzels Reach, as well as the surrounding community, to gather and relax with some delicious food before the weekend.”

NEW STREET FOOD MARKET COMES TO FINZELS REACH

Have you heard? There’s a new weekly street food market starting at Finzels Reach in May!
Taking place every Friday lunchtime in Old Temple Street (just off Counterslip and next to Bridgewater House), visitors can expect up to 15 stalls serving locally produced street food providing exciting lunchtime eats including Cantonese dumplings, handmade gourmet pies, Thai curry, wood fired pizza, brownies, falafel wraps, artisan breads, cakes and much more. To ensure there is lots of choice and variety, there will be guest stalls every week, keeping things fresh and seasonal.

We’ll be keeping you up to date on which traders will be taking part each week by sending regular emails out like this and would be grateful if you could forward these onto any friends or work colleagues who might be interested.

The market opens on Friday 5 May from 12pm – 2pm with live music and general merriment to celebrate the opening of Bristol’s newest market!

Find out more by following the market on Facebook (Finzels Reach Market) and Twitter @FinzelsReachMkt.

Castle Bridge opens to the public

The new s-shaped pedestrian and cycle bridge at Finzels Reach is now called Castle Bridge and opened to the public last week on Friday 7^th April.

The name was chosen by public vote and the bridge was officially opened and named by Gavin Bridge, director of developers Cubex, and local musician, Barry Walsh, one of the people who originally suggested the name. They unfurled a banner announcing the new name and cut a ribbon to open the bridge.

A shortlist of three names – Brewery Bridge, Castle Bridge and New Brigstow Bridge – was earlier drawn up by a panel of judges and put out to vote, after the public put forward their suggestions.

The naming competition attracted a huge response from the public with more than 400 people putting forward their ideas, and even more taking part in the final vote. As well as humorous suggestions, including Bridgey McBridgeface, the majority of ideas related to the location and history of the site.

“Castle Bridge sums up the history of the place perfectly,” explains Barry Walsh, who writes songs about life in Bristol. “I remember my mother shopping on Castle Street, the city’s main shopping street, which was left as a wasteland after the Bristol Blitz during the Second World War, which later became Castle Park.

“When I decided to put forward a name for the new bridge, it was clear to me straight away it should be Castle Bridge – given it is in what would once have been the shadow of the castle for hundreds of years. It’s a beautiful bridge and a real honour to have been chosen to help name and open it.”

Gavin Bridge, of developers Cubex, said: “The opening of the bridge is a landmark for the development of the whole of the Finzels Reach, which is now unrecognisable from the site we bought just four years ago after it was left in a semi-derelict state by the previous developers. By 2019, there will be over 2500 people living or working here, compared to just eight when the brewery closed in the 1990s.

“You get a completely different perspective of Castle Park, the river and the old brewery buildings from the bridge – a very different experience as it meanders across the water. It’s heartening to see people using it already and lots of people visited over the weekend, just to do a bit of sightseeing on Bristol’s newest bridge.

Made from a series of unique curved steel sections topped with timber decking, sculptured cladding and feature lighting, the 91 metre-long bridge is destined to become a new landmark in Bristol, as it snakes its way gracefully across the historic waterway accommodating the 7.5 metre height difference between the two banks. The bridge is four metres wide and designed to accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists.

The ferry landing stage in Castle Park has also seen a £30,000 upgrade as part of the work, which will improve access to the boats and increase ferry passenger numbers including the new commuter service that started this week.

Follow @FinzelsReach on Twitter for the latest updates on the new quarter and use the hashtag #finzelsreach to join the conversation.

Landmark for Finzels Reach – now we need to get Bristol’s stalled sites moving again

By Gavin Bridge, Director of Cubex, developers of Finzels Reach

With the new bridge at Finzels Reach set to open to the public tomorrow, now feels like a good time not just to celebrate the progress made over the past four years, but also to look to the future.

Finzels Reach is based on a site that had been effectively closed off to the public for over 100 years. When the on-site brewery closed in 1991, with just eight people working there, the site lay unused for many years but by 2019, around 2,500 people are expected to be living or working in this new quarter of Bristol.

Cubex first got involved in Finzels Reach 2013, after a previous attempt to regenerate the site ran into difficulties and left the site derelict. When we bought it, there was a single office building, only a quarter of which had been let and 140 apartments, of which half lay empty.

At that time, the Council’s priority was to make sure the development was completed rapidly and comprehensively. The concern was that it could languish uncompleted for years, or be broken up and sold to numerous developers, resulting in a mishmash of different buildings and causing potential issues for the people who already lived and worked there.

To avoid further delays, we decided to develop the site broadly on the basis of an existing planning consent and agreements negotiated between Bristol City Council and the previous developer. These involved a total of 437 new apartments to meet a variety of different housing needs, including affordable, private rental, private sales and 55 affordable homes, which are already built, occupied and operated as socially rental housing.

Alongside the homes, there will be almost a quarter of a million square ft of new office space, shops, restaurants, a micro-brewery and a 168-bedroom new Premier Inn hotel. New car-free public routes through the site and a new bridge over to Castle Park are designed to encourage the public into the area and help connect it back into the heart of the city.

With much of Finzels Reach nearing completion, we at Cubex are now turning our minds to the next regeneration project and are keen to develop more sites in Bristol, particularly where we can get involved at the pre-planning stage.

Given the sheer quantity of new homes that we need to find over the next few years, it’s clear the whole sector needs to do things differently if we’re to ensure a better flow of development sites within the city centre.

However, part of the challenge in making regeneration projects a reality is the number of stalled sites across the city, which has, for far too long, been blamed on the recession. The truth is it’s not only about finance, it’s about impetus. And there’s a real opportunity here for the public and private sector to work collaboratively to find a solution.

The public sector needs to sit down with developers in the private sector with a track record of delivery to discuss the ideas we have for interesting, balanced, mixed, sustainable developments in the city – places where people want to live.

As well as helping to bring forward homes across the board, this would be a step forward in helping to tackle the issue of insufficient affordable housing both in Bristol and nationally.

Another part of the problem is undoubtedly the way affordable housing and social housing is funded and delivered. We don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we do want to be part of a constructive conversation about finding solutions to the issue, so we can help deliver the level of affordable housing this country so desperately needs.

Bristol is a wonderful city which I am happy to now call my home, but we all recognise there are deep inequalities too. Surely the best way to tackle these problems is for all parties to work together, to bring new ideas to the table, if we’re to find a long-term solution that works for all.

Bristol’s new bridge to be officially named and opened

A naming ceremony for the new bridge at Finzels Reach is taking place on Friday 7^th April as it opens to the public.

A shortlist of names was released last week, drawn up by a panel of judges, after the public put forward their suggestions. The final decision has been put to a public vote and the winning name will be revealed on Friday from the shortlist of Castle Bridge, Brewery Bridge or New Brigstow Bridge.

The naming competition attracted a fantastic response from the public with more than 400 people putting forward their ideas. As well as humorous suggestions, including Bridgey McBridgeface, the majority of ideas related to the location and history of the site and the shortlist reflects that.

Gavin Bridge, of developers Cubex, said: “We’ve really enjoyed getting everyone involved in the naming of our new bridge and many of the suggestions have raised a few smiles. The opening of the bridge is exciting news for the Finzels Reach development but also for the city in general.

“We were determined to get the bridge open as soon as possible so for some time we would ask the public to bear with us as they are routed through the site around current building works taking place, although eventually they will be able to take a direct line across to Counterslip.”

Made from a series of unique curved steel sections topped with timber decking, sculptured cladding and feature lighting, the 91 metre-long bridge is destined to become a new landmark in Bristol, as it snakes its way gracefully across the historic waterway accommodating the 7.5 metre height difference between the two banks. The bridge is four metres wide and designed to accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists.

The judging panel included representatives from Cubex, local politicians, Bristol Civic Society, Bristol Shopping Quarter, Sustrans and Castle Park Users Group.

The ferry landing stage in Castle Park has also seen a £30,000 upgrade as part of the work, which will improve access to the boats and increase ferry passenger numbers including the new commuter service that started this week.

Follow @FinzelsReach on Twitter for the latest updates on the new quarter and use the hashtag #finzelsreach to join the conversation.

Public to vote name for Bristol’s new bridge from shortlist

The new bridge at Finzels Reach is set to be officially named Castle Bridge, Brewery Bridge or New Brigstow Bridge, depending on how the public vote over the next few days.

The shortlist has been drawn up by a panel of judges representing a range of views in the city, after the public put forward their suggestions for names for Bristol’s newest bridge.

People can now vote for their favourite name via the Finzels Reach website until 5pm on Monday 3rd April with the one that receives the most votes becoming the official name.

Most of the names offered by the public were linked to the location, or history of the site and the shortlist reflects this – Castle Bridge because the bridge connects to Castle Park; Brewery Bridge to mark the long history of brewing beer on the Finzels Reach site and New Brigstow Bridge because it derives from the original Saxon name for the city, Brycg Stow, meaning ‘place of the bridge’. The new bridge is also believed to be close to the site of the very first bridge in Bristol.

Gavin Bridge, of developers Cubex, which funded and built the new bridge at Finzels Reach said: “Coming up with a shortlist proved more difficult than any of us had expected, partly due to the terrific response from the public who came up with so many suggestions and we want to thank them for all their help.

“The ideas included humorous suggestions such as Bridgey McBridgeface and Gurt Lush Bridge to names of Bristolians who have excelled in their field but in the end the panel decided the shortlisted names should have a connection with the area immediately around the development and reflect the balance of suggestions we received, which were mainly related to the location and history of the site. Of course, we expect it may well get a nickname in time and it will be certainly be interesting to see what catches on but we all felt it does need a formal name that is able to stand the test of time.

“We’re really keen to get the bridge in use as soon as we can which is why it will be opening to the public next week. The bridge is four metres wide and designed to accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists. The opening of the bridge will be an exciting milestone linking Bristol’s shopping quarter with the business district of Temple Quarter and Redcliff and Temple Meads station beyond.”

Made from a series of unique curved steel sections topped with timber decking, sculptured cladding and feature lighting, the 91 metre-long bridge is destined to become a new landmark in Bristol, as it snakes its way gracefully across the historic waterway accommodating the 7.5 metre height difference between the two banks.

When the bridge opens, it will help knit the Finzels Reach site back into the fabric of the city, after more than 100 years of being effectively closed off to the general public, when it was used as a sugar refinery and later a brewery.

The judging panel included representatives from Cubex, local politicians, Bristol Civic Society, Bristol Shopping Quarter, Sustrans and Castle Park Users Group.

The ferry landing stage in Castle Park has also seen a £30,000 upgrade as part of the work, which will improve access to the boats and increase ferry passenger numbers including the new commuter service that started this week.

Cubex recently announced a partnership with Cassus events to launch a weekly street food market at Finzels Reach on Friday beginning on May 5th. Follow @finzelsreachmkt on Twitter.

Follow @FinzelsReach on Twitter for the latest updates on the new quarter and use the hashtag #finzelsreach to join the conversation.

If you’d like to vote for the bridge’s name, please do so by going to the voting form on the Finzels Reach website, not via social media: http://www.finzelsreach.com/bridgename/

A sneak peak inside the stunning showroom at Cask Store, Finzels Reach

Just four apartments remain in the exciting new Cask Store, priced from £595,000

There are few developments in Bristol that have created as much excitement as the hotly-anticipated Finzels Reach.

The historic brewery buildings provide a unique, characterful setting for Cask Store, a collection of individually-designed apartments situated on Bristol’s Floating Harbour. Such has the level of interest been in the development that there are now just four apartments left for sale – and a new show home has now been launched.

The show home provides the opportunity to get a feel for what life at Cask Store could be like. Each of the remaining apartments for sale benefit from waterside views and allocated parking.

Gavin Bridge, director of Cubex, the developer behind Finzels Reach, said: “Cask Store is in a fantastic location on the city’s glistening waterside, with views of Castle Park on one side and a beautifully landscaped courtyard on the other. “Whilst the apartments are only moments away from the city’s city centre with all that it has to offer, they are nestled in a spot that is also somewhat of a sanctuary – a slice of tranquillity in the heart of vibrant Bristol.”  

With the bridge at Finzels Reach expected to open in spring this year, this will provide direct access to Bristol Shopping Quarter and Cabot Circus shopping centre, as well as an array of city centre attractions, bars, restaurants and St Nicholas Market with its vibrant and varied food and market stalls just a few minutes’ walk away.

Bristol Temple Meads railway station is only 10 minutes’ walk from Cask Store.

With an emphasis on superb craftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail and a high quality of finish, the Cask Store apartments include generous living areas and all the modern touches including underfloor heating and walk-in wardrobes.  All the homes are unique in their layout with a character and charm about them that new residents could make their own.

Visits to the show home should be arranged by appointment only. Please contact Layla Stubbs at Savills on 0117 910 2351 to book your appointment.

Vicky Dudbridge, associate director at Savills, which is marketing Cask Store, said: “We are expecting interest from downsizers, second home owners or perhaps professional couples looking for a spacious, high quality apartment with a view and easy access to Bristol’s buzzing city centre. Most of the apartments at Cask Store have already been bought, with the interest having come from people of all ages, from their 20s to their 80s, paving the way for the creation of a real community feel.”

The four remaining apartments are for sale at an asking price from £595,000.00

Read story on the Evening Post here