Network Space has won the Property Deal of the Year award at the North West PROPS Awards for their Broadheath Networkcentre deal. The awards were presented by Variety, the Children's Charity, which raises funds for disabled and disadvantaged children in the North West.

Network Space was recognised for the deal as within three years of the former Cartwright Group site closing, the company acquired the site, secured planning permission and speculatively built the £42million Broadheath Networkcentre.  In doing so, a vacant high profile brownfield site was brought forward, providing a mix of high-quality refurbished space alongside new builds and delivering 190 jobs during construction.  The completed scheme is now well on the way to 400 people being employed there, helping to replace the jobs lost when Cartwright went into administration.

Prior to completion, Network Space let almost two thirds of the site, securing deals with strong covenants including one of the world’s largest logistics companies, Maersk, taking a pre-let of the first 41,500 sq ft unit. Socotec UK a 17,000 sq ft unit, Options Greathire took up 36,000 sq ft across two units and freight forwarding specialist, XPand Logistics, a 28,700 sq ft unit.

These, alongside deals to National Trust and Torque Golf, meant that Network Space quickly created a thriving business park and also achieved a new headline rent for the area. Network Space then secured the sale of the flagship scheme to M7 on behalf of a newly formed joint venture between Oxford Properties and AustralianSuper. It was one of the largest deals in the Northwest area.

Pre-letting almost two-thirds of the site, achieving headline rent and the swift £47 million sale is testament to the quality of the scheme, its location, design and sustainability credentials. The scheme’s delivery is the result of a well-established and successful partnership between Network Space, Trafford MBC who have provided debt finance, and the principal contractor Bansco.

Network Space created a prime last-mile asset in a high growth urban logistics location within a strong and affluent regional city and, as a result, created a development that appealed to a JV seeking high-quality opportunities.

Designed with small and growing businesses in mind, Broadheath Networkcentre is well located on Atlantic Street in Altrincham and offers easy access to the M60 and M56. Achieving BREEAM Very Good and EPC A ratings, significant efforts were also made to further improve sustainability during the construction process by recycling and reusing existing building materials where possible.  By retaining the existing structure and slab, the project achieved an estimated 55% reduction in upfront embodied carbon up to handover, resulting in a total carbon saving of approximately 1,360 tCO2.  Initiatives also include renewable energy provision through solar panels and electric vehicle charging points across the entire scheme.

The scheme received a £23.25 million loan from Trafford Council and over 95% of the project budget was invested in a supply chain within 45 miles of the site, including a significant number of local training and employment opportunities.