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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study

Assessment of Floorspace Output from Business Parks including Employee to Floorspace Ratios for Different

Occupier Categories

On behalf of

Department of the Environment, Planning Service

March 2003

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study CONTENTS PAGE

1. PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH ................................................................................................................. 1

2. CITYWEST, DUBLIN .................................................................................................................................... 3

3. PRIDE PARK, DERBY .................................................................................................................................. 5

4. SHERWOOD BUSINESS PARK, ANNERSLEY, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ............................................. 7

5. DOXFORD PARK, SUNDERLAND ............................................................................................................. 9

6. STRATHCLYDE BUSINESS PARK .......................................................................................................... 11

7. HAMILTON INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PARK ..................................................................... 13

8. KEY FINDINGS............................................................................................................................................ 15

This Report has been prepared by: Research & Consultancy Department

Colliers CRE9 Marylebone Lane London W1U 1HLTel: 020-7409 3124Fax: 020-7344 6984

Contact:Dr Richard Doidge Tel: 020-7344 6872

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study 1. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

1.1 The purpose of this research study is to assist the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan (BMAP) team in

planning for the future provision of employment sites.

1.2 The key requirements of the research as set out in the brief are as follows:-

• to estimate the average level of floorspace achieved per hectare in a range of business parks;

• to provide data on actual employment levels relative to building floorspace for different types of

occupiers located in this range of business parks; and

• to determine average employment density ratios for the range of user types identified in this range

of business parks.

1.3 Publicly available data of any kind on business parks (unlike for retail) is scarce and no data at all is

available on employment and floorspace densities for different parks and most importantly for

different types of business park activities. Accordingly in order to meet the requirements of the brief,

our approach has been to carry out a broad range of research on 6 business parks across the UK and

the Republic of Ireland.

1.4 The sample of 6 business parks was selected by BMAP and is as follows:-

• Pride Park, Derby

• Sherwood Business Park, Nottingham

• Doxford Park, Sunderland

• Strathclyde Business Park, Glasgow

• Hamilton International Technology Park

• CityWest, Dublin

1.5 These business parks were chosen to represent a range of different locations and occupier profiles, and

to ensure consistency with BMAP research criteria.

1.6 As agreed with BMAP, our programme of research included a questionnaire survey of occupiers at all

6 business parks. In practice, we found it difficult to obtain statistically robust data from the survey on

floorspace and employment densities. This was due to a number of reasons:-

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• occupiers had no incentive to co-operate – the data was for BMAP while the business parks were

located elsewhere;

• the range of data required from each company was diverse – in many cases this had to be

sourced from more than one person / department;

• the information sought was quite detailed and therefore not readily available – this led to

different questions being answered by different occupiers;

• large areas on many business parks are landscaped and although contributing to the overall

hectarage are not included within the individual building plots of occupiers; making the

calculation of floorspace and employment ratios difficult.

1.7 We therefore supplemented the survey by carrying out a series of consultations by telephone with

interested parties in respect of each business park. Consultees were mainly drawn from:-

• major occupiers

• park owners

• park managing agents

• local authority officers

1.8 Following this Introduction, Sections 2 to 7 address individually the 6 business parks included in our

study. The data presented on floorspace and employment densities for each park are based on the

questionnaire returns from a sample of occupiers. These figures should therefore be treated with some

caution and provide guideline estimates only. Section 8 sets out the key findings to emerge from our

research, in particular those relating to the estimation of floorspace and employment densities for

differing employment uses to be found on business parks.

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study 2. CITYWEST, DUBLIN

Description of the Park

2.1 As the name suggests, CityWest is located to the south west of Dublin city centre on the N7 Naas Road

to which it is connected via a grade separated interchange. The park is just 3km from Dublin’s M50

orbital motorway and a 30 minute drive from the international airport and city centre. Public transport

between CityWest and the centre of Dublin is also very good with buses running every 15 minutes.

2.2 CityWest has been designated by the Irish government as Ireland’s National Digital Park and has

attracted around 80 companies from nine different nationalities. It therefore provides world class

telecommunications infrastructure for companies requiring international broadband connectivity. The

park also provides a choice of restaurant and shops.

2.3 The park extends to 155 ha gross with only a relatively small proportion built and let at present. It is

currently envisaged the Park will be fully developed in around 15-20 years.

List of Occupiers

2.4 Major occupiers at CityWest include AC Nielson, Adobe, AOL, Nortel and TDK. The full list of

occupiers (at mid 2002) is as follows:-

Abbot Laboratories Knowhow Adobe Systems M J Flood AC Nielsen Merck Limited ACT Manufacturing Europe Meteor Mobile Communications Allied Irish Bank Metromedia Airtracks National Car Testing America On Line (AOL) Nortel Network (Dublin) Ltd Aventis Pharmaceutical Nestle B.J.’s Wholesale Club News Connected Browns Barn Nova Science Cabbot Oce Ireland Limited Caffe Fresca Odenburg Engineering LtdCarr Engineering Supplies Ltd Panasonic Ireland Ltd Castle of Ireland Parametric Technologies Corp. Colgate Palmolive Peregrine Systems Operations Control Equipment Premier Business Centre Cross Atlantic Capital Partners Rand Technologies Crucible Rits

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Davy Hickey Properties RMI Eircom Hosting Service Roche Eicon Technology Sage Software ESAT/BT SAP Executive Edge SOS Office Supplies FKM Saturn CD Rom Division Fahy Fitzpatrick Shop Equipment Limited Frontline Communications SMC Pneumatics Ireland Ltd GEA Tuchenhagen SNAP Printing Growcorp Spectrum Print Management Ltd GTS Spicers IrelandImpress Digital T.D.K Electronics Independent Communications Telecity Limited Independent Newspapers Plc Time & Data Systems Interactive Enterprises Transition Ireland In Touch Technologies Ltd VWO Irish Pneumatic Services Viking Components EuropeIrish Times Limited Vodafone JD Edwards Walsh Group Jones Environmental Ward Consulting Kerriage Computers Limited YKK (UK) Limited

Location and Site Plan

2.5 The location of CityWest is shown in Figure 2.1 overleaf, while the plan at Figure 2.2 provides more

detailed information.

Floorspace and Employment Densities

2.6 On the basis of the data provided to us by a sample of current occupiers, we estimate that there is, on

average, 1 job per 51 sq m of floorspace (net internal area) at City West (plot areas only)1 and 7,344

sq m of floorspace per hectare (plot areas only). These ratios give rise to an average of 144 jobs per

hectare.

1 In Section 8, we also estimate floorspace and employment densities on the basis of the total hectarage of the business parks (ie. including land that is excluded from occupier plots eg. landscaped areas, access roads, lakesetc.)

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study 3. PRIDE PARK, DERBY


3.1 Pride Park is a large-scale redevelopment on a derelict industrial site close to Derby city centre. It is

part of the Government’s City Challenge scheme to regenerate urban areas. The land, bounded on two

sides by the River Derwent, was seriously contaminated with by-products from previous industrial

use. Pride Park has used an innovative approach to turn a contaminated derelict site into a business

and leisure area.

3.2 We understand Pride Park extends to around 80 ha in total including access roads and landscaping. Of

this total 53 ha is zoned for development, of which 48 ha has been built upon to date, leaving just 5 ha

left. Around 80% of the floorspace at the park is now let and occupied. The park is located in close

proximity to Derby city centre to which it is connected via a park and ride service. It also has direct

access to Derby’s inner ring road, while Junction 25 of the M1 is within 5 minutes drive-time. There

is also excellent access through the Park to Junction 24 of the M1 and the East Midlands Airport.

Birmingham International Airport can be reached in 45 minutes.

List of Occupiers

3.3 Pride Park contains a sports stadium (Derby County FC), health club and hotel on site, and principal

occupiers include Core Design, Software AG, Interfleet Technology, Egg (Internet Banking and Call

Centre) and Bass. A full list of occupiers (at mid-2002) is as follows:-.

David Lloyd Leisure Scottish and Newcastle New Orleans Dichtomatik Seat Reelform Volkswagen BSS Edwards Geldard SolicitorsColourstream Litho AEA TechnologyEast Midlands Christian Fellowship WL Power Data Ltd Aerospace Pipes Taylor Hall Associates Baker & Birch Mediaware Corporate Services Ltd Millennium Business Centre Bridge Worldwide Ltd JJB Sports Iso Tech Calibration Services Ltd Derby County FC Daewoo Cars Hunters Landrover Express by Holiday Inn T C Harrison IBR Egg CDP DIPT EIDOS Software Interfleet Technology MML

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Core Design Inchcape Software AG DIPT Pro TradeMidland Mainline Bass Harvester


3.4 Figure 3.1 overleaf shows the general location of the park, while the plan at Figure 3.2 provides more

details of the layout.


3.5 Our occupier survey of Pride Park indicates an average of 1 job per 44 sq m of building floorspace

(net internal area) and an average of 5,544 sq m of floorspace per hectare (plot areas only). This

translates to an average of 126 jobs per hectare.

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study 4. SHERWOOD BUSINESS PARK, ANNERSLEY,

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE


4.1 Sherwood Business Park is marketed as a “prestigious mixed-use campus in a mature parkland setting

with feature lakes and woodland surrounds providing a striking backdrop for quality, modern

premises”. The park covers 56 ha of which 8.5 ha is still available for development.

4.2 According to the owners, Sherwood Business Park is located less than 0.5km from Junction 27 of the

M1, while further motorway access (the M62 to the north and the M42 to the south) is also good.

Moreover, it is 20 minutes (32km) from East Midlands Airport and about 50 minutes (90km) from

Birmingham International Airport.

4.3 We understand Sherwood Park provides full Enterprise Zone benefits (until November 2005)

including:

• 100% write-off for capital expenditure on industrial and commercial buildings and plant and

equipment;

• 100% local property tax exemption until 2005;

• a simplified planning and appraisals process.

In addition, Regional Selective Assistance and Enterprise Grant assistance are available to qualifying

companies.

List of Occupiers

4.4 Major occupiers at Sherwood Business Park include Rolls Royce, Boots, Diversey Lever, Promotional

Logistics and Autofill. The list of occupiers (at mid-2002) is as follows:-

Innovate, Broadband Office UK Powergen Call Centre Mastercare Perot Flexfab Europe Ltd Pendragon Blue Streak Europe Ltd Employment Services Liberty Hardware Ltd Lincoln Green Raleigh Parts & Accessories Notts Traffic Enforcement

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Autofil Ltd Diversey Lever Rolls Royce DCS (IT Company)Eve Telecom Chevron Pipe & Rail – ISL Noyon UK Ltd Polestar CSI Prolog Promotional Logistics Tsubakimoto UK Ltd Compressor Rotor FacilityBoots the Chemist Plc NSCP Turbine Surface Technologies Ltd

4.5 Figure 4.1 overleaf shows the location of the park, some 18km north of Nottingham city centre, while

the plan at Figure 4.2, gives more detailed information on the layout.


4.6 At Sherwood Business Park, we estimate an average of 1 job per 99 sq m of building floorspace (net

internal area) and an average of 8,316 sq m of floorspace per hectare (plot areas only). In turn this

gives rise to an average of 84 jobs per hectare.

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study 5. DOXFORD PARK, SUNDERLAND


5.1 Doxford is located at Horsecroft Road to the south west of Sunderland close to the edge of the urban

area. It is actually an amalgamation of two park schemes of different styles. The International

Business Park extends to around 19 ha fronting City Way and was originally an Enterprise Zone,

while the International Technology Park (11 ha) is located to the rear of the business park site. The

total site area is around 30 ha including roads and landscaping and is now fully developed and let.

5.2 The bulk of occupiers on Doxford Park are in office use, although there is (unusually) a fulfilment

centre in the Technology Park. On Doxford International there is a small café, tanning salon and a

newsagent.

List of Occupiers

5.3 Major occupiers on the Doxford Park include Barclays, T-Mobile, 2 Touch, Northern Rock, Regus

and Nike. A full list of occupiers (at mid-2002) is reproduced below.:-

Barclays Health & Racquet Club T-Mobile Transco London Electricity Akeler Consignia Teleport 2Touch Pannis Royal SunAlliance Londis Northern Rock AcxiomThe Associates Bede TechnologyArriva Camelot Sunderland Housing Group City of Sunderland College Regus SSL Reg Vardy Grove CranesLeighton Domain name.com Ltd Nike The Ass Capital Corp. Plc

Location and Aerial Photo

5.4 The location of Doxford Park is shown in Figure 5.1 overleaf, while the aerial photo at Figure 5.2

provides further information.

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5.5 The occupier survey of Doxford Park suggests an average of 1 job per 16 sq m of building floorspace

(net internal area) and an average of 5,568 sq m of floorspace per hectare (plot areas only). These

ratios in turn give rise to an average of 348 jobs per hectare.

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study 6. STRATHCLYDE BUSINESS PARK


6.1 Strathclyde Business Park is strategically located in the heart of Scotland, approximately 24km east of

Glasgow city centre and 72km west of Edinburgh city centre. The Park benefits from a good

communications network and is located on the A725 which lies immediately south of the A8

Coatbridge junction which connects with both the M8 and M74 motorway networks.

6.2 The Park extends to 63 ha including roads and landscaping, which makes it the largest in Scotland.

The site contains a 4 star Hilton Hotel (with conference facilities) and a Health and Leisure complex.

The Park operates a regular shuttle bus service to provide companies and their employees with direct

links to Glasgow city centre and the nearby town centres of Bellshill, Motherwell and Hamilton.

List of Occupiers

6.3 Major occupiers on the Strathclyde Business Park include Cable & Wireless, NTL, Scottish Power

and Tarmac Plc. A full occupier list (at mid-2002) is as follows:-

Andersen Caledonia Ltd N T L Aortech Europe Ltd New Medical Technology Ltd Aramark New Pig Ltd Assembly Solutions & Tools Nordham Developments Ltd Caledonian Ltd Painter Engineering Ltd Camernaire Environmental Ltd Photonic Materials Ltd Castle Computer Services (Glasgow) Ltd Pitney Bowers Cisco Printology Ltd Clansman Dynamics Ltd Rogano Ltd Danka Research Machines Digimania Ltd Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire Digital Animations Sea Products of Scotland Plc Distribution of Printing Products Sempra Economous Scottish Power Systems Elpida Memory (Europe) Gmbh Siemens Cam Ltd Endpoint Research (UK) Ltd Standfast Dominica Ltd H Varley Tinto Laser Services Ltd Helens Haberdashery TRAC International Hewden Stuart Plc Vector Corporation Ltd Inverclyde Biologicals Wigwam Digital Ltd Link Technologies Ltd Woolwich

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Mital Allantain BP Workwear & Industrial Supplies Ltd Multiverse Solutions Xantak Chemicals Ltd


6.4 Figure 6.1 overleaf shows the general location of the park, while the Plan at Figure 6.2 gives more

detailed site information.


6.5 Our occupier survey at Strathclyde Business Park indicates an average of 1 job per 18 sq m of

building floorspace (net internal area) and an average of 7,704 sq m of floorspace per hectare (plot

areas only). This translates to an average of 428 jobs per hectare.

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study 7. HAMILTON INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PARK


7.1 Hamilton Information Technology Park (HITP) is an important location for inward investment and

this has driven its expansion over the years. The HITP is currently on Phase 4, which is being

developed by Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire in partnership with Akeler, one of the UK’s leading

business space developers. In addition, the Strathclyde European Partnership and the European

Regional Development Fund are supporting the completion of Phase 4.

7.2 We understand that companies choosing to establish themselves at HITP may be entitled to one or

more of the following:-

• 100% allowances against UK tax liability in respect of building costs;

• no local property taxes to pay until February 2003;

• no planning consents needed for normal industrial activities.

7.3 The HITP covers some 47 ha in total of which 32 ha is available for development. The balance is

roads and landscaping. Scottish Lanarkshire estimate that the park is now 80% developed with the

residual comprising buildings under-construction or in the pipeline over the next couple of years.

List of Occupiers

7.4 The HITP contains a diverse group of businesses, from electronics to banking. Major occupiers

include First Direct, One2One, Digital Microwave Corporation and TR Fastenings. A full list of

occupiers (at mid-2002) is as follows:-

Scottish and Universal Newspaper Spirent Comms Rosti Scotland Ltd First Direct / HSBC Flextronics TR Europe Water at Work DMC Telecom Mercury 1-2-1 EdgecombDigital microwave co-operation

Location and Aerial Photo

7.5 Figure 7.1 overleaf shows the general location of the HITP, while the aerial photo at Figure 7.2,

provides more detailed information.

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7.6 At Hamilton International Technology Park, we estimate from our occupier survey an average of 1 job

per 45 sq m of building floorspace (net internal area) and an average of 10,080 sq m of floorspace per

hectare (plot areas only). These ratios in turn give rise to an average of 224 jobs per hectare.

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Colliers CRE DoE Planning Service March 2003 Business Parks Research Study 8. KEY FINDINGS

8.1 In addition to the survey of current occupiers at each business park we also carried out, as

reported in Section 1, a series of consultations with the business park

owners/managers/agents etc. This research produced the statistical data summarised in Table

8.1 overleaf. This data mainly provides an estimate of the likely hectarage, floorspace and

employment of each park once it is fully developed (and occupied) at some point in the

future.

8.2 When they are fully developed it is estimated that the 6 business parks will cover some 431

hectares of land and support about 1,177,000 sq m of floorspace. This translates into a ratio

of 2,730 sq m per hectare, which compares to the estimate of 6,720 sq m per hectare derived

from our survey of existing occupiers.

8.3 Clearly, there is a sizeable difference between the two figures. However, there is an explanation for

this discrepancy. The floorspace density derived from our survey is the relationship between the net

internal area of premises (floorspace) and plot size (ha), whilst the density estimate for the parks as a

whole gives the relationship between (future) floorspace and total park area. This area is likely to be

significantly larger than the summation of individual plot sizes, since the latter excludes areas of

communal landscaping, lakes, access roads etc.

8.4 Information derived from our consultations on employment is available for Doxford, Hamilton, Pride

Park and Strathclyde; data gaps prevent us from including CityWest and Sherwood. On these four

parks at the present time an estimated 370,000 sq m of floorspace is estimated to support 16,100 jobs.

This translates to 1 job per 23 sq m of floorspace and compares to the density of 1 job per 32 sq m of

floorspace derived from our occupier survey. In our view, the lower density derived from our own

survey is more likely to be closer to the actual level. This is because it is based on information

supplied by the companies themselves, whereas we feel that the owners / agents may have over-

estimated their employment figures; in any event they were “guessimates” rather than actuals. On

balance we believe that the most reliable average employment density for business parks is likely to

be in the range of 1 job per 25-30 sq m of floorspace (net internal area).

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Table 8.1 Business Parks: Key Statistics

Name of Business

Park

Area of Park (ha) ¹

Existing Floorspace of Buildings(Sq M Gross) Employment 4

Built and Occupied

Built and Vacant

Develop-ment

Pipeline²

Estimated Target ³ Existing

Number of Jobs

Estimated Number of Jobs whenPark fully developed

City West, Dublin 155 179,760 6,040 371,600 557,400 N/a N/a

Doxford ParkSunderland 30 116,130 N/a N/a 116,130 7,500 7,500

Hamilton International

Technology Park 47 57,920 N/a 22,760 80,680 1,600 N/a

Pride Park, Derby 80 74,320(excl.

stadium)N/a N/a

116,130(excl.

stadium)3,500 5,000+

Sherwood Business Park,

Nottinghamshire 56 85,660 12,820 40,870 139,350 N/a 3,000

Strathclyde Business Park 63 120,770 N/a

46,450(outline

PP) 167,220 3,500 N/a

Total 431 N/a N/a N/a1,176,910

(excl.stadium)

N/a N/a

Source: A combination of business park owners, managing agents, developers, development agencies and councils. 1 The total area of the business park including roads, landscaping and lakes 2 Either under construction, with planning consent or zoned for development3 Estimated total floorspace when park is completed and fully developed4 Estimated head count, does not distinguish between full time and part time jobsN/a; data not available

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Colliers CRE March 2003

8.5 Although the relatively small sample sizes from our occupiers survey prevent meaningful

analyses of the variation in employment densities by user types on each park, the

aggregation of this data across all 6 business parks does enable a number of broad

conclusions to be drawn.

8.6 Clearly, in terms of employment generation (jobs per sq m of floorspace or per hectare) there

is a big difference amongst the typical occupier types found on business parks. At the lower

end big sheds on big plots (eg. manufacturing, distribution and leisure uses) tend to generate

between 200 or less jobs per hectare (of building plot), whilst at the other extreme call

centres generate around 600 jobs per hectare. Sitting in the middle of this range are user

types such as research, business/professional and information, technology and

communications, which typically generate between 300 and 400 jobs per hectare. In terms of

floorspace per job the range is also considerable; from a low of around 1 job per 70 to 100

per sq m of floorspace (net internal area) for manufacturing and other traditional industries

to a high of around 1 job per 10 sq m of floorspace for call centres.

8.7 Although the term ‘business park’ may conjure up a development of a certain uniformity, in

practice, as this report has demonstrated, they vary enormously in their occupier profile and

size, and therefore their role as providers of floorspace and employment. Indeed, no two

parks are similar let alone the same. We therefore conclude that business park owners, in

practice, tend to welcome a broad range of occupier types and that the resulting employment

and floorspace densities are hard to predict. Planners should be aware of this diversity when

making site allocations for business parks.

8.8 Data on business parks is scarce. This report has sought to try and fill at least part of the

void, but the research has been far from easy to undertake and is by no means perfect.

Nevertheless, we believe that our conclusions provide useful guidelines as to the

employment and floorspace characteristics of business parks and of the principal types of

occupiers.

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