As an eventful 2016 draws to a close, Cooke & Arkwright’s Investment agency team reports that commercial property is continuing to attract strong demand from investors.

The build up to the EU referendum in the summer and the aftermath of the vote produced a climate of uncertainty as the implications of the UK leaving the EU were contemplated.  However, the fundamentals of real estate mean that investment in this sector now looks an even more attractive option.

Cooke & Arkwright has acted to secure a key purchase in North Cardiff, with the £5million acquisition of the Travelodge and Toby Carvery premises at Tyn y Parc Road in Whitchurch.

The transaction was brokered between M&G Real Estate and Cognitive Properties Ltd. The £5m deal will provide Cognitive with an initial return of 6.25%, with the fixed rental increases in the lease set to provide an attractive ongoing yield.

Cardiff’s iconic Market building on St Mary Street has been given a facelift after maintenance works were conducted under instruction of Cooke & Arkwright’s Building Consultancy.

The Grade II listed building had deteriorated over time and pollution had caused excessive discolouration to the historic bathstone exterior.

Wales Air Ambulance has relocated to new premises of almost 3,000 sq ft at 1-9 College Street in Swansea. The charity was looking for a unit which would provide a much larger shop front with additional storage space to facilitate its drive to expand across South and West Wales.

As a Charitable Trust, Wales Air Ambulance (WAA) relies entirely on donations to keep its fleet of four ‘helimeds’ in the air, the most recent of which was launched in Cardiff.

Over one million challenges¬ against the 2010 local non-domestic rating list in England and Wales had been received by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) by 30 September 2016, according to the latest statistical figures released by the agency on 16th November.

Of the 1.04 million challenges resolved (around 73%), only 29% (220,000) had resulted in a change to the appellant’s rating list, while 71% (544,000) had been unsuccessful. By contrast ...

As most landowners, both agricultural and residential will know, knotweed can pose a significant liability and even adversely affect land values. An alien species which is illegal to plant, it is destructive, invasive and extremely resilient. It strangles and suffocates other plants, cracks concrete and is very hard to get rid of, making treatment costly and difficult.

Heavy fines face property owners and businesses who leave it unchecked. So what can be done to get rid of it?

Almost nine acres of residential land allocated for 160 residential homes in Merthyr Tydfil has been brought to market by the local authority. The site at Goatmill Road occupies an elevated position with good views across the valley in an area where there is high demand for homes.

Nearby is the popular Bradley Gardens residential development and local facilities include Cyfarthfa Retail Park with retailers including M&S, while under development is the £40m Trago Mills retail and leisure scheme, due to complete in Spring 2018.

Cooke & Arkwright has made a number of strategic promotions on the back of strong growth in 2016, with five key staff being promoted to Director, Associate Director and Associate level within the firm.

Elizabeth Hill has been promoted to Director of Property Valuation and will now be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day valuation business.

Andrew West, our Director of Rating (second from left) attended the Boxing Dinner of the Year 2016 at Holland House in Cardiff on October 27th. The lively evening reunited three all-time greats of British boxing - Nigel Benn - the "Dark Destroyer", former WBO middleweight and WBC super-middlewieght champion; Steve Collins - the "Celtic Warrior", the most successful Irish boxer in professional boxing history; and Michael Watson MBE, who held the Commonwealth middleweight title and challenged for a world title three times. HIs career ended prematurely as a result of a near-fatal injury sustained during a loss to Chris Eubank for WBO super-middleweight title in Sept 1991.

Pictured, left to right: Steve Collins, Andrew West, Michael Watson, Nigel Benn, and Andrew's father John, who is himself an ex-middleweight professional boxer.