In April 2017 it will have been seven long years since the last business rates revaluation in England, Wales and Scotland - a long wait especially for long-suffering high street retailers, and two years more than normal.

There will almost certainly be a reduction in liability for many businesses in areas outside of London and the south-east. However, it is unlikely that the winners will see levels of savings that might have been realised had the 2015 revaluation gone ahead. This would have been based upon 2013 rental values, well into the recession. The two year delay means that some properties will have seen a recovery in values in line with the economic revival. Some prime properties may even have regained the values they last saw at the height of 2008, which means that their rate liability may even rise.

Cooke & Arkwright has secured a new office for Cardiff University at Friary House, in one of the largest city centre lettings this year.

The University has taken three floors - totalling 29,000 sq ft - in Friary House on Greyfriars Road, for a combination of administration and teaching uses. The premises will house new studio space for the University’s School of Architecture as well as provide space for professional services staff.

Two development sites in the adjoining villages of Ewenny and Corntown in the Vale of Glamorgan have been put on the market, representing rare opportunities in an attractive area famous for Ewenny Priory.

Our Land Agency is marketing the two sites, both of which have planning permission, on behalf of Ewenny Priory Estate. A greenfield site in Ewenny of just under two acres has Outline Planning Permission for five detached residential dwellings, and in Corntown, The Stables comprises of a range of buildings around a courtyard setting with permission for a detached dwelling and demolition of existing stables. 

The Historic Environment (Wales) Act became law on 21 March and is designed to protect Wales’ scheduled monuments, many of which stand on agricultural land.

Farmers and landowners need to be aware that the Act makes it more difficult for individuals who damage protected monuments to escape prosecution by pleading ignorance of a monument’s status or location.

Loungers, the West Country based restaurant / café / bar group has opened a brand new site in Monmouth. Named Estero Lounge, the new venue occupies Commerce House, a refurbished building in Monnow Street and has created 20 jobs for local people.

Loungers has invested £575K transforming the new site into a retro home from home, where dramatic art work sits next to oversized vintage sofas and statement light fittings, in the eclectic style much loved by Lounge aficionados.

Local independent retailer Miss Label vowed to support town centres when it opened its first shops in Bridgend and Llanelli. Just seven months later, the ladies’ fashion and accessories store is going from strength to strength. 

It now has two additional shops in Blackwood and Merthyr Tydfil, with another planned opening for Carmarthen later this month. Ben Davies, Senior Surveyor with Cooke & Arkwright’s Retail & Leisure team advised the respective landlords on the lettings in Bridgend, Llanelli and Blackwood, and is currently acting for New River Retail for their fifth store opening at Merlin’s Walk in Carmarthen.

Cooke & Arkwright’s Business Space team have let a prominent showroom building off Newport Road to fast-growing independent clothing and footwear designer brand, Other Clothing UK Ltd.

The cutting-edge menswear and urban lifestyle brand has taken almost 7,600 sq ft at Units 1 and 2 in Dominions Way Business Park, formerly occupied by Mandarin Stone.

The National Eisteddfod of Wales is to be held in Castle Meadows in Abergavenny in a month’s time, running from 29 July to 6 August.

A showcase for music, dance, visual arts, literature and original performances, and encompassing all aspects of the arts and culture in Wales, it attracts over 6,000 competitors and 150,000 visitors every year. Some Cooke & Arkwright staff members have an involvement, including our very own ‘Singing Director’ and a secretary who is a Druid, while the Eisteddfod Crown has been designed and crafted by the silversmith sibling of an Associate Director.