Duchy of Lancaster to roll out Crewe Hall Farm office model
The Queen’s Duchy of Lancaster property estate managers hope to replicate the success of the office conversion of Crewe Hall Farm at other farms across England and Wales.
In a joint venture with Maple Grove Developments, the Duchy renovated Crewe Hall Farm to bring it into commercial use and has seen strong interest from occupiers.
Nick Dart, surveyor of lands for the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “We took great care to bring the derelict buildings at Crewe Hall Farm back to life and we are very proud of the finished result – it really has to be seen to appreciate its historic feel and peaceful setting. This is a significant project on one of our largest and most prestigious Estates and we very much hope that it will prove a successful model which we will be able to replicate in to other areas of the UK in the future.”
The first letting at Crewe Hall Farm was completed in December, to petroleum products company the Zenteum Group, which has now moved into its renovated premises. Zenteum signed a ten-year lease on the 6,415sq ft Dove Cote, one of six individual buildings at the 19th Century farm with a combined floorspace of 26,000 sq ft.
In addition to five conversions, the scheme includes one 7,800 sq ft stand-alone new building, designed and constructed in a sympathetic style to the older buildings.
Patrick Naylor from Maple Grove, said talks were ongoing with other prospective tenants. He added: “We’re seeing encouraging levels of interest from businesses operating across a range of sectors and expect to make further letting announcements very soon.
“Crewe Hall Farm provides a prestigious setting not otherwise seen in office developments near Crewe and with its high car parking ratio and location so close to the M6 it provides the ideal base for a company such as Zenteum Group to manage its operations across the UK.”
The Duchy of Lancaster was founded in the 13th century and has an estate of 18,700 hectares across England and Wales. The estate ranges from urban developments to farms and five landed estates in Lancashire totalling 11,500 acres.
Lamonts Commercial and Knight Frank are the agents for the scheme.
