Atisreal - Offices Letting - Cardiff

Date: 12 Aug 2008

In what is the largest office deal in Wales so far this year British Gas, advised by Atisreal, has signed up for 68,336 sq ft at MEPC and Rightacres' Number 4, Callaghan Square, in Cardiff.

British Gas, owned by Centrica is due to relocate its 1,200 Cardiff-based staff by the end of March 2009. British Gas is currently in Helmont House, Churchill Way, Cardiff. It has taken a 15 year lease and is paying £17.50 per sq ft.

In a separate deal, Rightacres acquired Centrica's 150,000 sq ft Helmont House for £12m which it has leased back to Centrica until fit out works at Number 4 Callaghan Square are completed.

Cardiff-based Atisreal director Anthony Phillips who advised Centrica said: "This deal shows that the property market is not all gloom and doom. As a regional city Cardiff represents a good value central location for major corporate occupiers and Callaghan Square has got to be one of Wales's finest new office developments."

British Gas will join tenants including Eversheds and Allied Irish Bank at Callaghan Square. Two of the three buildings being developed by MEPC and Rightacres have now been let.

Phillips argues that the Cardiff office market should remain relatively resilient over the next couple of years because of a shortage of office stock. Atisreal calculates the total square footage of completed Cardiff offices in 2008 will be 213,000 sq ft falling to 126,000 sq ft in 2009.

Knight Frank and DTZ are letting agents on Callaghan Square.

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