Fire-damaged property secures tenant after £500k revamp

A large industrial unit in Gateshead, which was badly damaged by fire, has secured a new tenant following a £500,000 upgrade.Property investors Armstrong Brooks acquired the 40,000 sq ft building on Bath Road in 2021, which has now been let to GAP Group to house its new white goods recycling facility GAP Renew.Naylors Gavin Black secured the tenant, having previously negotiated the sale of the freehold to Armstrong Brooks.The significant revamp of the building includes re-roofing, along with upgrading of the office space and welfare facilities. Elsewhere, the warehouse space has benefitted from new LED lighting, skylights and redecoration of the walls.Duncan Christie, senior surveyor at Naylors Gavin Black, said: “This is a great result for, not only our client, Armstrong Brooks, in terms of a healthy return on their investment but also for Gateshead because GAP has given the property an environmentally sustainable future and created new jobs.”High tenant demand for industrial premises is why so many investors are targeting the industrial sector at present. Our in-depth knowledge of the market and requirements of potential occupiers allowed us to assist Armstrong Brooks on a strategy that would deliver maximum returns. Interest in the unit was high and we are delighted with the end result.”GAP Renew is now fully operational at the Bath Road unit and aims to reuse and recycle at least 500,000 electric units in its first year.Peter Moody, director of GAP Group, added: “The landlord worked extensively with us to ensure we got the exact specification we need to provide our clients with the very best quality solutions to meet their refurbish and recycle requirements.”Bob Cory, managing director at Armstrong Brooks, said: “We have worked with Duncan Christie and Naylors Gavin Black for a number of years and value their advice with regards to the assets we hold in our portfolio in the North East of England.”The acquisition of this unit aligned with the objectives we have set for our wider portfolio and we are very happy to secure GAP Group – a tenant with strong growth potential and a great track record in the North East region. We hope they will be happy at the site for many years to come.”