Fareham: Growing Proptech moves to Faraday Business Park

Aviation maintenance specialist Proptech is to move to a recently-completed unit at Faraday Business Park, Solent Airport, becoming one of the first aviation companies to take space at the site’s new business parks.

Proptech, currently based in Hilsea, Portsmouth, has taken a lease on Station 1, a 24,690 sq ft industrial warehouse unit at Faraday Business Park at the Fareham site, formerly known as Daedalus. The move will allow the business to grow, creating new jobs as Proptech adds to its  30-strong team.

The unit was built by Fareham Borough Council as a speculative development and has been let by commercial property specialist Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), appointed by the council as the sole sale and letting agent for the site, just five months after its completion.

Solent Airport contains two new business parks – Faraday and Swordfish – and is a designated Enterprise Zone, which brings benefits to occupiers including business rates relief, streamlined planning processes and investment in transport infrastructure on and around the site. Among the units offered for rent are six new business hangars ranging from 6,458 sq ft to 38,748 sq ft, each with fitted offices and WC facilities.

Guy Jackson, associate director – industrial at LSH, said: “We were expecting demand from aviation and marine businesses for this site because of its prime location and the huge benefits of Enterprise Zone status. To go from completion of the unit to agreeing a lease in such a short amount of time demonstrates the high level of demand and the confidence that businesses have in the region and its economy.”

Proptech, part of the Segers group of companies, has been an established aircraft propeller maintenance and distribution specialist for more than 40 years

Colin Choules, CEO at Proptech Portsmouth, said: “We are very excited about the move to Solent Airport where the airfield and network of local aviation businesses are a real attraction for us, supporting our goal of providing general aviation customers in the area with excellent propeller support.  

“The move will allow us to grow our business and take on more skilled technicians and dynamic customer support staff from the local area with enthusiastic apprentices joining us from nearby colleges. As we grow, our business expansion and hiring plans will create one or two positions every 12 months over the next few years.”

HMS Daedalus, four miles west of Portsmouth, was established as a naval air base in 1917 and remained in use by the Royal Navy until the late 1990s.

It is currently home to the airport, used by private owners and air clubs, several businesses and the Fareham Innovation Centre, which provides new companies with offices and workshop space.

Faraday and Swordfish business parks offer a mix of airside and non-airside serviced plots that are available on a virtual freehold or leasehold basis. These plots provide excellent access to the many attractive opportunities the site holds for aviation and aerospace businesses. Space at Faraday Business Park is on the market first, with Swordfish set to follow in a second phase.

The site also offers opportunities on two 'gateway' plots at the entrance to the site, ideally suited for roadside occupiers.