Portsmouth: Vail Williams – Building on success

Vail Williams, a commercial property consultancy in Hampshire, has expanded its team into state-of-the-art premises at one of the south’s leading business campuses.

The independent firms’ staff for the Solent region grew in numbers to 50 after the business incorporated fellow commercial property consultancy Hughes Ellard in June.

A comprehensive refurbishment has been carried out by Vibe Business Interiors of the 2,000 sq ft office at 1000 Lakeside North Harbour, Portsmouth, doubling Vail Williams’ previous space on site.

The firm has been a resident at Lakeside North Harbour for five years and has agreed another five-year lease with the landlord, property fund manager Northwood Regional UK.

Regional managing partner Mike Greenwood said: “The investment in larger premises at 1000 Lakeside, following the merger earlier this summer, underlines our confidence in the future and our commitment to the region and the growth of our business.

“Since the merger, bringing 26 extra people to the fold, and through Hughes Ellard’s market sector expertise gathered over 45 years, we have increased our customer offering in offices, industrial, retail, leisure and the planning and development sectors.

“Our larger base in Portsmouth is strategically located for our professional services and complements our development appraisal, search and acquisition, valuation, rent review and lease renewal, asset management, building consultancy, disposals and investment advice.”

Greenwood added: “This is about providing market-leading advice for clients, with our highly experienced, knowledgeable and personable team helping them to grow their businesses profitably.”

Vail Williams, which also has an office at Southampton’s Ocean Village, is the marketing agent for Lakeside North Harbour, a 125-acre business park with 3,000 people working for 75 companies on site. 

The business campus has reputedly attracted the lion’s share of office transactions on the Solent Corridor for the past three years.

Nick Turner, asset manager director for Northwood Regional UK, said: “Vail Williams, the successful marketing agent for our thriving business community here at Lakeside North Harbour, has signed an office lease for a further five years on site.

“Vail Williams is therefore well placed to advise companies and organisations on the many advantages of being part of our flourishing business campus.

“We’ve achieved great success in attracting new occupiers to the site this year, including Dunstan Thomas, Dynamite Recruitment, Checkatrade, CXS, DigiQuip and Portsdown Office.”

  More than 100,000 sq ft of newly-refurbished, high-quality office space became available at Building 2000 and 3000 two years ago following a multi-million-pound investment by Northwood Regional UK.

Available space is currently 60,000 sq ft, which can accommodate 600 or so people, with one unique 36,000 sq ft ground floor suite overlooking the lake.

Other occupiers at Lakeside North Harbour include IBM, Babcock, Southern Co-operative, Regus, Bouygues, Market Makers, EBP South, HIPPO, Porsche, Verisona Law, The News, Handelsbanken, Douglas Stafford, Astute Technical Recruitment, CoffinMew, Starbucks, Tops Day Nursery, Helistrat, Wiggle, Lead Forensics and Transas.

Facilities at the campus include cafes, a convenience store, hair and beauty salons, child day nursery, the Village Hotel Portsmouth, charging points for electric vehicles and greener energy from solar PV panels.