Quality pays for Yorks conversion

1 February 2002




Quality pays for Yorks conversion

Turning a redundant farm building into rented office

accommodation could be seen as an easy way to generate

income, with little effort involved after the initial conversion

has been carried out. But is it really that easy?

Wendy Owen spoke to Lord Ronaldshay, who has

transformed a dilapidated stable block on his North

Yorkshire farm estate into an award-winning office complex

THE Aske Stables conversion is right in the heart of Lord Ronaldshays Zetland estate near Richmond, which includes several farms and a large stately home. The 20,000sq ft courtyard opened in August 2000 after taking almost two years to complete and is now home to 12 businesses. Last year (2001), the development won The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Yorkshire award for the best commercial building.

The stable block was built in 1887 and is mainly on ground floor level, with some two-storey units originally used for hay storage or to provide accommodation for the grooms. The building was taken over as an army barracks during the war but it then lay empty until the early 1970s, when it had a brief and unsuccessful period as a poultry unit. After that, farm machinery and odds and ends were stored inside it but the roof had begun to leak and major repairs were needed.

&#42 Drove past

"It was depressing to look at and I wondered what could be done with it every time I drove past," says Lord Ronaldshay. "I considered several other options, including turning it into houses or flats. But I didnt really want it to be occupied full-time because there are three rented cottages right next door and it might have upset the existing tenants. The local council werent keen on that idea either.

"It might have made a good nursing home but as a family we have no skills in that department. Our business is property – owning and letting – and I think its always best to stick to what you know.

"Workshops or a craft centre would have been much cheaper to set up, but as with most low-input enterprises, the output would have been significantly lower too. With a listed building, there is a lot of additional expense in its conversion so the returns need to be fairly high to compensate.

"I did get a grant at the start but it was only a small proportion of the overall costs. There were also a number of hidden extras – finances can get in a muddle because there is a grey area between improvements needed for the conversion and the expense of upgrading the surrounding land. It is important to make the whole thing pleasing to the eye when potential tenants come and look round.

"For example, I knew the road leading up to the offices would need a new surface but I have had to extend the tarmac a long way beyond that to make the whole thing look uniform."

Another expense which has to be taken into account is the high level of business rate tax demanded from anyone who owns offices. This is payable even if the office units are empty, although units in the Aske Stables are not subject to business rates unless they are occupied because of the buildings listed status.

Obtaining planning permission was a long and complicated process but Lord Ronaldshay says the local council could not have been more helpful. The authorities were keen to see the building restored and were reassured because a specialist company was brought in to advise.

An old blackmiths shop next to the stables has also been incorporated into the conversion and the 600sq ft building is used as a conference centre and boardroom by the tenants. It is also available to anyone else who wishes to hire it.

The Aske Stables complex is three miles away from the busy A1 and less than two miles outside Richmond town centre. But although he admits that location does have to be considered when thinking about this type of project, Lord Ronaldshay does not feel it has been the overriding factor in the success of his venture.

"It depends on what potential clients are looking for," he says. "It can take a long time to reach a city or large town and even longer to find a place to park. So a drive through the countryside with easy parking at the other end can seem like an attractive prospect."

So far, there has been no need to advertise for new tenants but brochures have been distributed to estate agents around the country. The offices have attracted various different types of business, including a medical recruitment agency, a mobile telephone company and the administration arm of a company which sells car exhausts.

&#42 Secure lease

"The aim is to attract small to medium sized businesses which will expand to take the place of other tenants who have left," explains Lord Ronaldshay. "I would not be keen to let the whole block to just one company unless it was a very well-established operation which was prepared to sign a secure lease."

The office space is rented out on flexible terms based on a standard lease lasting a minimum of one year. The two parties agree a rent depending on the number of rooms needed and the money is paid by standing order on a quarterly basis. Lord Ronaldshay estimates that if borrowed money were used for a similar project, his capital investment would take around 10 years to recover.

As a listed building, the basic layout of the four-sided courtyard could not be changed. But it was important to keep the main design as open plan as possible and to divide the office space using easily-removable partitions.

The telephone cabling is linked to a central point and new lines can be added when necessary.

Each tenant has an electricity meter but the oil-fired central heating is paid for on a price/sq foot basis, charged at cost. The clients are also required to pay a proportion of the buildings insurance, depending on space.

Quality is a big consideration and Lord Ronaldshay feels it would have been a mistake to skimp on the standard of materials.

"Town and city dwellers like things to look and feel expensive. To attract and keep office occupiers, you need to provide an office environment and that means normal farming operations have to be kept out of sight. And you cannot just put a building up and leave it, it requires maintenance to keep it looking tidy."

But it is not just building maintenance that takes up time. There are queries from the tenants on a daily basis during the week. Lord Ronaldshay is lucky enough to have an estate administrator who deals with any problems that arise.

"There has to be someone available at least during weekdays to manage parcel deliveries and respond to all sorts of requests," he says. "If a farmer has experience in running a bed and breakfast business or something similar, he will be used to this sort of thing but if not, he may find that it takes up far more time than he might have imagined."

Aske Stables conversion is aimed at small to medium-sized businessses.


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