The ‘topping out’ of Merchant Park’s Phase One 17-acre development in Newton Aycliffe has been celebrated.
The latest milestone marks a significant step forward for the commercial development on Millenium Way at Aycliffe Business Park which will provide 52,500 sq ft and bring 198 jobs to the local area.
Having reached this important milestone, the project is due to complete in September 2025.
Infrastructure works are well underway for Phase 2 and 3 covering 89,000 sq ft and 126,500 sq ft premises, with plans to create more than 1,000 jobs when all three phases of the site are completed.
The ‘topping out’ ceremony was held at Millennium Way by Merchant Park, FW Capital and Hall Construction.
FW Capital has provided investment for Phase One using a seven-figure senior debt package from the North East Commercial Property Investment Fund (CPIF) which is managed by FW Capital and backed by the North East Combined Authority (North East CA).
An incentive has also been provided by the North East CA to support the immediate financial viability gap for the first phase which includes infrastructure costs for the following two phases.
Adrian Goodall, from Merchant Park Developments, said: “I’ve been impressed by the progress on site by our contractors Hall Construction.
“After months of planning and preparation work it’s fantastic to hit this milestone which brings us closer to supporting North-East businesses looking to scale up and locate to new premises.”
Chris Dixon, senior investment executive at FW Capital – pictured above (front left) receiving the topping out trowel by Robert Hall of Hall Construction – said: “It’s great to be involved with the ‘topping out’ ceremony and see first-hand how investment from the CPIF is helping meet the demand for commercial property space in the North-East.
“We share Merchant Park’s vision to create quality commercial warehouse and office space, regenerating a previous barren land.”
Merchant Parks’ development team includes contractors Hall Construction Services, Helm Consulting, letting agents Connect Property North East and CBRE and investment backing from FW Capital and the North East CA.
The North East Commercial Property Investment Fund is a £35m fund which provides loans of up to £7m to support both non speculative and speculative developments for new build or refurbished commercial projects.
This includes industrial units, distribution facilities or office schemes located in the seven authority areas: Northumberland, County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
Repayments will be reinvested in new schemes, creating a total investment of £119m into commercial property in 15 years. It aims to create 5,600 jobs and develop 140,000 sq m of commercial space.