Author: Phil Morton

Morton Property Consultants was named Agency of the Year from a shortlist that included many of the high profile agencies in the Region.

The judges were impressed by the achievements of the agency set up by property sector stalwart Phil Morton.

The agency was recently involved in one of the biggest deals of the year which will see law firm Osborne Clarke moving to the Halo Building at the Finzels Reach development.

The judges chose the winner as a result of a series of strong deals for well-known local businesses.

Morton Property Consultants has been shortlisted for 2 of the South West Property Awards celebrating the region’s top industry professionals and deals that took place in the sector in the last year.

• AGENCY OF THE YEAR
• DEAL OF THE YEAR

The standout achievements in the sector over the past 12 months will be recognised and rewarded from the wealth of talent in the community across the South West.

David Clensy, editor of South West Business Insider, said: “Once again we had lots of excellent entries, making the judges’ job particularly tough. Insider’s South West Property Awards is always a real celebration of all the hard work that’s been done in the property and construction community over the last year. It’s more important than ever in these times to celebrate the fantastic achievements the sector has seen.”

Phil Morton, Director of Morton Property Consultants commented, “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for these two awards, highlighting how we have worked passionately with our clients to share our knowledge and expertise in delivering sustainable, flexible solutions for their workplaces of the future.”

MPC wish all nominees the best of luck.

Morton Property Consultants is representing First Intuition who opened its first study centre in 2007. FI create a warm and inviting place that aspiring accountants are supported and treated as individuals and not just a number.  Over 7,000 students annually now use FI and achieve industry leading results.

Philip Morton, Director of Morton Property Consultants says ‘During these tough times it is even more important for occupiers to seek professional assistance when choosing the most appropriate office for their future, we are delighted to give First Intuition our knowledge, experience and guidance in making this important decision.’

Representing Altus Limited, a financial services company, Morton Property Consultants successfully relocated the business to Queen Square House in Bath.  Altus will occupy 2,756 sq ft (256 sq m) of open plan office space at the listed Georgian style office building in Bath City Centre from February 2021.
Founded in 2005, Altus employs more than 80 staff and is a local Bath Fintech success story, recognised as a specialist consultancy in financial services markets.

Phil Morton, Director at Morton Property Consultants, comments: “We are delighted to have secured this high quality office space in the heart of Bath. Having searched the market Queen Square House stood out as the best option offering flexibility both physically and contractually with a significant wellbeing offer, including showers, natural ventilation and a courtyard with cycle racks.”

MORTONS MARKET MONITOR 2020

 

MPC is proud to be awarded the quarterly deals winner having successfully provided strategic property advice and relocations to Osborne Clarke (73,000 sq ft) and Ashfords Solicitors (19,000 sq ft).

MORTONS MARKET MONITOR – H1 2020

Morton Property Consultants are on Top in Commercial Real Estate Deal-Making Competition

CoStar Group, the data/analytics leader of the commercial real estate industry, recently announced the CoStar Awards Quarterly Deals winners for the first quarter of 2020. Philip Morton of Morton Property Consultants came out on top in the list of winners in the South West Region. CoStar Awards Quarterly Deals winners are determined by the top transactions every quarter.

Philip’s professional background includes working at Senior Directorship level for Chesterton, Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE before setting up Morton Property Consultants, a niche practice specialising in offices. With over 27 years experience he has been able to guide occupiers along the tricky path to pastures new with Osborne Clarke being his most recent success where they took 73,991 sq ft at Halo, a new landmark grade A office being developed by Cubex Land on Finzels Reach in Bristol City Centre.

Osborne Clarke announces it’s Bristol office move to Halo, set to be one of the UK’s greenest office buildings.  First pre-let for developer Cubex at Halo, part of its successful Finzels Reach regeneration scheme.

Osborne Clarke will move its Bristol office from its current location in Temple Quay to Halo, a landmark green office building that will form the next phase of award-winning Finzels Reach in Bristol.

Bristol developer Cubex bought the former Avon Fire & Rescue site, which will be home to Halo, in 2018 on behalf of Fiera Real Estate Opportunity Fund IV (UK), a programmatic joint venture by Fiera Real Estate that is exclusive to clients of CBRE Global Investment Partners (CBRE GIP).

Halo will be one of Bristol’s most innovative office buildings and will help cement Osborne Clarke’s reputation as a leading technology law firm; it was the first UK law firm to open an office in Silicon Valley 20 years ago. The UK continues to be a strong powerbase for Osborne Clarke which over the last three years has demonstrated impressive year-on-year financial growth. UK revenues surpassed £150M for the first time in 2019.

Osborne Clarke has agreed to take nearly two thirds of Halo – 74,000 sq ft – two years ahead of its completion. The firm will relocate 600 staff from its Temple Quay office into the leading-edge, smart workspace at Halo, taking the top five floors including a private roof terrace.

Halo is a smart Grade A office building of 116,000 sq ft being developed by Cubex and funded by Fiera Real Estate. It is being constructed across the road from the first phase of Finzels Reach, a growing city centre quarter acknowledged as one of Bristol’s most successful regeneration projects. Halo is set to be one of the greenest office buildings in the UK, targeting a BREEAM Outstanding accreditation to meet the toughest new sustainability assessment criteria. It will take a similar design approach to Aurora at Finzels Reach, which was also recognised for its stand-out environmental and digital credentials.

Before choosing Halo, Osborne Clarke carried out an extensive employee consolation to ensure any new office would meet the needs of its people. Osborne Clarke has consistently been recognised for its outstanding culture by legal website RollOnFriday and at the Managing Partner Forum Awards. In line with these values, the new building will have a greater focus on employee wellbeing, with key features including the outdoor space on the rooftop, a bike park, and a glazed façade to maximise views and allow daylight to fill the space.

Halo’s modern features will complement Osborne Clarke’s future-focused brand. Halo features a unique corkscrew-like staircase rising up through a glass atrium, with highly efficient LED lighting, roof-top mounted photovoltaic panels – and even a drone landing pad. The building’s modern design will maximise space with excellent digital connectivity, allowing Osborne Clarke’s employees to move to a ‘connected working’ style, which has already been adopted in its London and Reading offices.

Osborne Clarke has a long history in Bristol stretching back to 1748, and September 2019 marked 50 years since two of the oldest law firms in Bristol – Osborne Ward and Clarke Gwynn & Press – merged and created the firm named Osborne Clarke. From its Bristol beginnings the firm now has international offices in Europe, Asia and the US. The firm moved to Temple Back in 2002 from offices in Queen Charlotte Street. At the time Osborne Clarke employed around 470 people.

The move will see Osborne Clarke join leading organisations such as Channel 4, Historic England and English Heritage, Simmons & Simmons, Barclays, EDF and Bafta-winning BDH at Finzels Reach. This growing neighbourhood, with new homes, a hotel, and workspace, is also a fast-emerging social hotspot, home to Finzels Reach Market, Left Handed Giant, Mission Pizza, Pacific Yoga, Café Matariki, Spicer & Cole, Bocabar and Le Vignoble.

Ray Berg, Managing Partner of Osborne Clarke UK, said: “We’re incredibly excited to have Halo as our new Bristol home. Its standout design and sustainability credentials are a perfect fit for us as we look to invest in a new building that will take us into the future and create an exciting working space for our people and clients.  “Bristol is widely thought of as the UK’s second centre for law and maintaining a strong base in the city will be vital to our business strategy and ongoing success. In the time we’ve been on Temple Quay, the firm has grown considerably; we’re now a €300m business. We’ve opened many new offices internationally but remain firmly committed to the UK and Bristol.”

Phil Morton of Morton Property Consultants commented, “I am delighted to have worked with Osborne Clarke again after relocating them 16 years ago.  Their vision for the future aspirations of the business and workspace for their staff is second to none and Halo will provide top tier, leading edge space which will enable them to exceed their expectations’.