News index:

Ainscough-Johnston adds another NW site
Villagers shape future of former aluminium plant
Halliwell Challenge - Ainscough Companies come roaring through!!
Ainscough looking for properties
Lead roles for Ainscough-Johnston on new Lancashire public-private Partnership board
Ainscough-Johnston partners with community to revitalise North Wales Village

Ainscough-Johnston adds another NW site

Company buys former Nestlé factory in Cheshire

Ainscough-Johnston have signalled their intention to accelerate land acquisition in the North West by completing the purchase of the former Nestlé factory in Cheshire.

The 48-acre site, which includes 18 acres of brownfield land, made Munch Bunch and Ski yoghurt before closing at the end of 2007. The site is located in Cuddington near the A49 and A556 and will be cleared to make way for a mixed-use development.

The site is one of a number which Ainscough-Johnston Ltd intends to acquire in the next 12 months.

Chairman Martin Ainscough stated: "We are looking at a lot of sites at the moment. We are hoping to conclude the acquisition of up to 10 sites in the next 12 months, taking advantage of our cash position. So far we have looked at over 300 sites but only purchased four, which shows we are choosy. We have been careful not to overpay. It's about long-term investment, in the right sites."

Ainscough Johnston managing director Nigel McGurk said the Cuddington site was in a prime position but that the plans for its future were yet to emerge.

He said: "We are very excited by the location. It's in a fantastic place. We are talking to the local authority about creating a sustainable mixed use development. We are going to engage with the community and deliver a project that is right for Cuddington.

Revamp
Since it was formed in October 2007, Ainscough-Johnston has bought two other sites: the former Dolgarrog Aluminium plant in the Conwy Valley, North Wales, and a major 45-acre industrial park in Swinton.

The latter has been named Junction Business Park and is being revamped to increase the amount of space available. It is targeted at occupiers looking for cheap space in a good Greater Manchester location. "We are marketing it as a recession business park," McGurk said.

The Ainscough-Johnston portfolio also includes Farington Business Park and Leyland Business Park, both near Preston, which were acquired by Ainscough in the 1990s. Farington's occupiers include Morrisons, Homebase and Argos and planning permission is soon to be granted for 500 homes on the rest of the site. Around £12m has been spent on Leyland Business Park to improve road access and buildings.

McGurk said the business, which currently employs nine, is about to move into a new purpose built office HQ in Leigh, Lancashire.

Rob Woods, an investment agent at Cushman and Wakefield in Manchester, said: "Cash is king at the moment. Companies like Ainscough-Johnston do not have to raise the finance so they offer a quick turn around to vendors, who can be assured that the sale will complete. Ainscough-Johnston are well set for the future."

Villagers shape future of former aluminium plant

A new era for a small Conwy Valley community devastated by the closure of its main employer nearly two years ago is about to begin.

A team of locally selected volunteers have begun work as part of a major public consultation to help shape the future of the former Dolgarrog aluminium factory.

New owners of the site, strategic land company Ainscough-Johnston, is seeking views from the local community to inform plans for a long-term regeneration project.

Ainscough-Johnston acquired the 40-acre site in July 2008 from administrator KPMG, following the closure of the factory.

Six volunteers from the community have been trained as interviewers, as well as contributing to writing the consultation questionnaires.

They began their duties going door-to-door in Dolgarrog and surrounding villages to gain local opinion. The volunteers were accompanied by a bilingual professional consultant, giving residents the option to give their views in English or Welsh.

Volunteer Carol Loughlin, a resident in Dolgarrog, said: "This is a real opportunity for the community to have its say, so we can have a development that is sympathetic to the needs do the area.

"I’m sure having local people conducting the consultation will help residents feel more comfortable in putting their views forward."

Nigel McGurk, managing director of Ainscough-Johnston, said: "We had a great response to our request for volunteers. Working with the volunteers and getting out into the community is the only way to genuinely understand local opinion. We want to gain an insight into as many people’s views as possible before moving onto the next stage. We believe that Dolgarrog has a bright future and we look forward to helping this strong, positive and knowledgeable community to revitalise itself."

Joining the volunteers is Alun Pugh, chief executive of the Snowdonia Society: "With its location on the edge of the National Park, the Dolgarrog site is important to the Conwy Valley. It’s very encouraging that Ainscough-Johnston has entered in discussion with the community groups about the potential future of this strategic site."

It is envisaged that proposals could include job-creating uses, affordable housing and leisure, amenity uses, and market housing.

The results of the questionnaires will be posted on the website set up by Ainscough-Johnston,
www.dolgarrogregeneration.com
www.dolgarrogregeneration.com

Halliwell Challenge - Ainscough Companies come roaring through!!

The Ainscough group of companies tore up the track at Warrington's Speed Karting track, all in aid of the Halliwell Challenge for the Princes Trust.

The Ainscough group of companies tore up the track at Warrington's Speed Karting track, all in aid of the Halliwell Challenge for the Princes Trust.

The event consisted of 10 teams from the Ainscough associated group of companies, namely Ainscough Vanguard, Ainscough Johnston Ltd, Ainscough Crane Hire, Ainscough Training Services, Lifting Gear Uk, Wrennals Farm Team, Ainscough Metals, Ainscough Building Supplies, and Ainscough Properties. All teams were vying desperately to rise aloft the winning magnum of bubbly at the end of the tournament, so, needless to say, the event wasn't without incident.

Several senior members of staff (who ought to know better!) were black flagged for appalling driving, two team members were disqualified, and strong words were exchanged by Company Directors. Who said competition was dead? In the end the triumphant team was Ainscough Training services, the individual winner being Steve Watham of Ainscough Crane Hire.

A fantastic and enjoyable evening was had by all, raising over £20,000 in donation from company suppliers and contacts in aid of the Prince's Trust, which supports young people to overcome barriers and get their lives working.

All the Ainscough companies would like to thank all suppliers and colleagues who donated monies to help this worthy cause. You can read more about the challenge and the Prince's Trust by following the link below.
www.halliwellschallenge.com/theprincestrust.htm

Ainscough looking for properties

The property company formed by Martin Ainscough after the sale of his crane hire firm is looking to acquire 10 commercial sites in the next two years.

The property company formed by Martin Ainscough after the sale of his crane hire firm is looking to acquire 10 commercial sites in the next two years.

Wigan-based Ainscough Johnston, formed last October, is also preparing to sink £3m into its recently acquired the 48-acre Clifton Bow industrial park in Swinton.

The Ainscough family sold its shareholding in Ainscough Crane Hire to the company's management in a £255m deal last October. And although Nigel McGurk, Ainscough Johnston's managing director, would not disclose the price paid for Clifton Bow, he told Crain's money was available for more sites.

"We have set aside a fund for 10 more sites like Clifton Bow in the next two years," he said. "The value of cash has gone up and that allows us to negotiate hard.

"We are a small, well-funded business and we are flexible. Land prices are falling, so it's a good time to be feeling acquisitive.

"Lots of developers grew in the good times, but maybe too quickly and are now struggling. We have been brought opportunities that were perhaps bought at the top of the market."

"We'd want to be within two hours of Wigan, but we have looked further afield. We wouldn't look at city centre commercial schemes though."

Energy products manufacturer EnerSys currently occupies 70,000 sq ft at the Swinton site and has extended its lease for another three years. Ainscough Johnston is now demolishing some of the park's buildings and refurbishing an existing unoccupied 130,000 sq ft office building.

Competitive pricing

The firm has also closed deals with British Car Auctions and DHL for car storage on six acres of the site and has let 25,000 sq ft of office space with another 49,000 under discussion between two separate requirements.

"There are100 jobs on site now, but we feel there is capacity for 1,000," said McGurk.

"Swinton perhaps doesn't have the same perceptions as somewhere like Towers Business Park or Didsbury Point, so we have to be price competitive. We're marketing office space at around £10 per sq ft and shed space at around £2.50 per sq ft.

"The site is still a bit hidden. We want to open up access to it, and we'd like to see more trains coming in and out of Clifton Station, which is right at the edge of the site. Long-term, there is potential for leisure and housing, although we are not looking at that yet. We want the site to have a village feel to it.

"Trafford Park might always get the headline industrial requirements, but we want to target 50,000 sq ft industrial occupant too."

Colin Chivers, director of Jones Lang Lasalle's national industrial and logistics department, based in Manchester, said there was increasing demand for good quality refurbished stock.

"The past year has seen lots of secondary take up," he said. "Companies are looking for good second-hand stock for cost savings.

"Some lower end sites have gone for residential, so there is room for good second-hand industrial sites to improve and stand out in the market, as well as push rents up. But the really big requirements will always be serviced by bespoke developments."

Lead roles for Ainscough-Johnston on new Lancashire public-private Partnership board

Ten top business people have been charged with transforming Leyland town centre.

The first meeting of the Leyland Forward Board took place last week and the Guardian got an exclusive insight into those who will drive through the ambitious regeneration.

The chairman of the newly formed, private sector-led board, is Nigel McGurk, who is managing director of Leyland giants Ainscough-Johnston.

He said its achievements will be founded on 'good Lancashire common sense and passion for the town'.

He said: "Leyland's got fantastic potential, but it needs to be re-established. This is a new era and the nature of the board is based on influential business people with a commercial commitment to the town."

Mr McGurk said the next step for the board, which has been handed a £100,000 budget, will be to bring in people with a similar 'passion' for Leyland to provide the crucial funds.

The assembled members, all high profile leaders in their own right, agreed that if Leyland remained in the 'status quo' it would be left behind and that the town needed 'repositioning so that it is on the tip of people's tongues'.

Tim Campbell, managing director of Campbell's Commercial Vehicle Marketing Group is on the board, as is Martin Joyce, managing director of Enterprise plc's public sector division; Martin Ainscough, chairman of the Ainscough Group; local solicitor Geoff Lee and organisation the Northern Trust are also representatives, as is Jim Sumner, managing director of Leyland Trucks; Andy Lavin, director of Maple Grove Developments and council leader Margaret Smith, planning and regeneration cabinet member Cliff Hughes and Coun Mike France, who chaired the original regeneration board.

Ainscough-Johnston partners with community to revitalise North Wales Village

Dolgarrog action group helps shape future of old factory site

A community group is being established to safeguard the future of a Conwy Valley community which was ripped apart when its aluminium factory closed in August 2007.

Since Dolgarrog Aluminium closed with the loss of 170 jobs the outlook for the area has been bleak, but with the sale of the 40-acre factory site to Lancashire-based strategic land company Ainscough-Johnston, hopes of new jobs were raised.

AM for Aberconwy Gareth Jones says he is very encouraged by developments since the sale of the site to new owners in July.

"My staff and I have been in close touch with both the developer and the action group and I'm very encouraged by what I've heard," he said.

The former industrial site will undergo a multi-million pound programme bringing sustainable investment into the area. Plans include potential for job-creating uses and for housing, including affordable housing, as well as for leisure and amenity uses.

Thanks to Ainscough-Johnston, the group will be community focused.

"We have begun to evolve a community group which will include members of the community council, neighbours N Power and the local railway , as well as officers and members from the local authority and representatives of the Welsh Assembly Government."

"Our team includes the Wales-based community engagement company Wave Hill, together with the Welsh planning specialist, Dilwyn RobertsThis will be a very thorough community consultation process and will extend over a 6-12 month period, so we achieve the very best outcome for the long term future of Dolgarrog."

Gareth Jones added: "I am very pleased that Nigel McGurk is making sure the community council is kept fully informed of development plans."