A CPO! A business’s worst nightmare

Imagine being forced to relocate from your house. A building that you own. Lived in. Created memories in. Had good times (and bad)... AND you don’t want to leave.   

THEN you have to find a new premises, and in and amongst off all this you need to understand how this complex process is compensated? Not ideal.    

Not ideal, is an understatement. Especially when the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) is related to the property that your business own and occupy. There is a chance you and your staff could be homeless (well ‘officeless’). So when John Wellman the CEO of Bleep UK was served a notice by HS2 to leave an office building that his business had owned and occupied for a decade and find a new HQ by January 2018, you can understand the frustration…   

The issue was made more difficult by the fact that a large part of Park Royal - where Bleep were based - was also subject to Compulsory Purchase Orders and therefore the amount of business space available to relocate to was scarce. Finding a suitable ‘like for like’ premises in close proximity? Even harder. This coupled with the fact that Bleep wanted to buy a building with vacant possession. A tall order.   

Enter Mellersh & Harding in February 2017. Sourcing suitable alternative freehold and leasehold premises within a short radius from the current location was not easy. However, by June 2017 Bleep were under-offer on a 5,700 sq ft warehouse office in an off-market opportunity in Tudor Estate, just 1.5 miles from their current offices. Result? Almost. But not quite. The process of obtaining approval from HS2 and their consultants is not without its difficulties, which puts a huge strain on the legal process. Fortunately Bleep’s new landlord SEGRO were understanding and accommodating during this process. We finally completed the lease in November 2017. Bleep will now start their fit-out process, giving them three months to move by the end of January 2018.    

Mellersh & Harding introduced Bleep to their CPO consultants Dunthorne Development Consulting (DDC), their Solicitors Marriot Harrison and SEC Interiors who advised on their office fit-out. The relocation process couldn’t have been achieved without the expert advice of Julie Dunthorne from DDC who handled the CPO negotiations with HS2’s representatives throughout the process.  



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