LASER CLINIC FOR LEAMINGTON’S PARK STREET

Leamington’s first high end independent laser clinic has now opened on Park Street.

Set up by business partners Amber Price and Adam Finney, Skintelligence offers everything from skin tightening procedures and rejuvenation to the removal of hair, pigment, vessels and tattoos.

Employing three full time staff with more than 25 years of combined experience, the 1,000 sq ft clinic, which was secured by local estate agency ehB Commerical, has already proven popular with visitors.

Miss Price, who currently lives in Coventry but decided to open her clinic in Leamington after spotting a gap in the market, said: “We haven’t been open for long but we’ve already seen a steady number of visitors through our doors, which isn’t surprising as we’re the first high end independent skin clinic in the town.

“There are a number of other laser/IPL operators in Leamington, as well as chains such as SK:N, but we’re the first independent clinic to offer such a wide range of specialist medical grade aesthetic services under one roof – especially when it comes to our tattoo removal department which can remove any colour ink – something which is quite unique in our industry.

The Park Street premises has also already attracted the services of a self-employed nurse prescriber who offers injectable and medical rejuvenation procedures, an experienced beauty therapist, and the UKs largest micropigmentation training provider.

Simon Hain, director at ehB Commercial, said: “Skintelligence offers a real unique service and I’m sure Amber and the team will do very well in Leamington.

“Amber had actually visited the space on Park Street several times in its former guise as a beauty salon, but initially looked into alternative locations as she thought the premises would be out of her price range. She was thrilled when she found out the rent was under £20,000 per annum – a great price for a space of this size.”

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY DIRECTOR SCOOPS THE HONOURS

A director of a Leamington firm of commercial property consultants has triumphed in a national awards competition, winning the title of Warwickshire’s ‘Deal Maker of the Year’.

Simon Hain, a director of ehB Commercial, is the fifth winner from the firm to have lifted the trophy in the six-year history of the competition, which is run by leading trade journal Estates Gazette.

The firm itself has also been named ‘Most Active Agent of the Year’ four times.

Mr Hain said: “This is a great honour for me but also for the team as a whole, who have worked very hard through some tough times.

“We have managed to keep busy over the last few years despite the economic situation. We have worked hard to match prospective tenants and buyers with the right property in a market with constricting supply. A broad spectrum of buildings in all commercial property sectors means we can provide a comprehensive service, covering large and small. We pride ourselves on getting the deals done, however lucrative.

“We have successfully handled sales and lettings of all sorts of commercial property, from the single office and corner shop to large office blocks and extensive warehouses,” he said, adding that he thought the South Warwickshire’s commercial property market was currently looking positive.

Over 12 months ehB Commercial carried out deals with a value approaching £16.3 million freehold and lease deals with a £2.3 million rent roll, comprising industrial and warehouse units, offices and retail outlets.

NEW CAFE BRINGS JAPANESE HOME COOKING TO LEAMINGTON

A new Leamington café is bringing the best of Japanese home cooking to Warwickshire thanks to the culinary skills of owners and managers Nana Hirayama and Mary-Jane Bond.

Nana’s Japanese Café has been open for less than a month but business at the Regent Street eatery is already booming.

The 647 sq ft café, which was secured by Leamington-based estate agency ehB Commerical, opens 11am-3pm Monday to Saturday, and provides traditional Japanese dishes with a modern flair.

Mary-Jane said: “Nana is originally from Tokyo and I’m from Nagoya so we both have a great deal of knowledge when it comes to Japanese cooking.

“We wanted to offer our diners dishes which they could expect if they visited us in a Japanese home, so we created a menu with recipes which have been passed down by our families, alongside western dishes with an oriental flair.

“So far business has been going extremely well – we very rarely see any food left on the plates when they come back to the kitchen.”

Nana and Mary-Jane both live in the Cotswolds but make the daily commute to Leamington due to their love of the town.

Nana said: “I attended Coventry University and fell in love with Leamington. The vibrant selection of small independent businesses has made it the perfect place to open our café and we already have a number of regulars, which is fantastic.”

Jonathan Blood, assistant surveyor at ehB Commercial, said: “We’re thrilled to hear that Nana’s Japanese Café is already thriving. Regent Street is a perfect location for the café and I’m sure the business will continue to be extremely successful during the remainder of the three-year lease.”

Multi-national firm’s move to new £5m building on edge of Warwick is on track

A multi-national group is on track to move into its new £5 million headquarters early next year.

Swiss-owned Geberit is Europe’s largest manufacturer of sanitary ware, with a global presence through its subsidiaries. After being based on Tournament Fields on the outskirts of Warwick for the past seven years, it will now be relocating across the road to new purpose-built offices and showroom.

Managing director Mark Larden said: “We are all very excited about the new building, which we can see from our windows rising up opposite; on track to be opened in January or February next year.

“Everyone is very positive about the move and is excited about the new showroom, which will be state of the art.

“We wanted to stay on Tournament Fields as it’s well-placed for motorways and rail links and well suited to our expansion plans, so this is ideal for us.”

The new premises were secured for Geberit by Leamington-based commercial property consultants ehB Commercial.

Simon Hain, a director of ehB Commercial, said: “We’ve gone full circle really as it was us who found their current headquarters, Geberit House – which we are imminently about to bring to the market – and now their new one.”

Mr Hain said the new headquarters would be a 22,500 sq ft two-storey building – twice the size of Geberit’s current offices.

Geberit recently acquired Twyford, the 150-year-old Staffordshire manufacturer of bathroom fittings, whose staff will be among the 70 employees moving to the new building next year.

Tech firm moves UK base under one roof

INTERNATIONAL technology company Semcon has relocated its UK headquarters from Kineton to Warwick.

The Swedish giant, which was based at Kineton, has moved its 115-strong UK team to a new purpose-built facility on Tournament Fields. Semcon is a global company providing engineering services and product information to help companies develop products in such industries as automotive, life science, telecommunications and energy.

The group has 45 sites on three continents with more than 3,000 employees. Its services include product development, product information, quality, training and methodology development.

Torsten Sundin, Country Manager at Semcon Product Information UK, said: “We had outgrown the facility at Kineton, where we were separated across several buildings. At our new location we are all under one roof, which means greater advantages for our staff in terms of shorter communication paths and a greater opportunity to easily work together.”

The new site will house Semcon’s workshop technical authors, graphic illustrators and animators, method technicians, owners’ information authors and product development engineers, as well as IT, HR, finance and business development.

Nicholas Evans, a director of Leamington commercial property consultants ehB Commercial, which acted for Semcon in acquiring the building, said: “The building has extremely modern facilities and has been customised for even better service.

“It also provides a more efficient workspace for Semcon’s staff and gives us potential to expand in the future with excellent customer service.”