Marrtree Investments, the prominent Yorkshire property development and investment company, has moved its headquarters into prime new premises at Cardale Park, Harrogate.
Marrtree, relocating from Bradford because of an expanding portfolio, has bought quality 6,000 sq ft offices at 4 Greengate, which it is occupying and leasing out.
The company, which was founded in 1985, specialises in both commercial and residential property, with developments across the north of England from Blackburn to Berwick to Bridlington and Doncaster.
William Marshall, director of Marrtree, said: The revival of confidence in the property market, after the long hard years of the recession, presents good opportunities for us and we must take them. We have bought our new offices, in the heart of Harrogate’s premier business park, to do exactly that.
We have taken 1,500 sq ft of Grade A office space ourselves, with 3,000 sq ft leased to Grosvenor Facilities Management, and have 1,500 sq ft available to let.
Andrew Jackson of Grosvenor Facilities Management said: “Grosvenor House Group are delighted to be tenants within Marrtree’s new head office building at Cardale Park in Harrogate.
They have shown themselves to be proactive and flexible and we see our relationship more as neighbours than landlord and tenant.
Cardale Park is the ideal location for our businesses being centrally placed within the UK and supported by good transport links whilst retaining the accessibility to the beautiful town centre.
Although Marrtree was founded in 1985 by William’s father Frank Marshall – now chairman – the company can trace its origins back three generations to 1922 when it was a quarrying and property business in Halifax, owned by William’s grandfather Frank Marshall Snr. It has now evolved into a major player in the Yorkshire property market, but still continues its quarrying activities in Halifax and Bradford.
William Marshall said: Marrtree is very much a family business with family business values. My father is still involved and my brother George is a co-director. We believe strongly that we are the guardians of the business for future generations and that is our driving force.
We have just completed a successful speculative business unit development at St James Business Park in Knaresborough, which is 85 per cent let, and have recently bought a 3.5 acre mixed-use site in Doncaster. Other current projects include a mews development and the refurbishment of a number of flats and houses in Harrogate and the planned development of nine houses in Ilkley.
It is our goal to double the size of the company’s portfolio within the next 10 years through focussed acquisition, concentrating on the M62/M1/A1 corridor, with its superb transport links.
Our portfolio is composed mostly of industrial properties, ranging from 1,500 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft, but we do have some office and retail investments as well across Yorkshire and are constantly on the look-out for worthwhile opportunities in the north of England, as the commercial property market picks up and confidence returns.
Our small management structure, which includes financial director Guy Northrop, together with our lack of gearing, allows us to make swift decisions which can put us in pole position when negotiating deals. As a hands-on company, we also do our very best to look after the interests of our tenants, believing that a personal approach ensures any issues or problems are swiftly addressed.
The marketing agents for the remaining office space at 4 Greengate are the Harrogate-based Feather Smales Scales.
