New tenant, Lost and Found opens its doors in Knutsford, Cheshire

TEM Property were delighted to join Knutsford residents and visitors from outside of the area for the opening party of the new venue in town, the Lost and Found, the latest innovative investment for client Monckton Properties, part of the Tatton Estate and Marston Estate’s Ltd.

There is often criticism when property stands empty for some time and the Town Hall was no exception!  Unknown to the casual observer however there has been a continuous stream of background work.  At first TEM Property pushed the previous tenant to address issues of poor building maintenance, and then marketed the empty listed building with challenging repairing liabilities at the peak of the financial crisis. Whilst numerous potential tenants and suggestions from members of the public were put forward, none fully utilised the Grade 2 Architect Alfred Waterhouse icon with a suitably, funded scheme.  All of these take time to explore and often legal work commences, surveys are undertaken and then the schemes are not progressed an example being the abortive letting back in 2013 to JD Wetherspoon who, although very keen to secure the property, failed to catch the imagination of the public and match the requirements and aspirations of TEM and Monckton.

TEM therefore relaunched the marketing campaign and as part of the complicated lease negotiations agreed that the owner would do all the restoration works which TEM Property project managed before The Revere Pub Co started their fit out. This included the provision of a new substation to cope with the large power demand for the new kitchens, lighting etc which risked delaying opening were it not for the work of TEM Utilities in getting the documentation and installation expedited.

George Osborne MP welcomed the new business to Knutsford at an inaugural lunch as guest of Henry Brooks to discuss the significance of investment in and around the local economy, particularly in relation to providing employment.  The Lost and Found has created 60 new direct jobs for example alone.  Mr Osborne, now more than ever putting his energies into growing the Northern Powerhouse of which Cheshire and the North West are a key part.  The TEM Property team were impressed by George’s history knowledge, including the Town Hall’s starring role in the film Patton, where General George Patton, made his infamous speech.  North Cheshire continues to punch above its weight and its economy has more commuting to it than from it.

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