CPUK wins £12.5m new office contract

Nov 7 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

WEST Lancashire-based Construction Partnership UK (CPUK) has won the contract to build the first phase of a £12.5m office complex on the outskirts of Skelmersdale.

CPUK has unveiled plans to build the new office development for Cheshire-based commercial property firm Metier on a prime site. The development is set to create hundreds of jobs.

CPUK has won the contract to build the three office blocks on a 60,000 square foot site at White Moss Business Park, across the road from its headquarters in the West Lancashire Investment Centre.

It is the latest in a series of multi-million pound high-profile contracts CPUK has been awarded in the past three months. It is involved in a number of high-profile schemes across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire.

Construction work at White Moss will start soon on the offices – the first stage in a £12.5m office park planned by Metier on the prime site, just off junction four of the M58.

Steve Burke, managing director of CPUK, said: “White Moss Business Park is one of the key regeneration projects in the area.

“By building these much-needed new offices, we can help attract new investment and jobs to Skelmersdale.

“The plan is to provide high- quality self-contained modern workplaces for small-to-medium businesses. We would expect to see hundreds of new jobs created in West Lancashire when the whole project is completed and all the offices are occupied.” Phase one of the project comprises nine self-contained units, ranging from between 2,000 sq ft and 4,000 sq ft to a total of 28,000 sq ft in size. Completion is due next summer.

The scheme will add to the growing success of White Moss Business Park. The first, publicly-funded office scheme, the £5.5m West Lancashire Investment Centre, opened in December 2004 and has been fully let since July 2006, with 26 businesses on site and a growing waiting list.

Andrew Hine, director of Metier Group, said: “CPUK stood out as the clear winner of the competitive tender, notably because of its determination to create a high-quality scheme, which further improves this area of Lancashire.

“We have every confidence that CPUK will be able to deliver a scheme which meets occupiers' requirements.”

tonymcdonough