Annual review 2023 - Mamhilad Park Estate Annual review 2023 - Mamhilad Park Estate

Annual review 2023

Andrew Wilkinson Chairman

As 2023 draws to a close, it is an opportune moment to reflect on the year and all that has been achieved at Mamhilad Park Estate.

In the words of T S Elliott ‘every moment is a fresh beginning’ but we never lose sight of the simple fact that our success is built upon the success of our occupiers.

The constant arrival of new occupiers means that our flexi office occupancy rates have remained consistently high at over 90% this year, even with a 20% increase in supply. However, we are mindful that this is no time to take our foot off the pedal so have appointed commercial property agents JLL and Cooke & Arkwright to market our industrial and office space. You will see their boards around the park.

Many of our occupiers are growing and I am pleased to say that we will shortly start the refurbishment of 72,000 sq. ft in the listed building ready for NHS Wales who are doubling their storage space with us having signed a new 11 year lease.

We have also carried out refurbishments for South Wales Police this year along with two floors in Mamhilad House while Pontypool-based A P Waters are about to start repair work on the original British Nylon Spinners Tower. As firm believers of supporting the local economy by buying locally wherever possible, we are delighted to be welcoming A P Waters to our supply chain.

Our continued investment in Mamhilad enables us to work with our occupiers to provide a flexible approach to space as needed. We are proud of the business park and particularly grateful to our facilities and landscaping teams who work hard to maintain the buildings and grounds.  I know that the natural beauty of the park and sense of community is something that everyone appreciates.

It was therefore a real delight to welcome pupils from Rougemont School to Mamhilad last week. Their superb singing was an excellent start to the festive period and I am very grateful to Marcia Price and her team at Public Health Wales for organising the very special event.

I am also very grateful to all of you who gave so generously to the Age Cymru Gift Box Appeal. We collected over 100 parcels for Care & Repair Torfaen that are sure to make Christmas a little brighter for the elderly in Torfaen and Monmouthshire this year.

As we head in to 2024, I look forward to continuing our work with the local community and the businesses around us. Indeed, January will see the launch of the second Torfaen and Monmouthshire Business Awards that we are pleased to be supporting again.

Scheduled for June, the Awards will give us a good opportunity to celebrate success at a critical time for the economy as we approach a general election later in the year. Let’s hope that a period of political stability will bring us greater economic certainty and that we will all be feeling much more settled and confident as 2024 unfolds.

In the meantime, you can be certain that we will continue to do our best for Mamhilad Park Estate and for all those that have chosen to base their organisations here.

With my best wishes to you all for Christmas and the new year,

Andrew Wilkinson

Chair