Legal & General has put The Spark, a 12-storey fully-let office building at Newcastle Helix, on the market with a guide price of £33.95 million. The sale is being handled by Savills, which says the asking price represents a net initial yield of 8% and that a completed deal would set a new benchmark for best-in-class office investment in the North East.
The Spark opened in 2022 and was among the first buildings to be completed at Newcastle Helix, the 24-acre science and business campus developed on the former Scottish and Newcastle Brewery site near St James’ Park. The campus brings together office, residential and scientific uses, and houses institutions and businesses in buildings including The Core, Biosphere and The Catalyst.
Spanning ground level and eleven upper floors, The Spark provides 105,906 sq ft of premium office space and holds a BREEAM Excellent rating alongside an EPC ‘A’ energy performance certificate. The building is supplied by the site’s District Energy Centre, a centralised heating system delivered via underground pipes that is projected to save more than 30,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the next 40 years.
Current tenants include Womble Bond Dickinson, the region’s largest law firm, and the National Audit Office. The building will shortly reach full occupancy after Arden University — headquartered in Coventry — agreed to take 27,095 sq ft across the ground, first, second and third floors, a deal expected to complete in early spring.
Peter Atkinson, director in Savills’ Newcastle investment team, described The Spark as one of the finest office buildings in the city, arguing that constrained supply and strong occupier demand point to significant rental growth ahead for prime space in the market.
The sale comes a week after Newcastle City Council approved a publicly-funded refurbishment of The Core, the first building to open at the Helix development, which has been flagged as underperforming due to vacancy levels.