AN assurance was given this week that hundreds of news jobs being created on a Wellington business park were secure despite the original developers being struck by financial crises.
Burrington Estates was granted planning permission in September, 2022, to build 56 industrial/commercial units on 5.2 acres of land at Westpark 26, Chelston.
But during the construction of the units earlier this year the developer was rebranded as ONYX Business Parks.
Financial troubles then beset Burrington with the company currently under threat of being struck off by Companies House for failing to provide its annual accounts on time.
The housebuilding arm of the Exeter-based company then ceased trading after making a £14.3 million pre-tax loss last year and with its accounts showing creditors were owed £73 million.
Company directors said it had faced ‘increasingly difficult trading conditions’ and uncertainty in the UK housing market because of rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis.
They said although the new homes side of Burrington Estates was being wound up, the wider Burrington Estates Group was unaffected.
ONYX sales manager Lewis Watts told the Wellington Weekly the Westpark units were now nearing completion and would be ready for tenants to start moving in during February to March.
Mr Watts said: “ONYX Business Parks broke away from Burrington about 10 months ago.
“We are completely separate and have absolutely no involvement with Burrington. There are no links with us now.
“Westpark is not going to change, and the same for our other developments.
“The site was tarmacked at the weekend and is ready to go from the end of February into March when we will be off site.
“Most of the units will be occupied and we only have a few still left to sell.”
Mr Watts said although the planning consent was for 56 units, the firm had only built just over 30 in the early phases of the development and was holding back the remainder of the site for the time being.
He said: “There is plenty of demand and there is a real mix of businesses coming into these units, carpenters, plumbers, a laboratory, and more.
“We are expecting now that it does not look like a building site any more and it is a lot tidier, that we will fill the last few units.”
ONYX plans to deliver 150 units a year of high-quality, flexible, and sustainable commercial office space for local businesses.
It has secured finance from giant investment company BGF and to date has created accommodation for 1,100 employees across the Westcountry.
Research by development consultancy Pegasus Group found the average ONYX development created more than 300 full-time equivalent jobs on site and generated an annual gross value added sum of £10.7 million a year, or £92 million over 10 years.