News & Media - Robinson Layer

New blood, same ethos at Robinson Layer…

Commercial property specialists Robinson Layer have gone through a significant transition recently. Jonathan Lager retired in March and Peter Layer ended his consultancy to the business at the end of 2023.

Sweet warehouse sale in Soham

Robinson Layer have concluded the sale of Cumberland House, a 20,000 sq ft industrial office building on the well-established Regal Lane industrial area of Soham for Dietary Foods Ltd.

Lights on at the Lanterns, Royston

A flurry of lettings at The Lanterns in Royston have taken place following Robinson Layer’s instructions to market and promote the office development.

Cutting Edge Podiatry Steps into Barnwell Road with Just For Pets

Robinson Layer have concluded two new lettings on the popular Barnwell Road to Just for Pets and Cutting-Edge Podiatry.

Office Sales on Newmarket Road, Cambridge

Robinson Layer have successfully completed two office sales at 4 & 4A Newmarket Road, Cambridge to FM Family Law Ltd and Centre 33.

WAREHOUSE ON BUSY NEWMARKET ESTATE TO LET

An 8,500 sq ft trade warehouse and office space will be available in October on Newmarket’s popular Studlands Park Industrial Estate through agents, Robinson Layer.

A NEWMARKET COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT SOLD TO EQUINE GROUP

The racing and bloodstock management group, Global Equine Group, has purchased the office block at 5 King’s Court, Newmarket, to the north of the town centre and close to the a14 junction at Exning.

FORMER PERIOD PUB FOR RENT AS OFFICES

The Woolpack in Sawston is for let as modern offices through Robinson Layer. Partner, Peter Layer is handling the marketing. He said: “The building is well located on the High Street. The original pub built in 1685 and around that time the cellars were reputedly an illegal storehouse for wool to avoid tax.

CENTRALLY LOCATED OFFICES TO LET IN COURTYARD SCHEME

Robinson Layer is marketing 1,335 sq ft of offices over two floors at Sturton Courtyard, just off Mill Road. Newly redecorated and with new windows, LED lighting and carpet, there is 615 sq ft on the ground floor in two offices and three rooms totalling 637sq ft of vaulted-ceilinged offices on the first floor.

ELY MODERN OFFICES ON FLEXI TERMS AND NO RATES

A first floor suite of 805 sq ft has just come into the market at Prospect Point on the Cambridgeshire Business Park, Ely. Currently, it is occupied by recruitment firm Argo Aviation International, who are moving out to larger premises due to the rapid growth of their business. The end of terrace unit it is offered on flexible terms at £13,500 per annum exclusive.

LABORATORY AND OFFICES TO LET AT BUCKINGWAY BUSINESS PARK

A two storey modern business unit of 4,305 sq ft is now available within the hi-tech location at Buckingway Business Park, Swavesey. Fitted out to a high standard with laboratory facilities, offices and storage space, the unit is a terraced property at 18 Meridian.

TRADE COUNTER POTENTIAL AT BAR HILL

The new A14 trunk route opens up the opportunity for a well-sited trade counter at Bar Hill’s Trafalgar Way. The 7,610 sq ft unit is available from July and Mark Robinson said: “The size and location, now that the major road improvements are being completed, is a great chance to establish a significant outlet just north of Cambridge with excellent road connections.

CHARITABLE OUTCOME FROM PROPERTY SWAP

A carefully planned property swap has been finalised by Mark Robinson of Robinson Layer, enabling a major charity and a leading building services group to effectively ‘exchange’ properties.

MAJOR ELY OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE COMPLEX SOLD FOR £1.1 MILLION

A major complex of nearly 10,000 sq ft on the Cambridgeshire Business Park in Ely has been sold for £1.1 million by Robinson Layer. Formerly occupied by Melrose Press, it has been bought by a private investor to let to his company, Horizon Retail Marketing Solutions Ltd, which designs and produces innovative retail displays for world class brands and retailers.

CHANCE TO TRANSFORM MILTON WAREHOUSE

Robinson Layer is marketing 3,655 sq ft of office and warehousing in Winship Road, Milton. The accommodation could lend itself to research and development or other uses, subject to planning consent. The space is being vacated by stationers Kernow Plusfile, who will continue to occupy a smaller area in the main building.

RATES FREE MODERN OFFICE SUITE CLOSE TO NEWMARKET ROAD

A first floor office suite of 635 sq ft in Signet Court, just behind Newmarket Road, near Stourbridge Common, is being marketed by Robinson Layer. For a suitable business it could be free of business rates.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS…

Clarity, certainty and a decisive General Election result – these are top of Mark Robinson’s Christmas List. The uncertainty over Brexit has dragged on the commercial property throughout this year, and, although Cambridge lives in its own bubble, demand has slowed in most categories.

CENTRALLY LOCATED OFFICES TO LET IN COURTYARD SCHEME

Robinson Layer is marketing 805 sq ft of offices over two floors at Sturton Courtyard, just off Mill Road. Newly redecorated and recarpeted, there is 230 sq ft on the ground floor with a spiral staircase to 620 sq ft of open plan vaulted-ceilinged offices on the first floor.

ARCHITECTS TAKE UPDATED OFFICE SUITE OFF NEWMARKET ROAD

Award winning local architects, Haysom Ward Miller, have taken just over 1,000 sq ft of refurbished offices at Munro Court, Mercers Row, off Newmarket Road. The firm is moving as a result of hotel development plans for their previous offices in Downing Place in central Cambridge.

LARGE SOHAM SHOP TO LET

The former One Stop store in Soham is now being marketed by Robinson Layer.

LAW FIRM MERGER INCREASES SPACE NEED

CB4Law on Milton Road has merged with Family Law Group, a law firm specialising in family law with offices across the Midlands and Home Counties.

NEW HAIR AND BEAUTY LOUNGE FOR CHERRY HINTON

Robinson Layer has let a prominent lock up shop on Cherry Hinton Road to Chic Hair and Beauty Lounge Ltd on a new six year lease at £16,500 per annum.

ARE TURKISH BARBERS A CUT ABOVE THE REST?

Although the Cambridge market in off centre shops has slowed down generally, there is a niche in the market that seems to be particularly buoyant – Turkish barbers.

TWO US BASED FIRMS OPEN UK HQ IN ELY REDEVELOPMENT

Two US based firms in hi-tech industries have taken office space in Ely High Street, above the EACH shop, for their UK headquarters.

DRAGONLIGHT FILMS ALIGHTS ON SIGNET COURT

ocal award winning film production company, DragonLight Films, has moved into new premises in Signet Court, off Newmarket Road.

FAST GROWTH PROPELS VELOCITY TO PIONEER COURT

Local Sunday Times Fast Track 100 company, Velocity Commerce, has taken additional space at Newton House in Pioneer Court on the Vision Park Business Park in Impington.

GLASSWORKS GYM STRETCHES TO VICTORIA ROAD

The city centre Glassworks Health Club and Spa has taken extra administration space at 68 Victoria Road.

MAJOR ELY OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE COMPLEX FOR SALE OR RENT

A major complex of nearly 10,000 sq ft on the Cambridgeshire Business Park in Ely is being offered for sale or to rent. The offices total 4,700 sq ft over two floors and the warehouse 5,225 sq ft.

NEWMARKET COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT OFFERS ATTRACTIVE 7.6 PERCENT

A fully let office building in Newmarket offers an investor around 7.6 percent gross yield. On the market through Robinson Layer, the property is 5 King’s Court on Willie Snaith Road.

AN INCENTIVE FOR SMALLER FIRMS TO SAVE ON COSTS

The cost saving benefits of Small Business Rate Relief is clearly demonstrated with an office move just completed by Robinson Layer. By moving from a high rent building to one with a Rateable Value below £12,000, their client The Roger Driver Partnership has made substantial savings.

VERSATILE FREEHOLD OFFICE BUILDING FOR SALE IN WICKEN

Robinson Layer is offering for sale a freehold office building in the village of Wicken, nine miles south of Ely.

DREAM STUDIO FOR CERAMICS ARTIST

The long leasehold of a retail unit at Rookery Place in Fenstanton has been sold by Robinson Layer to a ceramics artist for £105,000, to create what she describes as her ‘dream studio’. The lease has more than 120 years remaining.

LITTLE GYM TO TRANSFORM MILTON WAREHOUSE

A rather boring standard warehouse in Milton is about to be transformed into a wonderland for children. Robinson Layer has let a 3,600 sq ft warehouse in Winship Road to The Little Gym which is relocating from French’s Road in Chesterton.

NEW OFFICES TO LET IN ELY

Newly refurbished offices in Ely High Street are now being marketed by Robinson Layer.

RARE FREEHOLD OFFICES FOR SALE AT STOW COURT, STOW CUM QUY

Robinson Layer is marketing 2,837 sq ft of freehold offices at Stow Court, Stow-cum-Quy.

SALVATION ARMY SOHAM HQ FOR SALE

The freehold former HQ of the Soham Salvation Army is being offered for sale by Robinson Layer. Totalling around 1,500 sq ft, it is located just off Soham High Street in a mainly residential area.

FORMER BETTING SHOP ON THE MARKET IN SAWSTON

The former William Hill betting shop in Sawston High Street is being marketed by Robinson Layer.

NEW VAPING SHOP LAUNCHED IN ELY

The former Anglia Wines shop in Ely High Street has been taken over by Stag and Dagger Vape.

RATES FREE MITCHAM'S CORNER SHOP TO RENT

A vacant shop unit is being marketed in the prominent shopping parade located in Milton Road close to Mitcham’s Corner, by Robinson Layer.

IMPOSING LOCATION FOR NEWMARKET RESTAURANT

Few buildings in Newmarket High Street have such an imposing design as the former Doric Cinema building, almost opposite the Jockey Club headquarters.

UPDATED OFFICE SUITE CLOSE TO NEWMARKET ROAD TO LET

Robinson Layer is marketing a newly refurbished office suite of just over 1,000 sq ft in Mercers Row, close to Newmarket Road and the retail park.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY PIONEERS EXPAND IN GARLIC ROW

Just over 2,500 sq ft of additional space has been taken by Alchemie Technology at Murdoch House, Garlic Row, off Newmarket Road.

QUICK TURNAROUND AT CAMBRIDGE PLACE

Robinson Layer has negotiated an off-market deal that has allowed two companies sharing a single building to meet their future requirements.

FORMER PUBLISHERS ELY PREMISES ON THE MARKET

The collapse of Melrose Press at the end of last year has brought to the market their 11,000 sq ft office and warehouse premises on Cambridgeshire Business Park, Ely.

CENTRAL ELY RETAIL AND OFFICES SOLD

The former newspaper offices in Market Place, Ely, have been sold by Robinson Layer to a local property investor, close to the asking price of £285,000.

RARE INDUSTRIAL FREEHOLD WITHIN CITY FOR SALE

Robinson Layer has a 3,500 sq ft detached self-contained building for sale in Ditton Walk, just off Newmarket Road, to the east of the city centre with quick access to the A14.

RURAL OFFICES TAKEN BY SOFTWARE SPECIALISTS

Robinson Layer has completed the letting of 2 Burr Elm Court in Caldecote, about eight miles west of Cambridge city centre.

RACE TO FILL NEWMARKET OFFICES

A flurry of tenants has snapped up office suites in Surrey House which is in the middle of Newmarket High Street, above the M&Co retail clothes shop

MAIN ROAD RETAIL UNIT TO LET ON HISTON ROAD

Robinson Layer is marketing a prominently positioned retail unit located in a busy retail section of Histon Road.

AVIATION RECRUITMENT FIRM LANDS IN ELY

Argo Aviation International has opened an office in Ely for the recruitment of maintenance, production and engineering aviation staff.

PROMINENT RETAIL UNIT IN ELY ON OFFER

At the Cathedral end of Ely High Street, Robinson Layer is marketing a shop unit of 507 sq ft, suitable for a range of trades.

COMPLEXITY DEFINES ROBINSON LAYER’S YEAR

If one word defines Robinson Layer’s last 12 months is must be ‘Complexity’.

RED BALLOON FLOATS UP TO MILTON

Red Balloon educational charity is taking nearly 4,700 sq ft of offices at the former Cambridge News HQ at Milton on the north side of Cambridge.

ARCHITECTS EXPAND INTO COURTYARD OFFICES

Neubau Architecture is gaining a significant number of major development schemes here and abroad. To handle its expansion, it is taking additional office space at Sturton Courtyard, in the city centre.

NEXT STAGE IN ROYSTON PROPERTY SUCCESS STORY

One of Royston’s defining commercial property successes has been the recent relocation of Royston Labels into the totally refurbished 17-20 Greenfield on the Orchard Road estate, which totals over 60,000 sq ft on a two acre site, and the disposal of a range of property previously occupied by the company which has raised more than £1.25 million.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHER MOVES TO WESTBROOK CENTRE

Scientific publishers, eLife, is moving into new premises at the Westbrook Centre off Milton Road to take 5,370 sq ft of office space.

WOODLAND WISHES CASTS A SPELL ON FULBOURN

Robinson Layer has let a retail unit in Fulbourn High Street to Woodland Wishes, who specialise in environmentally friendly, natural burials.

FLEXIBLE LEASES ON PRIME OFFICE LOCATION

Two suites of offices on the corner of Brooklands Avenue and Hills Road are being offered on flexible leasing terms by Robinson Layer. Occupying a prominent position within the city’s prime office area, the units provide 822 sq ft and 985 sq ft.

SCARCITY DRIVING ROYSTON COMMERCIAL VALUES

Scarcity of quality commercial property is driving up values in Royston.

POPULAR CITY CENTRE COURTYARD OFFICES TAKEN BY PUBLISHER

The Courtyard in Sturton Street has acquired a new tenant, Windhorse Publications, the Buddhist publisher. Established in 1974, and based in Cambridge since 2007, it publishes life-changing books on meditation, mindfulness and Buddhism.

MAJOR VAPING SUPPLIER ARRIVES ON NEWMARKET HIGH STREET

Vape and Juice, a leading supplier of alternative smoking devices and ingredients, is opening shop on Newmarket High Street, in the former Swinton Insurance premises, next door to Peacocks.

REGIONAL BUILDING GROUP TAKES COTTENHAM UNIT

Robinson Layer has signed up Foster Property Management for an 1,160 sq ft unit at Cottenham’s Brookfield Business Centre.

MILL ROAD SEEING MORE ACTION ON RETAIL

Mill Road, just off the city centre, continues to grow in popularity as a retail venue, resulting in rising values, according to Jonathan Layer of agents Robinson Layer. He said: “Despite the headline stories about doom and gloom on the high street, Mill Road shows the opposite.”

COMPLEX CAMBOURNE DEAL CREATES EXPANSION SPACE

Mark Robinson of Robinson Layer has just completed a complex series of leasing deals at Cambourne Business Park to fire up the expansion of major global chip maker MediaTek, leading them to trade up from 16,000 sq ft to over 30,000 sq ft in three years’ time.

GARLIC ROW CREATES TECHNOLOGY HUB

A leading ink jet firm has taken space in Murdoch House, Garlic Road, Cambridge.

ROYSTON FIVE YEAR RELOCATION PLAN COMPLETED

Robinson Layer has completed a five year relocation plan on behalf of Royston Labels.

UNIQUE POTENTIAL WITH CAMBRIDGE OFFICE INVESTMENT

At Signet Court, Newmarket Road, there is the opportunity for an investor to purchase an occupied investment property or for a company looking to buy its own premises.

PREMIER SHOP ON ELY HIGH STREET TO LET

Number 1 Ely High Street is being marketed by Robinson Layer. Adjacent to the Lamb Hotel at the top of the shopping street and close to the Cathedral, it offers a prominent trading position.

HANDSOME RURAL OFFICES CLOSE TO GRANTA PARK

An attractive brick built suite of rural offices is being marketed by Robinson Layer, almost midway between Granta Park and Chesterford Research Park, about nine miles south of Cambridge city centre.

SUCCESSFULLY JUGGLING RETAIL SPACE IN SAWSTON

Robinson Layer has been successfully juggling retail space in Sawston over the last four or five months in a property managed by them.

MAJOR DISTRIBUTION CENTRE LET IN SAWSTON

London City Bond Ltd (LCB) is the UK’s leading Drinks Logistics and Tax Warehousing company, and has expanded further as the new tenant of the 49,200 sq ft former Libra building on Sawston’s Dales Manor Business Park.

RESOURCES GROUP MOVES TO SIGNET COURT

An office unit of 852 sq ft at Signet Court has just been let by Robinson Layer to Cambridge Women’s Resources Centre who are moving from Hooper Street in the city centre.

TWO RURAL COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET

Low cost rural offices and warehouse properties provide a lifeline for smaller companies wanting to tap into the Cambridge market. Robinson Layer is marketing just over 2,000 sq ft of offices and ancillary space in Caldecote, near Cambourne, and 1,160 sq ft of warehousing at Cottenham.

OFFICES SOLD IN GREAT SHELFORD

Located in the centre of the village Robinson Layer has sold an office building totalling 980 sq ft in Great Shelford for £265,000.

GOOD DEMAND FOR ELY RETAIL PROPERTY

Ely has been rated as one of the best performing town centres in the UK, and this can be seen with the latest shops marketed by Robinson Layer. The former Ely News premises on Market Place quickly went under offer with an asking price of £285,000.

WINSHIP HOUSE FLYING OFF THE SHELF

Marketing of Winship House, former HQ of Cambridge News, has produced a further letting of 4,500 sq ft to a leading accountancy firm, PEM.

NEWMARKET LOSES LEADING SCIENTIFIC FIRM TO ELY

Stratech Scientific is moving to Cambridgeshire Business Park, Ely, from its current location in Acorn Business Centre, Newmarket.

BLUES PROPERTY EXPANDS INTO HARTINGTON GROVE

Blues Property, owned by well-known local surveyor, Ian Purkiss, has relocated to larger offices in Hartington Grove, along with Sara Slade Ltd, interior design consultants.

FINE AND COUNTRY EXPANDS INTO SIGNET COURT

National estate agency Fine and Country is relocating from Duke’s Court on Maid’s Causeway to Signet Court, Newmarket Road, taking an office unit of 2,840 sq ft.

£50 MILLION WATER DIVERSION LEADS TO BUCKINGWAY LETTING

Robinson Layer has let a business unit at Buckingway Business Park for activity linked to the £1.5 billion A14 improvement scheme.

INTERNATIONAL WASTE TECHNOLOGY FIRM MOVES TO GREAT SHELFORD

A market-leading waste management technology provider from Germany, operating in European, Australasian and the Middle Eastern, has taken office space in Kingfisher House, Great Shelford, as part of its expansion plans.

QUARTET OF MILTON ROAD SHOP DEALS

The corner of Milton Road and Arbury Road has seen a flurry of lettings activity in recent weeks and the last of four shop units has now been let to a home and garden business.

FINAL WASH FOR LAUNDRETTE IN ST IVES

Lloyds Pharmacy has doubled its retail space in St Ives to 1,300 sq ft by taking over an adjacent shop previously occupied by for 28 years by a laundrette, in Ramsey Road, King Hedge’s.

Q4 2015: UK Commercial Property Market Survey

Shows a continued rise in occupier and investment demand, albeit the latest results signal a slight softening in the rate of increase. Nevertheless, with supply failing to keep pace with demand right across the UK, capital values and rents remain firmly underpinned.

ONE GOOD DEAL LEADS TO ANOTHER

Having successfully let the long vacant 5,000 sq ft of offices at Cambridge Technopark on Newmarket Road for Iliffe Print Cambridge Ltd – former owners of the Cambridge News – Robinson Layer have now been appointed as sole agents to advise on the refurbishment and letting of a new fully self-contained ground floor suite of 8,200 sq ft at the firm’s Milton site.