Prospect looks for capital gain in expansion plan

Leeds-based Prospect Business Centres, which is owned by Monument Investments, said it was talking to a number of banks and property firms about underperforming commercial property assets.

Warren Hill, Monument Investment's managing director and sole shareholder, said: "We are actively seeking up to six new properties across the North of England and Midlands and will be considering sites in areas such as Sheffield, Manchester and Newcastle.

"In the longer term, we fully expect to develop a national presence with offices further south in London and Birmingham and by 2015 we would hope to have 50 properties across the country."

Mr Hill plans to expand Prospect's empire by acquiring at least 500,000 sq ft of new serviced offices in the next two years.

He added: "We have identified several trading serviced office companies which we are looking to acquire in 2010, and this will help propel our growth forward."

Mr Hill said the economy was looking more positive in 2010, although the speed of recovery was likely to be stifled by a lack of lending.

He added: "However, demand for our offering remains strong and we have seen our occupancy rates maintained between 85 and 95 per cent at each of our centres. This has driven our decision to expand our serviced office provision."

Although it could take some time for the commercial property market to recover, Mr Hill said he believed the appetite for serviced offices would continue to be fuelled by occupier demand.

He added: "We are certainly experiencing an increase in activity in the sectors which are traditionally attracted to serviced offices, as businesses find they need to expand or contract quickly and cost efficiently.

"We would expect commercial property in secondary locations to suffer from depressed values for the foreseeable future. This will especially be the case when interest rates begin to rise and banks and developers can no longer rely on low borrowing costs to retain assets."

Monument Investments, which has around 30 staff, was formed last year when three Yorkshire businesses came toge-ther to form one property group.

The three businesses – Burford Park Estates, Prospect Business Centres and Loxley Homes – were all formed by Mr Hill.