Member Article

New branding for Hoults portfolio of properties

ENTREPRENEUR Charlie Hoult has rebranded his portfolio of ‘properties with personality’ in preparation for further expansion.

The new brand, Hyhubs, incorporates Newcastle business village Hoults Yard; Haylofts, the former St Thomas Street Business Centre adjacent to the Haymarket transport interchange, and Hypoint, formerly Gear House on Saltmeadows Road, Gateshead.

Further expansion is expected soon, with Charlie in preliminary talks to convert prominent Newcastle city centre buildings. He also has an interest in other sites across the region and beyond.

“Tyneside and the wider region are in great shape and that has given us the confidence to invest heavily in Hyhubs. Because of the success of Hoults Yard – which is full to overflowing – people are now contacting me to talk about developing properties.

“It’s our mission to create Hyhubs sites across the region, with all of our spaces being properties with personality.

“I’m particularly interested in new workspace options and models - from co-working and serviced offices through to leased offices and business membership schemes. I’ve been looking at examples such as Bruntwood Works in Manchester to understand different ways of helping tenants.

“Flexibility and choice is the key, be that renting desks to individuals on easy in-out terms or providing much larger spaces to corporates for long-term lets.”

Speaking at the launch of Hyhubs at Hypoint, Leader of Gateshead Council, Coun Martin Gannon, said: “I’ve been really impressed by Charlie and what’s he’s done at Hoults Yard. I’m delighted he’s moved across the Tyne to work in Gateshead and I’m impressed by what he’s done at Hypoint. He’s a man of drive and enthusiasm and I wish him well in his latest venture, Hyhubs.”

Charlie added: “Our model is about providing great spaces, underpinned by technology, property services, parking, meeting rooms, great front of house and good craic!”

Hypoint added 20,000sq ft to the Hyhubs footprint last summer, while Haylofts added an extra 8,000sq ft in December 2018. The total footprint for Hyhubs is approaching 500,000 sq ft, with the potential for 2,000 jobs in the 400 companies we house.

“We’ve invested heavily in upgrading and revitalising the working environment at Hypoint and are spending about £1.5m on the acquisition and redevelopment of Haylofts,” said Charlie.

“We’ll be creating 20 new offices there, plus five executive meeting spaces around the courtyard area. We envisage the courtyard will double as a space for conferences, corporate gatherings and even theatre productions with tiered seating for 50.

“We’ve already had firm interest from software, arts and research firms and offices will be ready in early 2020.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hoults Yard .