Royal Welsh College leases Unit at Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama has leased a former industrial warehouse on Cardiff Business Park in Llanishen.

It has taken the 15,537 sq ft building in Parc Ty Glas, formerly used by TV broadcaster S4C, on a 15 year lease to replace a smaller facility on Ocean Park. S4C was advised in the transaction by property consultancy Knight Frank.

Christopher Gould, estates manager for the College, said:

“The unit at Llanishen will give us a larger, more flexible working space in which up to 60 students at any time can design and construct large theatrical sets and props, complete large pieces of art, and rehearse future productions.

“We looked at a lot of different options in the city, and are delighted to have found the Llanishen unit which gives us the best financial and most practical solution. S4C’s aspirations to create a media hub on the site aligns well with the environment we aim to provide for our students.”

Neil Francis, head of the industrial agency division at Knight Frank in Cardiff, said:

“Our Building Consultancy team carried out a refurbishment of the detached modern unit to bring it right up to standard for the College to occupy.”

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama’s main campus is located on North Road, behind Cardiff Castle. It includes three theatres and a concert hall, and the College’s former students include Anthony Hopkins, Aneurin Barnard and Rob Brydon.

Acting on behalf of S4C, Knight Frank has also let an adjacent 0.4 acre area of open storage land in Llanishen to Cardiff-based Blue Self Storage Limited on a 10 year lease.  Chris Bryan, commercial manager of Blue Self Storage, said:

“This is our first expansion beyond our Wentloog site and it fitted the bill for our requirements exactly.  We will be installing storage containers on the site and plan to operate a self-storage facility there from November onwards.”

Blue Self Storage was represented by Cooke & Arkwright. Jeremy Symons of Cooke and Arkwright said:

“We are delighted to assist with the continuing expansion of Blue Self Storage in securing this site, and will be actively seeking other sites across the region.”