A BRAND new company has revealed details of its £1.5m investment in Barrow properties.


Blake Henderson Blake Henderson is investing the money to meet the demand for accommodation in the area.

The property development company has been established in Barrow by Andi Cooke, a building contractor based in Northamptonshire.

Mr Cooke plans to transform empty houses and commercial buildings into single occupancy rooms, a business plan with which he has had much success in the south.

Last week Barrow Borough Council granted permission for the company to convert two former pubs, the Wheatsheaf and the Crystal Palace, into flats.

With high levels of investment in infrastructure initiatives around the area, Mr Cooke was introduced to the potential in Barrow by local developer Paul Sheldon from Samuel Sheldon building contractors.

The first wave of rooms will be available as soon as mid-February and will feature a number of high-tech developments including a smart key system allowing people to get into their rooms using a phone.

Mr Cooke said: “Between the houses and and the pubs, we’ve budgeted for a £1.5m investment which will all go into the local supply chain as we use local tradesmen in the refurbishments and architects for the design.

“We’re still looking for more properties and are working with Corrie and Co estate agents who will reach out to the businesses in the area who will have a real need for accommodation and we’re looking forward to working closer with them over the coming years.

“We are, in our roots, a building company, so we might start looking at the potential for new builds as well at different sites to potentially alleviate the stresses on the housing market.

“The quality of rooms is very different to what you might see in a traditional shared property, each room is a good-sized double en-suite room with a desk and television and shared kitchen.

“We’ll be installing intelligent lighting systems that utilise LED lights that only come on when someone is in the area which will be great for the environment.

“There will also be smart key technology that will allow you to sign into the building and open your room with a smartphone.”

Mr Cooke also believes that if demand for single rooms was to fall, the properties could easily be converted into flats for people to move into on a more long-term basis.

He said: “They will be sympathetic developments with a design layout that will help the buildings be easily converted into flats if the demand for individual rooms falls.

“We’ve put together a long-term 10 year plan for the business in the North West.”