Masters House, Trinity Road, Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, Kent. ME12 2PJ - Lease - A949

Swale Borough Council is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from organisations to occupy, manage and maintain Masters House, with the objectives being to secure income for Swale Borough Council and to optimise local economic and community benefit.

Master's House in Trinity Road, Sheerness was formerly the district office for Swale Borough Council. It is a two storey, largely period property comprising 5,813 sq. ft gross internal area. It is a well-located asset in the heart of Sheerness, between the Water Tower and Holy Trinity Church, with Swale Borough Council's Trinity Place Car Park to the rear and a short walk from the High Street, train station and sea front. A location plan is attached.

The building has benefited from a £1.5m refurbishment, including a range of low carbon measures and it is now the intention that it is managed to provide good quality, small business space with associated meeting rooms and kitchen areas provided. The building should also provide wider community benefit through the provision of meeting rooms and a larger function space on the first floor. Any event should adhere to regulations and have relevant licences in place.

The configuration of the refurbished space can be found on the plans attached, including room sizes.

To the rear of the building are three separate workshop spaces. Whilst these are not part of the refurbishment an application for further funding has been made and it is hoped that these will become available, once refurbished, in the next 12-18 months. Any expressions of interest submitted should include these workshop spaces within the proposals. These should be identified as a separate entity and any income from these should not be relied upon to support the main building. It is an assumption that they will be available by March 2024.

The Council is seeking an experienced operator that will optimise the income revenue to the Council and the economic and community benefit for the locality. It will consider approaches based upon the lease of the building(s) to a company, Trust or Charity for it to manage against the stated objectives.

Responses to this invitation should be sent to KentBusinessPortal and received by Friday 2nd December 17.00pm. Proposals should assume that the lease for the building will commence within the first quarter of 2023. The permitted use will solely be for the provision of delivering a service that will benefit the local economy and community. No other use will be permitted without the express consent of the Landlord. As a minimum, proposals should detail the following

• Details about the organisation making the proposal, including any relevant experience.

• Details of the preferred and acceptable lease period.

• Annual rent being offered to Swale Borough Council and/or any Commercial offering e.g. profit share etc.

• Basic Business Plan that demonstrates that the proposal is viable and sustainable for the duration of the lease.

Additional information:

Your Business Plan should as minimum include the following:

• Proposed operating model

• Marketing proposals

• Details of how any repairs and improvements will be funded

• Organisations most recent set of accounts covering last two years or period that is available if operating less than two years.

• Financial projections demonstrating a strong viability, showing profit & loss forecasts and any surplus in addition to a cash-flow for at least 3 years,

• Details relating to managing H & S Statutory requirements

• Details of any other innovative activities proposed to increase usage, occupation, income generation and economic and community benefit

• Evidence of previous experience/operations of a similar nature

Swale Borough Council will also consider proposals for the combined lease and use of both Masters House (to which this EOI relates) and 44 Trinity Road ("The Old Sheerness Library"), for which a separate EOI has been published alongside this one. 44 Trinity Road is located approximately 80m from Masters House.

If your proposal is for both opportunities it is acceptable to submit only one business plan, if you feel this is most appropriate. Proposals should nonetheless make clear how each building is to be used and any phasing of occupation or operations.

Please email …@swale.gov.uk if you require further information or to arrange to view the premises.

On receipt of the Responses, the Council will perform an evaluation of Responses with a view to selecting an organisation by December 2022 subject to lease contract and Committee approval

The evaluation process will be as follows:

Evaluation criteria Maximum points

Operating Model 30

Rent provisions 20

Financial Forecasts and Cash-Flow Information 20

Technical and professional ability 20

Health and Safety 10

TOTAL 100