£2m investment plans start city's 50th birthday party

As well as being half a century since MK was formally designated as a new town - on January 23, 1967 - 2017 will mark 44 years since the creation of CJ Muscat Properties, the owner of Bucks Biz Business Centres.

Joe Muscat, chairman of Bucks Biz, said: “We have invested more than £1million across the three sites in 2016 and we will double that in 2017.

“Milton Keynes is a fantastic place to do business and we are delighted to be able to confirm our commitment to our sites in Newport Pagnell, Bletchley and Denbigh for what will be another significant year for the city and for Bucks Biz.

“We started last year with a bang and our feet have not touched the ground since. We shall continue to improve all aspects of our business centres, into 2017, and improve on the great progress we made in 2016.”

The Bucks Biz centre in Newport Pagnell, called the i:Centre, saw significant investment in 2016 with new car parking and business space. The i:Centre has industrial and commercial space available on short or long term agreements.

MKTwo, in Bletchley, saw a major facelift including a new telephone system and increased broadband capacity / speed.

MKOne in Denbigh will see 95 per cent occupancy in spring 2017.

Occupiers at the various Bucks Biz sites include a call centre, a physiotherapy clinic, a simulated golf course and a gospel church.

One of the Bucks Biz occupiers, niche commercial property consultancy Clock Property, has been at the i:Centre for the last three years.

Clock Property director Jay Raj said: “One thing that really stands out in 2016 has been the continual increase in the number of instructions and their variety.

“I think the very special year for Milton Keynes will also be a good year for Clock Property because we expect the increase in new clients to continue, our varied instruction base to grow and the significant investment we are making in our practice to be enjoyed by all our clients especially as the demand for commercial property in Milton Keynes continues to be strong.”

Jay says demand for space from the industrial sector is seen as continuing to continue to grow in 2017, following a surge in 2016.

But he adds that an “exciting prospect” will be “resurgent demand for office space especially in from the start-up and the SME sector.”

He explained: “This is likely to be driven by positive commercial sentiment filtering through the post-Brexit economy and is anticipated to give office occupiers the confidence needed to commit to enhanced office space be that in size or specification.”