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A £1/2m facelift for one of Farnborough’s most prominent landmarks has drawn praise from the Mayor of Rushmoor, Cllr Colin Balchin.
Speaking to 80 business people at the commercial launch of Westmead House, formerly known as The Sulzer Building, he said he was “enormously impressed at the refurbishment and the level of landscaping.
“The council is totally committed to regenerating the economic and social life of Farnborough and Aldershot and welcomes projects like this that will revitalise our town. The council has had a close working relationship with The Wilky Group for many years and we are delighted this project has now come to fruition.”
And he gave the mayoral seal of approval to the name-change, which will raise the profile of the whole area, saying: “Westmead House has a real ring to it.”
Wilky’s hope the building will attract smaller companies and boost the local economy. Agents Atkinson Richards are marketing suites of between 600 sq.ft. and 7,000 sq.ft. on flexible terms on the third and fourth floors of the six-storey building. This has already resulted in one letting, to secured loan and mortgage broker QDM, which expanded from offices in Fleet and Aldershot.
The £4.5m purchase of the earlier this year has taken Wilky back to its roots. For, in 1947, its founder Wilky Wilkinson had supervised prisoners of war working on the site. Shortly after, he was demobbed from the Army to start his own business.
Wilky’s head office is still at nearby Invincible Road and the company has been responsible for many developments in the borough, including the new Aldershot Centre for Health. Wilky chief executive Malcolm Young told the guests: “This investment is a measure of our confidence in the future of Farnborough and, indeed, of the borough of Rushmoor as a whole.”
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Caption: The Mayor, Cllr Colin Balchin (left) and Wilky Group chief executive Malcolm Young at the launch of Westmead House.
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