Two properties in a prime location: Copse Hill, Wimbledon, London.

"Robert Holmes are proud to introduce two elegant, newly built and detached five bedroom family homes, due for completion later this year, please register your interest for early viewing. In a prime location of Wimbledon, each home offers open plan, contemporary accommodation of approximately 3,094 sq ft (287 sqm), along with precious off-street parking and good sized secluded landscaped gardens. The houses, both inside and out, have been meticulously designed, providing attention to detail. Price on Application "

Hillview House, Copse Hill, Wimbledon

Melbury House, Copse Hill, Wimbledon

I recently met a very surprising Tanzanian woman while at a Shelter charity shop. She worked the till and we got talking about food, one of my secret indulgences. After a brief discussion about our favourite dishes from various cultures, she informed me that she posted Swahili recipes on her Instagram feed [no pun intended] and they were authentic, what she called tasty ‘local food’.

Upon my next visit to Shelter, we got talking again and she explained the reason for so many recipes… she plans to open her dream restaurant! As dreams go this is as good as any, but she informed me it wasn’t just a dream, and from her bag produced CGi images of the building along with photos of the foundations already in place. I was gobsmacked to say the least!

Call me hypocritical, but I never would have guessed that this lovely but unassuming woman working behind the till in a charity shop was day by day, brick by brick, turning her love of culinary delights from her homeland into a place of food and warmth to be shared by all.

I was really impressed by the sheer amount of detail that she had put into her vision. She understood the steps it would take, and the rate at which she could achieve them. Her project was fully costed, 700 chickens bought already, all funded through her full time charity shop work. She was literally building the bricks and mortar of a business that was not only her financial future, but her dream as well. She even has her social media primed for launching her business one day, with more than 110k Swahili followers on Instagram!  She's already achieved influencer level of followers!  www.instagram.com/mapishi_yetu

It was truly an inspirational moment for me. I was inspired by her aspirations. Or was it the nostalgia of a humble beginning? Did she remind me of something I have forgotten? Or did she teach me something new? Whatever it was, she was inspirational!

Achieving your dreams...

Few of us get to work on our real dreams. My new friend is a reminder to us all that our dreams are achievable with hard work, no matter what walk of life we come from. Sometimes they might take years to achieve but with a steady constant effort, no matter how small, anything is possible!

Inspiration, in my opinion, is one of the most important drives in human society regardless of class, culture or creed.”

By Mark Emlick

“We are proud that Consensus Capital Group has become part of the international growth of Clubtan, a fantastic health and wellbeing clinic soon to open in Edinburgh” Mark Emlick, Chairman of Consensus Capital Group. 

Clubtan is responsible for a successful network of 120 tanning studios in continental Europe. This successful franchise started in Denmark, and has since spread to in Holland and UK. 

“It has been a fascinating journey seeing the technical team working on this project. Combining our business experience with a team of web developers to see an idea develop from its infancy through to a fully functional lottery syndicate website and mobile application.”  Mark Emlick, Chairman of Consensus Capital

www.syndie.co.uk will launch in 2018.

"In a time when there is a general housing shortage, we are keen to be part of these diverse building projects, small and large. We aim to provide good quality new housing stock that meets market need for a range of different people." Mark Emlick, Consensus Capital Group. 

Two new Groupvest developments are in progress:

1: Hartfield Road, Wimbledon is a residential development of 6 new build flats. The architectural style is in-keeping with the adjoining terraced street scene and internally the flats are contemporary in style. All of the flats have been pre-sold to a private investor and the project is due for completion 2018. 

2: Copse Hill, Wimbledon is a development of two new build detached family homes in a prime residential area. The houses have been designed with traditional brick exterior and contemporary open plan interiors and will be released with a sale value of £2.75m per unit. The project will be due for completion in Summer 2018.

Clean energy sources are an excellent way of moving away from fossil fuels but they have their limitations. For instance, Wind power only generates power when it is windy and Solar only generates power during the day. So how does the National Grid manage the constant demand for energy round the clock?  By diversifying its sources of power from a variety of power generation methods. Energy flexibility is vital to the National Grid as it copes with the rising energy usage in the UK.

Seeing the opportunity Mark Emlick through Consensus Capital Group, has invested in a 35 Mega Watt Gas Peaking plant at Westshore Fraserburgh. What is a Peaking Plant? A peaking plant generates electricity for the National Grid at times of peak demand.

The location and size of this gas peaking plant makes it suitable for accessing the Balancing Mechanism used by the National Grid. The balancing mechanism is only accessible to power generators of a certain size and is one of the tools used by the National Grid to balance electricity supply and demand close to real time.  It is needed because electricity cannot be stored and must be manufactured at the time of demand. Where National Grid predicts that there will be a discrepancy between the amount of electricity produced and that which will be in demand during a certain time period, they may accept a ‘bid’ or ‘offer’ to either increase or decrease generation (or consumption). The balancing mechanism is used to balance supply and demand in each half hour trading period of every day.

Medium-large sized Gas Peaking plants offer this flexibility, with a leasehold of 175 years, It becomes a vital piece of infrastructure needed to use a larger array of cleaner energy sources. This investment promises to pay back our initial sum invested in the first 5 years, generating power for the grid for many years to come.

February 15, 2017

Turning a landmark local into a contemporary home needed tact as well as imagination

By Nichola Hunter

Mrs Forman’s may no longer be a pub of legend, but a sympathetic conversion has ensured that it remains a true Edinburgh landmark.

About a year and a half ago, Edinburgh property developers Andrew Montague and Mark Emlick decided they wanted a change of direction. “We’d been doing developments in the city for years,” Andrew explains. “We’ve always been involved in quite large projects and we’ve done a lot of social housing and office to residential use. And whilst it’s great to be involved in that, what we both really enjoy is taking old properties and looking at alternative uses and making them look fantastic. We started to think, “What if we could work on a new style of development concentrating on much smaller contemporary, bespoke developments?”

As luck would have it, the legendary Mrs Forman’s pub in Musselburgh was up for sale “It had been a failing business for the past few years and had changed owners several times, so we decided to buy it,” says Andrew.

Mark and Andrew had no intention of becoming pub landlords – instead their plan was to create a contemporary family home. “We had an incredible opportunity to make something unique here,” Andrew explains. “This was a Victorian home which used to be a pub and which we wanted to make a home again. However, we were aware from the start that whilst this building isn’t listed it means so much historically to so many people.”

And when it comes to Mrs Forman’s that local significance is all about “the window”. The eponymous Mrs Forman ran the pub until 1888, when she died aged 84, and she was a well-known local character. She wouldn’t serve anyone who was drunk and was known to send customers away if she knew their wives needed the money more.

With the pub’s proximity to Musselburgh Links, the Old Golf Course, it’s believed to be the only place in the world where you could order and have a drink on the green during a round. These drink were served through a window in the pub, as Andrew explains. “It’s a tale close to a lot of people’s hearts, not just locals but golfers worldwide, and that window is incredibly special. It’s on the gable end and it’s the lower left hand window closest to the links rather than the road.”

Andrew and Mark were keen to maintain the historic integrity of the building but their plan was to do this externally whilst they enjoyed being creative internally. “The property is in quite an awesome setting and when the sky is blue behind, it’s a very distinctive building,” says Andrew. This is why, aside from knocking down the latter-day annexe, the shape and exterior of the property remains the same, right down to the external staircase which was formerly the only access to the first floor. “The annexe was the office and catering kitchen, but it was made from monoblock and not very pretty at all. The planners had no objections to us removing it and it gave us a better access at the side. Everyone’s biggest concern was the window and keeping that didn’t bother us at all – it’s a great story to tell people.”

Internally, the property is unrecognisable. Not just because it’s changed from commercial to residential use, but because of the reconfiguration of the layout. “We’ve made the downstairs completely open plan. When you come in the front door you’re greeted by a beautiful single span staircase and you can turn left or right towards the kitchen or the sitting room. If the doors are open, you can go around in a circle, and you don’t often see that sort of space of use of space in a Victorian property. We didn’t want to think of open plan living as cramming a kitchen, dining room and living room all in one space. We’ve managed to spread out the entire ground floor and each area has its own identity. It’s sociable with a feeling of space.”

If downstairs was about opening everything up, upstairs was a take it down and start again story. “Upstairs had been a four-room manager’s flat with woodchip wallpaper and stale smells- it was completely revolting We demolished all the interior walls and reconfigured it. “Building the staircase was a lot of fun and we didn’t want a traditional landing, we wanted space. The staircase is quite opulent in chrome and wood and it reflects the light wonderfully. It’s an incredible house for capturing natural light.”

The opulence continues in the master bedroom suite, as Andrew explains: “We thought about who is actually making the buying decision. Kids are important, as are their bedrooms, but the master bedroom should be the master bedroom for adults, which is why we created something akin to a hotel suite with a separate dressing room and en suite shower room.”

The further three bedrooms are served by an equally stylish family bathroom, but it’s downstairs in the living area that the property really comes into its own. “I think the downstairs is incredible,” says Andrew. “Every time I walk in there now I can actually imagine myself living there, which is kind of like an alcoholic owning a bar – apt! We also did something we’ve never done before on a development and retained the services of Nicky Murray Design. Nicky’s a London-based interior designer and we asked her to come up and work with us. We gave her a blank canvas and I think the end result is stunning. We know we’re selling, but we wanted people to see how it could be lived in and of course anyone moving in here doesn’t need to decorate.”

With their first project now on the market, what’s next for Mark and Andrew? “We wanted to make an impact and this was a test to see if we can deliver a development that appeals to a wide spectrum of clients with really good quality design and in properties that have their own unique characteristics. I guess what we’re saying is that we would live here. Hopefully other people will want to as well.”

Forman’s Lodge, Ravensheugh Road, Musselburgh is on the market for offers over £495,000. Contact Coulters on 0131-603 7333 or visit www.coultersproperty.co.uk

An exciting project will see a new build residential scheme at 175 Hartfield Road in Wimbledon. The architectural style will be in-keeping with the adjoining terraced street scene.

Internally the flats will be contemporary in style. Featuring electric under floor heating and high spec electrics designed for modern living. 

The project aims to be complete by Summer 2018 and provide 6 mixed, one and two bedroom apartments, working with an established SW London Developer.  

Local Area Info

Local amenities are plentiful with Hartfield Road sitting a short distance from Wimbledon town centre. The Broadway and high street offer a wide selection of super markets and shopping as well as a cinema, theatre and an array of different restaurants. 

A short distance away, and bordering the expanses of the Common, is the chic Wimbledon Village which is characterised by high end boutiques, restaurants and cafes. 

Hartfield Road is especially well connected: Wimbledon Station lies a short walk away and is serviced by both National Rail and the district line allowing for frequent and convenient access to Central London. (Waterloo 18 minutes, Clapham Junction 7 minutes). The A3 is close by with its direct route into central London and connections to the M25 network for both Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

As the build progresses we will look forward to sharing some more photos of the project. 

Tucked away around the North West side of Edinburgh’s spectacular New Town is an unlikely cul de sac, a row of mews properties behind the grander town houses of Edinburgh’s spectacular West End.

The Mews house, a very British Term, describing a 17th + 18th Century row of houses built to be used as stables with carriage houses below and living quarters above. Latterly re-purposed as garages below upper flats.  Mews properties remain very popular living spaces for those who wish to live in smaller historic properties within walking distance of the city centre. The old stable areas since converted into garages have recently gone through a new transformation into ground floor flats.

Of course, we met planning and building control challenges along the way: "Converting a mews garage into a modern one bedroom residential property is not a simple task" says Mark Emlick: Chairman of the specialist property development company Consensus Capital Group...

“Applying for the necessary permissions was easy enough once we had our proposal designed and planned. But once we installed the ceiling, with fire and sound proofing we had to adapt the lighting system so as not to compromise the new ceiling fire safety layers. Wall lights were our solution as we couldn’t lower the ceiling to use spotlights.”

“We also had to adapt our kitchen appliance plans due to listed building status and we weren’t allowed to install a gas flue into the building.”

Compromises are met as necessary but despite the normal challenges of property developing, we think the end result looks great!

To show you the garage transformation take a look at the floor plans before and after…

We think you’ll agree the finished apartment looks gorgeous, dressed to perfection by Beatrice Lualdi of Nicky Murray Design.

Brian Bathgate, Corporate Senior Vice President of Charles River said: “After an extensive market search we are very pleased to have secured Clearwater House for the expansion of our operations in the East of Scotland. The strategic location will aid our recruitment drive and we were very impressed with Clearwater Estates’ proactive approach to delivering accommodation which meets our needs within our required timescales.”

Mark Emlick, Chairman of Consensus Capital Group said: “We are delighted to be part of the success of the Heriot-Watt Research Park, which is one of the leading parks of its kind in Scotland.”

Heriot-Watt Research Park is the largest science park in the Scottish capital, covering 120 acres with 25 recently developed and plans to grow by a further 45, with the area billed as becoming one of the UK’s key hubs for science and technological research. The main focus of current tenants is on research, development, design, engineering, training, and prototyping activities.

Clearwater House was vacated by SEPA in December 2016 and has undergone a comprehensive refurbishment with an extensive overhaul of the accommodation and common parts to deliver flexible office and lab space available for immediate occupation.

Stewart McMillan, Associate within Cushman and Wakefield’s Edinburgh Offices team acted for the landlord Clearwater Estates. He said “Mark Emlick of Consensus Capital Group has a clear vision to deliver high quality accommodation to fit with the specific requirements of occupiers in the market and we are delighted to secure Charles River for the first letting at Clearwater House following the recent commencement of the refurbishment project.”

Situated within the Heriot Watt Research Park and University Campus, Clearwater House is ideally positioned for access to the M8 and is just half a mile from Edinburgh City Bypass and approximately six miles west of Edinburgh City Centre.

The park has excellent transport links including the nearby Hermiston Park and Ride and rail and tram links to Edinburgh City Centre and Airport are available at Hermiston Gait. Amenities within the park include sports facilities, international conference centre and library, business and commercial services. Hermiston Gait Retail Park and South Gyle Shopping Centre are also locate nearby.

The ground floor of Clearwater House is currently available to lease. It offers flexible office and lab accommodation spanning 22,000 sq ft and can be leased as a whole or to multiple tenants.

The building in which we now house the St Margaret’s Nursery wasn’t always part of the main St Margaret’s school.  It was bought by the School in the mid 1980’s when it was then Suffolk Hall Hotel. And subsequently used as a Nursery facility by the school.

Mark Emlick has a long standing family connection with the original St Margaret’s School, having schooled two of his children there, both Samantha and Nicola very much enjoyed their time at St Margaret’s.  It therefore came as a great shock to the family and many people in the community when in 2010 the School announced its sudden foreclosure.

When the opportunity arose for Mark to invest in the Nursery building, it was with more than just an investors eye on a new project.  It was an opportunity to invest in the future of a school, so loved by his daughters, so cherished by the local community, with a well established educational tradition.

As Chairman of Consensus Capital Group, Mark Emlick was able to offer the Nursery just what it needed at a time when the business world was challenging and futures so unsure across all industries.

The future looks brighter now for St Margarets Nursery & Preschool as we strive to continue the tradition of educational excellence set high by St Margaret’s.

St Margarets Nursery and Preschool have just launched a brand new website.