Tony McDonough meets WAYNE LOCKE,regional director of Ashtenne

FARMING is the oldest business sector in the world, and the provision of superfast broadband is at the other end of that scale.

Wayne Locke can now claim a significant degree of knowledge in both.

Locke, regional director for commercial property firm Ashtenne, grew up working on a farm and has maintained his agricultural roots.

And a major part of his day job is overseeing the running of Liverpool Innovation Park (LIP) – one of the most technologically advanced of its kind in the North West.

Working out of LIP, Locke’s patch stretches from North Wales, through the north west of England, Cumbria and right up to the borders of Scotland.

It operates mainly industrial parks across the UK.

Ashtenne is more of an asset manager than a developer, but Locke insists its modus operandi goes much further than just collecting the rent and mowing the grass.

He said: “Ashtenne has traditionally targeted ex-public sector stock because that is usually built to a good specification.

“It was set up in 1989 and the original intention was to do development, but then the recession hit.

“Luckily for the founders, they had raised the cash and they developed the concept of looking at good quality existing space and creating value with true comprehensive asset management.

“We have much closer contact with occupiers than other asset managers – our speciality is higher-than-average management.

“We like to get in and talk to our occupiers – we like to be able to understand the businesses and the people who are running them.

“That is both helpful for us and the occupier.

“If one of our occupiers is struggling and is in a bit of a sticky situation, then we like to get involved in helping them to find a solution.”

That approach has a commercial logic to it, as empty units can prove costly for a business like Ashtenne.

The previous Labour Government abolished rate relief on empty commercial properties.

Once a property with a rateable value of more than £2,600 is empty for more than three months, the landlord is liable for the full business rates.

“The law on vacant rates is having a massive impact on the property industry,” said Locke, 42.

“I don’t think our friends in Whitehall know how this is knocking back opportunities to grow the economy. It is a disincentive for landlords to develop new commercial property.

“There are several areas around the country where there is demand for new units but at the moment few developers are going to build them speculatively.”

Locke is clearly excited about LIP and what it offers to occupiers.

The Park was once home to electronics giant Marconi and that legacy of technological innovation now underpins its core philosophy.

LIP covers 100 acres around the Edge Lane area of Liverpool and comprises Wavertree Technology Park and the former HQ of Marconi and Merseyside Transport.

It offers 500,000 sq ft of accommodation and is home to more than 80 businesses and organisations employing around 3,000 people.

The Park is operated by Space North West – a joint venture between the Northwest Development Agency and the Ashtenne Industrial Fund (AIF) – which was formed in 2006.

“Liverpool Innovation Park is a huge animal,” said Locke.

“There are other science parks around the region that have been going to 10-15 years that are nowhere near this size. We saw the property market was starting to cool in 2006 and by late 2007 and into 2008 we really started to see the impact of the downturn.

“It has been pure graft ever since.

“We have aimed to create a hub of highly innovative businesses.”

Working with AIMES Grid Services, LIP is leading the way in the provision of superfast broadband access – offering speeds up to 1Gbps.

AIMES is overseeing a £1m project to create a superfast broadband network linking key sites across the city.

LIP also benefits from a huge amount of power – a legacy from the Marconi days.

“We have to look at where the technology is going to be in 10-15 years’ time, and along with AIMES we are trying to anticipate that,” said Locke.

“The extra power is essential for the kind of businesses we have here.”

Locke, a married father-of-three, was born and brought up on a farm in South Wales.

Although a bright pupil who did well in his O-Levels, he initially had little interest in continuing his education and was set to follow his family into farming.

He said: “I left school and worked on the farm full-time but as time went on I could see that the industry was in decline – a lot of it was being propped up by Government subsidy.

“When I was 20, I went to work on a farm in New Zealand for 18 months and that was so different to here – it was a totally open market.”

As well as working on the farm, Locke had at various points in his late teens also worked in the building trade, and on his return to the UK went to work for a property auctioneer. He then enrolled on a degree course at the University of Glamorgan in urban estate management.

He added: “I was studying full- time but still working on the farm. So I would be milking cows and lambing ewes and then I would go to lectures. I was also selling potatoes from the farm to the other students.

“I was basically on the go 24 hours a day, and survived on two short naps a day for two years.”

Despite enduring such a punishing schedule, Locke graduated with a first and went to work for a property firm specialising in insolvency work – Henry Butcher.

Over the next few years he worked in Cardiff, Bristol and London, gaining a “broad grounding” in the commercial property sector before joining Ashtenne in 2000.

He still lives in South Wales with wife Sian and children Harry, 13, George, 11, and Charlie, eight.

His weekends are spent ferrying the children around to various activities and doing up the farmhouse which is the family home and which was derelict when they bought it.

During the week, he divides his time between Liverpool and London but still seems to thrive on a packed schedule.

“I just love this job and I am passionate about the work we are doing here,” he said.

“When you ask a taxi driver to take you to Liverpool Innovation Park, they give you a blank look.

“But then when you say either the old Marconi or Plessey site, they know immediately where you mean.

“I think we need to work harder to get the brand out there.”