A WARRINGTON man has been promoted to the board of a prominent commercial property business.

Josh Downes joins the board of Warrington-based commercial property business Langtree following almost four years with the company as senior development manager.

The Warrington-based firm has a busy period coming up which includes the refurbishment and redevelopment of St James Business Centre off Wilderspool Causeway.

Chairman Tim Johnston said: “I’m delighted for Josh, who has demonstrated his ability and commitment on a range of key projects, such as Parkside, Hollinwood Junction and Sci-Tech Daresbury.

“Our model of development partnerships with key public authorities is in greater demand than ever as the country seeks to utilise its brownfield sites whilst bringing its stock of industrial and commercial buildings up to standard. Our expertise in delivering BREEAM ‘excellent’ buildings and meeting demanding ESG requirements has proven critical to our growth.”

Mr Downes studied law at Liverpool before securing his Masters in real estate at Reading. He joined JLL in Manchester from there in 2016 and qualified as a chartered surveyor in 2018, before joining Langtree in 2020.

Forthcoming projects for Langtree include:

• A planning application for a 1.6m square foot second phase of the giant Parkside logistics and advanced manufacturing development near Winwick.

• A further phase of the campus at Sci-Tech Daresbury in Halton, with tenders out to build a speculative 40,000 square foot laboratory and 20,000 square foot office building.

• Refurbishment and redevelopment of the 80,000 square foot St James Business Centre in Warrington into the new Warrington Digital Hub.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Downes said: “We have a demanding programme to drive through and real ambition to deliver on the regeneration and job creation that comes with it for our partners. I’m looking forward to welcoming new members to the team as the year unfolds.”