Rag traders Rodd & Gunn have leased office space on Flinders Lane, taking a floor of Manchester House.

Rodd & Gunn are moving their headquarters from Prahran to the landmark building, which was designed by Bates, Peebles and Smart in 1911-12 for Adelaide clothing manufacturers G & R Wills and Co.

The 234 Flinders Lane building was converted into apartments in 2000 but retained the offices on the lower levels. They were purchased by the Theosophical Society in 2019 for $13.5 million.

The 590 sq m second-floor office has recently undergone an extensive renovation restoring the original warehouse space.

Fitzroys agents Rob Harrington and Stephen Land negotiated the five-year lease but declined to comment on the rent.

Flinders Lane offices, currently very popular with the tech, higher education and creative sectors, are leasing at about $550 sq m.

Other historical buildings with new tenants include the Scots Church Assembly Hall on Collins Street.

Mr Land has leased one of the tiny 58 sq m mezzanine offices to a pastoral company on a five-year lease with two five-year options, paying $23,500 a year.

Built in 1914, the Gothic Revival-style building contains a warren of tiny offices ranging from 15 to 50 sq m.

“When they become available, they are often well-received given their character, easily manageable size, and location in the coveted Paris End of Collins Street,” Mr Land said.

Theme bar

File this one under future activities. A Pinot & Picasso franchise has leased space at 2 Guests Lane on the corner of Little Bourke Street.

The novel theme-bar has just hit Victoria. There are 55 “studios” around the country with Fitzroy, Bendigo, Brunswick and Werribee all getting splashed with a slash of red.

The 98 sq m space is at the foot of busy office towers, including Goldsborough Village, Bourke Place, 570 Bourke and St James.

The Pinot & Picasso website also promises corporate team building exercises, which is the point of a the CBD franchise.

While lockdowns have put a stop to both painting lessons and bars, virtual painting sessions are also promised.

The franchisee has signed up for five years at $82,000 a year.

Down the street at 189 Queen Street, also on the corner of Little Bourke, a new hospitality group has leased the 211 sq m restaurant space at the bottom of the Adina Hotel.

The Queen Street Bar & Grill has signed on for 10 years at $140,000 a year.

The restaurant will cater for both hotel clientele and locals.

Ainsworth Property agents Josh Luftig, Tan Thach and Zelman Ainsworth did both deals.

Glicks’ bagels

Glicks Bakery’s famous bagels are set to be made out in the west and away from their long-held spot in the south-east.

Glicks Bakery has paid almost $2000 a sq m for a warehouse at 172-174 Cherry Street in Laverton North in a deal brokered by CBRE agents Lachlan May, Fergus Pragnell and Ricardo Cappelletti.

The 1490 sq m warehouse is on a 3296 sq m site, which puts the sale price at around $6.5 million.

The price is a record for a 40-year-old warehouse of that size, Mr May said.

Glicks, established in Caulfield in the late 1960s, sold its Clayton premises in May for more than $12 million.

Cochin fusion

The freehold to Bruce Dowding and Jason Baker’s Richmond restaurant Cochin is on the market after 50 years.

The double-storey restaurant at 256 Swan Street has been home to the French-Vietnamese fusion Cochin for many years but before that it was one of many Greek restaurants on the Swan Street strip.

The family, who once lived above their restaurant, is now selling the 230 sq m property they purchased in 1971.

Teska Carson agents George and Larry Takis have hopefully pencilled in an October 1 auction date for the sale. It’s expected to sell for more than $1.75 million.

It’s on 180 sq m of land near the corner of Church Street and close to East Richmond railway station.

Cochin has signed a new 10-year lease on the restaurant and pay $67,295 a year.

Portfolio play

Burgess Rawson is taking a 61-property portfolio valued at around $260 million to auction at the end of the month.

The three-day affair covers properties around the country. Investors who would usually pump their money into the residential sector are turning to commercial assets, according to Burgess Rawson boss Adam Thomas.

“In our 46 years of operation, we have never presented a portfolio auction of this magnitude,” Mr Thomas said.

On the block are South Australia’s Channel 7 studio in Hindmarsh and the Coates Hire facility in Albert Park.

Despite many agents reporting their buyers are missing personal inspections of targeted properties, Burgess Rawson’s NSW head Darren Beehag said 58 per cent of the 401 properties sold since March 2020, had sold “sight-unseen”.

Dozen shops

A portfolio of 12 shops across Victoria’s south-eastern regional centres is on the market through an expressions-of-interest program.

It is understood the portfolio, available individually or in one line, is being offloaded by the heirs of a local investor and could fetch a total of $9 million.

Stonebridge Property Group agents, Rorey James, Nic Hage and Kevin Tong are handling the transactions in conjunction with local agents Cameron’s, Quirk Real Estate and Graham Chalmer.

The portfolio, acquired over a period of more than 25 years, includes properties located through Gippsland, the City of Casey and the Mornington Peninsula.