KENT-BORN Jim Wheatley has come back home to spearhead the disposal of Medway's most prestigious office building. Colonial House, Chatham Maritime, is Jim's baby. He looks after it and shows prospective buyers and tenants around the offices that were once home to 800 employees of Colonial Life.

Now just a handful of people work in the building which is said to have cost Colonial more than £35 million to build and equip. The Lord Lieutenant of Kent opened the offices on October 30, 1992, and a time capsule was planted in a wall for opening in 2042. When Winterthur Life acquired the Australian-owned financial services company in 2000, it inherited one of the largest and most impressive purpose-built office complexes in the Medway area.

Winterthur considered keeping the building but decided to concentrate its operations at its existing headquarters in Basingstoke. Jim, Winterthur's head of property and facilities, was born in Eynsford but has been based in Hampshire for the last 24 years. He travels regularly to Chatham to ensure the building is maintained and to meet prospective buyers.

He admits that market conditions have not been ideal in recent months but is hopeful of finding a new occupier soon. He said: "The accommodation is large (153,910 sq. feet) and extremely well appointed, with capacity for over 1,000 people. Because it was a purpose built facility we have been seeking a single occupier, rather than trying to let it out to a number of smaller tenants. Given the unique nature of Colonial House we had always expected the letting process to take some considerable time, as the company likely to take it on will be a major organisation."

He says it would be ideal for a large call centre operation. "Naturally any company taking a decision to re-locate to Chatham will need time to conduct feasibility studies and explore local facilities, so a let of this nature will take time. "There's a considerable amount of available office space in the Medway area at this time, so our building is competing in a challenging market."