property 43
Easter Park welcomes its 40th occupier
Despite the saying that “Life begins at 40”, many of us can’t help but see the coming of the big 4-0 as a foreboding milestone of middle-agedness and something to be avoided at all costs
Not so, however for Colin Brown, development director at the Easter Group, responsible for the development and marketing of the Easter Park, Aldermaston business park in Berkshire. They have just welcomed their 40th occupier to Easter Park, and Brown feels that the milestone represents a significant landmark for the development.
The Easter Park, Aldermaston development comprises 45 business units ranging from 200 sq ft office suites to a huge 60,000 sq ft industrial building (now occupied by oil industry giant Elliott Turbomachinery) and has a huge variety of building styles and sizes in between. 23 small industrial “estart” units have proved to be one of the main successes, with 21 units having been let or sold, many in the very early stages of marketing.
Adjacent to the estart development is a larger industrial/distribution estate of 11 high-quality industrial buildings, the largest of which is Elliott’s 60,000 sq ft unit (roughly the size of the Twickenham rugby pitch inside a building). Eight of the 11 industrial buildings are now occupied, with strong interest in two of the remaining three.
At the front of the site lies a brand new office development of approximately 45,000 sq ft where around 50% of the space has been let. ‘The Green’ (so called because of it’s pioneering environmental technology including ground sourced heat pumps) plays host to office occupiers of all sizes, with Elliott Turbo also acquiring the largest office building and suites of 200 sq ft occupied within ‘The Park Centre’ managed offices. There have been a total of 11 occupiers in suites or buildings at ‘The Green’.
Brown, responsible for overseeing the development of the scheme since construction began back in 2007 has seen the business park (one of the largest the company have built in their 15-year history) continue to fill up despite some tough economic conditions and a very
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY –NOVEMBER 2011
uncertain economic climate. However, he believes Easter’s commitment to high-quality buildings and a customer-focused attitude has been key to their success at Aldermaston.
Brown stated: “Whilst many people doubted the wisdom of building so many units in a location which was unproven and not right next to a motorway junction, we were confident that the West Berkshire business community was large enough and strong enough to fill the estate up. There are a lot of little business parks and office buildings here and there all round Berkshire, many of which are beginning to look a bit tired and unloved. Whilst that’s fine for many occupiers there will always be some businesses who require the operational efficiency and the image/ environment that comes with a high-quality estate like Easter Park.
“Whilst we knew there would be some initial demand for the properties, we were perhaps surprised at the initial take-up levels, particularly on the estart estate. Those buildings have been remarkably popular and many of the smaller businesses who are based there have been able to generate additional business from the other occupiers on the estate. Once we had a few businesses on site it was always going to be easier to spread the word and encourage people down to the site to take a look around.
“We’ve found that once people realise how easy it is to get here from Reading and Basingstoke (the M4 and the M3) and once they see the units and the kind of environment the park provides, our job is more than half done. I always felt that we needed 40 occupiers to be able to say that we’re well and truly on the map, so I’m delighted that we’ve finally reached that milestone.”
The idea of ‘customer-focus’ may come as a slightly strange one to those who have had less than harmonious landlord-tenant relationships
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in the past, but it is high on Easter’s agenda. They host and run regular networking events in the estate’s conferencing facility, designed to allow local businesses to share ideas and information about their operations. Regular ‘In- Site’ newsletters keep occupiers informed about what’s going on around the estate and afford 3 companies every month the opportunity to introduce themselves and market their wares. Easter have a full-time marketing and management presence on the estate to field enquiries and ensure that tenants always have an ear to listen, and potential tenants are always able to look round or make enquiries. The whole estate just seems to have a more laid- back feel than most business parks around.
With about 10 buildings left on the estate, Easter know that there is still more work to be done. Brown admitted “The market is not where it used to be, and you can either stick your head in the sand and ignore that, or move with the times, get tenants on board and hope that they are happy enough with the product you provide to stay long term. That’s how everyone wins. We have been doing some very competitive deals in order to get the last few units at Easter Park let up, and particularly on the office scheme, there are generous rent free periods to be had for the right occupiers on the right leases.
“We’d be delighted to welcome anyone down to site for a cup of coffee and a chat about how we might be able to accommodate their business needs and what kind of terms we might be able to do. Hopefully we’ll then be looking forward to having a big party for our 50th”
Details: 0118-9701460
aldermaston@eastergroup.co.uk
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