focus on slough 29 Success to continue in Slough
Slough is set for another year of success in 2016, following a solid 2015 in which the town has seen some notable developments and greeted a series of new high-profile tenants, writes Charlie Nicholson, partner, Vail Williams LLP
Head of Thames Valley and Heathrow Business Space and Partner at Vail Williams, Nicholson notes; ‘Criterion Capital’s plans for 675 residential units and a refurbishment of the existing Queensmere Shopping Centre include eight retail boxes providing 130,000 sq ft of space is a vote of confidence for both the private rented sector and a welcome injection of investment in the retail provision for the town centre.
Notable and continued success is evident for SEGRO at Slough Trading Estate, with a number of new developments either pre-letting or letting almost at completion comprising circa 240,000 sq ft in 2015 with a further 230,000 sq ft planned in the next 18 months. SEGRO’s continues to maintain low vacancy levels
across it’s Slough portfolio whilst maintaining a good volume of redevelopment activity to ensure it keeps pace with changing occupier demand. The provision of a dual electricity supply has also helped it become an established and recognised key location for data centres in close proximity to London.
The office investment market has seen a flurry of activity and AEW Europe’s purchase of SEGRO’s office portfolio of eight office assets (comprising nearly 1 million sq ft of space) fronting Bath Road cannot be ignored, being the largest Thames Valley transaction to complete in 2015 (circa £325 million). Landid Property and Brockton Capital have gained consent for The Porter Building, 115,000 sq ft development at 1 Brunel Way, Slough, on Station Plaza to be
relaunched as contemporary offices for creative, digital and professional businesses. XLB and Lumina are also on site to bring 108,000 sq ft at 25 Windsor Road to the market. These town centre schemes and SEGRO’s investment in Leigh Road and the redevelopment of their former HQ office building at 234 Bath Road shows the resurgence in confidence in the office letting market, all looking towards £30- plus per sq ft.
Slough is set to benefit strongly from Crossrail arriving in 2018 and being situated only 10 km from Heathrow Airport has a network of excellent transport links into the capital and the rest of the UK.
David Barden, associate partner in Vail Williams’ Lease Advisory team, notes: “With resurgent rental
Pioneering rebuild project makes warehouse one of SEGRO’s greenest buildings
SEGRO plc, owner of the Slough Trading Estate, has signed a 10-year lease with existing customer Lanes for Drains for 9 Cambridge Avenue – a warehouse which was dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere on the Estate to make way for the new Leigh Road bridge.
The new building will provide Lanes for Drains – the drain cleaning and repair specialists – with more modern business space and will be the main hub for its operations in the Thames Valley and North London regions.
The 35,345 sq ft unit was relocated due to the construction of the new £10 million Leigh Road bridge, which opened in October. Environmental studies showed that it was viable to dismantle the original, modern building on Leigh Road and to recycle the
materials, specifically using the original steel frame.
The building was demolished and materials reused in line with SEGRO’s sustainability targets, making it one of SEGRO’s greenest buildings. The project took just 11 months to dismantle and re- build.
The re-developed 9 Cambridge Avenue is a low-carbon warehouse and office accommodation and is believed to be one of the first building relocations of its kind in the UK. The pioneering nature of the project has already been recognised in the Construction Excellence Awards 2015, with the building highly commended in the Sustainability Category for London and the South East.
Gareth Osborn, business unit director for SEGRO in the Thames Valley, said: "Our
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MARCH 2016
growth across the office sector, and continued growth in the industrial anywhere from 10-25% in the past 18 months (age, size and location dependent); Slough is a key business location within the Thames Valley and we are witnessing a number of clients and occupiers looking for professional advice to represent their interests in the current climate.“
Details: Charlie Nicholson 0118-9097419
cnicholson@vailwilliams.com
ongoing development plans for the Slough Trading Estate are designed to meet the rise in occupier demand that we are seeing for modern, well- located industrial buildings. It is our priority to create additional space that enables our customers to grow their businesses.
“The unit is particularly impressive given the work done to move its location on
the Estate. The relocation has saved 530 tonnes of carbon which is the equivalent of 2,500 trees or 115 return flights from London to Hong Kong and its carbon footprint is 40% lower than the benchmark as a result.”
Cushman & Wakefield is the letting agent for the Slough Trading Estate.
Details:
www.segro.com www.businessmag.co.uk
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