44 property
Property views from a landmark viewpoint
As top-level meetings go they do not come higher than the one with Julian Cobourne of Aviva Investors at The Blade in Reading, writes John Burbedge
At 128 metres (420 feet) The Blade is not only Reading’s tallest and most stunningly modern office building, but it has become the town’s modern business landmark, an iconic symbol of the dynamic ‘cut and thrust’ at the heart of the thriving Thames Valley economy.
The huge Ecotricity wind-turbine and the ‘Mad Stad’ at Green Park run The Blade close as symbols of the town’s progress to become named last month among the top 25 businesses centres in Europe*. However, there seemed some fateful irony that I could look down from The Blade’s ‘O-Zone’ topfloor on the Maiwand Lion in Forbury Gardens – the town’s iconic symbol of its past.
Julian Cobourne with behind him the eastward view from The Blade overlooking the Kennet & Avon canal and former Reading Prison
Not that I was alone in that. Fortunate employees of companies in The Blade, such as Barton Willmore and Hays Recruitment, can now look out on the stylish Forbury business area below just a stroll from Reading’s £897 million railway showpiece, new buildings under construction near the commercial and community potential of a future Reading Prison redevelopment, and not forgetting the Thames river winding its way through miles of verdant Berkshire countryside.
But the views I had come for were those of Julian Cobourne, asset manager at Aviva Investors, who manages the property for The Blade’s owner, long-term investor Aviva Life & Pensions.
The Blade was built during 2007-2009 as a state-of the-art, Grade A, BREEAM “Very good” rated city centre statement building, offering all the aspects required for modern business occupiers. “The Blade ticked all those boxes ... and still does,” said Cobourne.
Initial letting suffered from the recessionary doldrums, as did the whole commercial property market, but now the 13-storey Blade is “more than two-thirds let with a strong pipeline of interest.”
Cobourne accepts that workstyle change in recent years, led by globalised 24/7 Internet communication, has generated something of a workspace revolution for the office sector. “There are subtle differences now in the office offering that would not have been considered a few years ago.”
While a desirable location, travel links and nearby businesses and lifestyle facilities remain key to urban office choice, occupiers are now taking into consideration factors such as talent retention, corporate image enhancement, reduced parking requirements, sustainability objectives, and ‘spaceless growth’.
“Occupiers are taking less space, but they want to ‘sweat their assets’, make the most of that space, make it work for their organisational needs.
“And, there are so many Thames Valley businesses competing for the intellectual talent that is here, that landlords need to be able
www.businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MARCH 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52