AWARDS PROPERTY VALLEY


THAMES


DEVELOPMENT OF THE YEAR WINNER – THE CURVE, SLOUGH


Sponsored by:


Giles Blagden, MD of Hicks Baker presented the award to SUR representatives James York of Morgan Sindall Construction and Fin Garvey of Slough Borough Council.


A learning Curve


The Curve, a library, performance and cultural centre, epitomises the council’s aim of ‘learn, create, inspire’. It is a £22 million landmark community building, connecting the town to its transport hubs, and already helping to improve and transform Slough’s image.


This award focused on ‘future’ commercial projects – developments either recently completed or with consent to be built in the near future.


The four shortlisted projects were:


• The Curve – The first major project by public/private partnership Slough Urban Renewal (SUR), which opened in September to critical acclaim.


• Imperial Way, Reading – A highly successful scheme by SEGRO, regenerating an old site, creating jobs and a new prestige car showroom.


• Longwalk Road, Stockley Park – the transformation of a 1990s building into a modern exciting architectural statement.


• Thames Valley Science Park – a commercial campus south of Reading that will provide a world-leading centre for science, tech and high-growth businesses.


PROPERTY DEAL OF THE YEAR WINNER – BECTON DICKINSON BUILDING


The finalists were:


• Becton Dickinson building, Winnersh Triangle – the letting of 44,000 sq ft at 1030 Winnersh Triangle, Patrizia’s £27 million development.


• BP Campus, Sunbury – the purchase and leaseback for £350m-plus on the office park in Surrey, put together by Cushman & Wakefield.


• Mapletree Green Park – the largest real-estate deal outside London last year, which saw Green Park acquired by Mapletree.


As sponsor, Neil Seager, partner at Thames Valley property experts Haslams presented the award, after the audience heard that the award-winning Winnersh Triangle deal had already made headlines for bringing jobs and a renowned US company to the greater Reading area.


Details of the deal


Patrizia’s speculative £27m development at 1030 Eskdale Road, Winnersh Triangle was three-quarters let within five months of its completion to Fortune 500 global medical technology company Becton Dickinson. BD’s deal was significant, consolidating its Thames Valley offices into one location in state-of-the-art premises. BD has since gone on a recruiting drive to expand the 260-strong office.


The accolade of the occupier


Rupert Batho of business park owners Patrizia UK explained: “Becton choosing our building so close up to completion was a real accolade for us.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2017


“They were going through a corporate merger and looking for a facility that could bring together their Oxford and Basingstoke environments. From a location point of view the Reading area was perfect to blend those workforces. Equally important for Becton was access to the burgeoning local science and technology community – a really crucial factor in their relocation.


“Also, the working environment we had created, the opportunity for them to grow and expand, plus the facilities and amenities that we have on site at Winnersh Triangle were all key component parts of their decision-making.”


Should BD be involved in any further M&A activity, Batho highlighted that there is still scope at Winnersh for them to lease the whole building.


businessmag.co.uk 17 A winning partnership


“Designwise, The Curve is a bright, modern, exciting icon of the future of Slough, having pushed out the boundaries of what regeneration can be,” said Fin Garvey.


James York added: “It’s all credit to the council who could have opted for building another big square box, but they maintained their vision for Slough.


The Curve is the first important step in the Heart of Slough masterplan, an impressive piece of urban redevelopment, which is somewhat unparalleled in its scale and nature of transformation, the duo explained.


“While The Curve is a phenomenal building it has also actually spearheaded SUR’s partnership and a huge amount of re-development of the town which, with our proven working relationships, we can now undertake smoothly and quickly,” said York.


Sponsored by:


2017


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