Basingstoke started off as a blue collar town, and became a white collar town in the 1970s and 1980s.
“I can see a change back to blue collar,” says Vail Williams’s Andrew Newman. He calls Basingstoke and Andover “superb” distribution centres, and thinks that the M3 extension at Twyford Down will help. He puts supply in Basingstoke at 750,000 sq ft in units of more than 5,000 sq ft. Council estates surveyor Mike Davies disagrees about the drift towards blue collar, although he does want to draw industry back to the town.
Industrial rents swing wildly. “We have seen deals as low as £2.50 per sq ft on inferior sheds,” says Vail Williams’ Andrew Barber. “Most demand is for industrial space with a high office content, up to 15%, and there is not much to let like that.”
One of the highest rents currently being asked for a new development is £6.25 per sq ft. K60, off the A30 Winchester Road, is the first industrial scheme to be built in Basingstoke for several years. Joint developers Maclan Developments and AMP Asset Management are represented by Fletcher King and Cluttons. Acting for PSIT, Vail Williams and King Sturge & Co have still to let a 13,000-sq ft unit at Chineham. The asking rent is £7 per sq ft.
Other requirements in the market include Fyffes, Mercury, and a number of computer companies, such as Hewlett Packard. New Basingstoke agent Baker Davidson, formed by Neil Davidson from Woodford & Co and Richard Thomas from Vail Williams, reports that it is involved with active searches on behalf of 10 local firms who are seeking relocations or lease renewals of between 5,000 and 35,000 sq ft. “A year ago, you could have counted the total inquiries being handled on one hand,” says Thomas.
