Gillette’s 10-acre factory site in Hounslow is being prepared for a mixed-use development that could include more than 500,000 sq ft of residential, leisure, shops and offices.
The site, located at Gillette Corner on the junction of the A4 and Syon Lane in Isleworth, west London, will become vacant when the razor manufacturer moves its factory to Poland in 2007.
The US-based company has owned the freehold since 1937.
Keith Blake, a partner at NAI Fuller Peiser, the agents for Gillette, said the value of the freehold would be determined by the eventual use of the property. He said that redevelopment and reoccupation offers would be considered.
Blake said a planning brief for the site was “95% complete” and would soon be handed over to the Hounslow planning authority for comment.
The preferred option was for a large, mixed-use scheme that retained a significant employment component. The main office building, with its trademark clock tower, is grade II-listed and the site is also within Hounslow council’s strategic employment area.
Retail or residential-only plans were unlikely to be approved by the local authority, said Blake.
“The uniqueness of this site makes it attractive. It’s large and it is sited between central London, Heathrow and the M25.”
Blake said the marketing of the property would begin in January. A preferred bidder would be selected by mid-2005 and vacant possession granted in 2007.
References: EGi News 12/11/04
