Sharp Electronics, 4 Furzeground Way, Stockley Park
Landlord Corpus Sireo
Occupier Sharp Electronics Europe
Deal type Leasing
Size 39,072 sq ft
Lease New 10-year term without breaks to commence from the end of the existing lease
Rent £26.50 per sq ft
Chosen by Charles Dady, partner, head of UK business space, Cushman & Wakefield
I am selecting Sharp Electronics’ long-term commitment to Stockley Park for my chosen deal because I see it as a major endorsement of the Thames Valley office market.
Sharp had been in the building for eight years as its UK headquarters. Then, significantly, about two years ago the company made it its European headquarters. Now it has decided it is the right place to stay and has negotiated a lease extension.
With two years left on the original lease, this has meant Sharp effectively taking a 12-year view on life. That is very encouraging on a number of levels – it underpins values and has enabled a sensible transaction which provides traction on both sides.
It’s good news for Stockley Park too that an occupier is staying long term and putting a stake in the ground. I believe other occupiers will see that as a sign of confidence, and we will also see developers investing there.
Erith House and Speedwell House, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh
Vendor West Register and First Alliance
Purchaser West Sussex County Council Pension Fund
Type of deal Investment
Size 73,000 sq ft in total
Purchase price £7.3m
Yield NIY 6.25%
Chosen by Jerry Vigus, director capital markets, Lambert Smith Hampton
My nomination is the sale of Erith House and Speedwell House on the Chandler’s Ford estate by West Register and its asset managers First Alliance.
This deal followed on from a letting, on a new 15-year lease, of Speedwell House and a co-terminus lease renewal of Erith House, both to Coopervision Manufacturing Limited.
Those lettings prompted interest from numerous UK institutions, because the units then benefited from 15 years’ income, as well as being close to the M3/M27 interchange.
After receiving offers from several parties, the owners agreed terms with West Sussex County Council Pension Fund.
The sale is significant because it highlights that UK institutions and investors are increasingly inquisitive about the South Coast, despite the lack of available, good-quality industrial and warehouse units in the region.
St Anne House, Wellesley ROAD, Croydon
Vendor Redefine International
Purchaser Bravo Hotel Group
Deal type Freehold Disposal
Size 73,452 sq ft
Sale price £8.4m
Chosen by Richard Plant, partner, Stiles Harold Williams
The disposal of St Anne House, an office block with permission for a 144-bed hotel and 46 residential apartments, reinforces the sentiment that Croydon is rising from secondary obscurity to an exciting location again. Once famously known as “Little Manhattan” the town has, in recent times, been blighted by the same stock of office buildings which catapulted it into the limelight.
However, the tide is now turning and its regeneration is a hot topic. In the main, residential development is driving values, with developers appraising residential schemes on values of around £500 per sq ft and in some instances more, for a luxury or iconic scheme. A change to permitted development rights is also helping bring Croydon’s redundant office stock back into beneficial use.
I therefore believe the sale of St Anne House is an important deal that will contribute to a dynamic mix of uses in Croydon’s ever-changing landscape.
Going up
Make theirs a double
Two food and drink operators are planning to double their presence in the South East. Harris + Hoole wants to expand from 30 outlets to 60 while Leon plans another
12 openings.
A Brockton Capital and Landid joint venture purchased Thames Tower, an ageing office block in Reading, from LaSalle Investment Management and is now thought to be looking at redevelopment.
Cala Homes submitted plans to Wokingham borough council for the first phase of a £100m residential-led scheme in Woodley.
Gazeley agreed terms with Waitrose for a 900,000 sq ft distribution centre at Magna Park.
Essex brace sold
Two shopping centres in Essex changed hands within a week of each other. InfraRed Capital Partners bought the Eastgate centre, Basildon from British Land for nearly £89m only days after Valad Europe clinched The Royals, Southend.
Going down
Supporters of the Farm Terrace allotments in Watford said they would challenge to communities secretary Eric Pickles’ return to a consent for a health campus development on the site.
Several question marks hovered over an expansion of Luton Airport as the Spanish government mulled the future of its owner Aena and UK groups launched opposition plans.
EG gauges the trials and tribulations of the South East property market
People, planning and peculiarities
Woking awakes
Neighbouring Guildford and Woking have often engaged in a bit of sibling rivalry, the former often proving itself boss. But now, it seems, the tables are turning. In Woking there is gathering momentum behind Victoria Square. M&S is lined up and it’s all systems go. But in the normally indomitable Guildford, plans to revamp North Street are having a bumpy ride and it’s still not clear yet who will do the scheme – LandSec or Lend Lease. A new property force was taking shape earlier this year with merger talks between the investors Altyon Partners and development specialist Landid. Timely indeed, as the South East market booms with 2013 take-up at 3.3m sq ft and speculative completions returning to pre-recession levels.
Real to RARE for Max
Friends Reunited – remember that? – in the Thames Valley. Charles Maxlow-Tomlinson has left Real Investment Management to join Thames Valley specialist RARE, founded by Guy Parkes and Jonathan Mannings – so why the reference to the once powerful social networking site? Mannings and Maxlow-Tomlinson both previously resided at Cushman & Wakefield. The hiring spree at Lambert Smith Hampton continues apace. James Polson, industrial director at Cushman & Wakefield defected to LSH earlier this year. Add in Paul Fitch from Glenny and a total of five directors have signed up to LSH this year.
Latest stage for Bluewater
Greenhithe in Kent might not exactly be a haven for bon viveurs, but Guy Thomas at Lend Lease seemed to be keen to upstage others about recent lettings at Bluewater. Lebanese canteen/deli Comptoir Libanais and US burger brand Five Guys are the latest restaurants to tread the boards at the shopping centre, added to what Thomas called its “theatre of food”. Let’s hope it’s not a curtain call for signings.
Sheila’s seal of approval
If you’re marketing a city it must be a boon to have a famous face supporting you. Actor Sheila Hancock was among the speakers at networking event InvestPortsmouth. A former chancellor of the city’s university, she told assembled business leaders she thought Portsmouth was “unique and remarkable”.
