One of the largest schemes in Sussex, Horsham Business Park is being promoted as a regional location by letting agent Richard Ellis.
“It competes with major towns in the area and is particularly suitable for large, corporate users,” says Peter Leyburn of RE.
Yet the two speculative buildings which developer Brixton Estate has put up, comprising 120,000 sq ft in total, have been empty for more than a year.
The asking rent has been reduced to £19.75 per sq ft and Leyburn says: “We are in the market to do deals and are prepared to be competitive.”
Brixton Estate has consent for another 130,000 sq ft, but will not build until the vacant space has been taken up.
The business park’s main competition consists of the likes of Accord and Churchill Court in Crawley. Leyburn adds: “We are trying to get tenants from Guildford Business Park. We are not competing with Horsham town centre but region-wide because of the size and quality of product.”
Horsham town centre has experienced major disruption during the past three years because of Sun Alliance’s redevelopment of its offices and the construction of a new road providing a link to the A23.
“There was very little activity while the road was being put in place,” says Adam Godfrey of Stiles Harold Williams.
Dunedin Property Group developed the 16,700-sq ft Oakhill at Queen Street just on the edge of the town centre, but it has been vacant for almost two years. Joint agents are Pepper Angliss & Yarwood and Hickmay & Partners.
Kevin Mersh of PA&Y says: “Although it is not in Horsham’s commercial heart, we have been very unlucky. The Crown Prosecution Service looked, but wanted to be on one floor only.”
Elsewhere in Horsham, deals included Healey & Baker’s March 1992 letting of Denne House to Bailey Milk Products for £15.35 per sq ft, with six months rent-free. And, at Bishops Weald House, SHW and Bernard Thorpe have achieved rents from £11 per sq ft.
But Horsham continues to serve a mainly local market. “Sun Alliance acts as an added draw and the new road will improve access, although we are yet to see an upturn,” says Godfrey.
At Haywards Heath, the only stand-alone building available is Chalegrove House, by the station.
Godfrey, sole agent, expects to achieve a good letting both in terms of covenant and rent. “We are quoting £22, a little less than Crawley.”
The town has potential for future development on two main sites. At the existing BR station, British Rail and the local council want to develop a new station with on-site parking and Godfrey feels that this site could support up to 200,000 sq ft of offices, leisure and retail.
The second opportunity is a proposal by a local developer to build Trevelyn, a 50,000-sq ft, air-conditioned building in the town centre. Stiles Harold Williams and Jones Lang Wootton are seeking prelets.
Peter Ross, deputy chairman of Stiles, says: “Haywards Heath is most exciting. There is no surplus and a lot of big companies are already there.”
Horsham is not in the same position. It is currently suffering from a glut of space which is proving difficult to let. But its good location means that, for quality accommodation, the market will come back.
