Network Rail is about to set a record office rent in Reading town centre.
The not-for-profit rail operator is in talks to take 22,500 sq ft at Morley Fund Management’s Davidson House at £27.50 per sq ft on a 10-year lease. The deal is understood to include an 18-month rent-free period.
The previous high of £26.50 was achieved at Davidson House earlier this year.
The deal has surprised the Reading office market, which expected the public body to take cheaper space, so that it could plough back more cash into the railway network.
Network Rail considered cheaper options, including Morley’s 41,807 sq ft Pinnacle and the 115,000 sq ft Reading Bridge, which are available at around £26 per sq ft.
It is the second time this year that the rail operator has set a record rent. In September, it agreed to pay £47.50 per sq ft for 40,000 sq ft at Parabola Land’s 500,000 sq ft King’s Place on York Way, N1.
Jones Lang LaSalle acts for Network Rail; Hicks Baker and Lambert Smith Hampton are advising Morley.
