Brockton Capital and Landid are planning to resurrect previously shelved plans for a £100m office block in central Reading.
The pair’s Thames Valley joint venture has bought derelict 1970s office block Thames Tower from LaSalle Investment Management.
It is understood to have paid around £20m for the 11-storey, 130,000 sq ft block.
LIM had planned to give Thames Tower – which has been vacant for four years – a mass overhaul, bringing it to 25 storeys. But the plans were scrapped last summer after the fund manager dubbed them “too risky”.
New plans will appease Reading borough council, which was unhappy about the building lying empty.
Thames Valley sources said the jv was convinced there was scope to capitalise on fast-rising office rents in the area, and to expand the height, subject to planning.
One source said: “There is a vast number of buildings in the area that are over 10 years old but there is heavy demand for new grade-A space.”
The building is also at the heart of an area undergoing mass transformation. It neighbours Benson Elliott’s and Stanhope’s 1.2m sq ft Station Hill development.
Jones Lang LaSalle and Parkinson Holt advised the vendor.
All parties declined to comment.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
