Vodafone has scrapped its South East expansion plans, pulling out of negotiations with Oxford Properties for new offices at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire.
The telecoms business, advised by DTZ, has ended a 12-month search for 60,000 sq ft of additional offices.
The decision comes less than two months after Vodafone entered advanced negotiations to take the 50,000 sq ft 250 Longwater Avenue on Oxford Properties’ 1.3m sq ft Green Park business park.
A spokesman for Oxford said: “We can confirm that Vodafone has withdrawn its requirement for space from the market and will not be taking space at 250 Longwater Avenue.
“We continue to engage with a number of interested parties with regards to requirements at Green Park, including 250 Longwater Avenue.”
Vodafone had also looked closely at two other Reading buildings: Hermes’ and Bell Hammer’s 77,000 sq ft Abbey Gardens South, and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership’s and Kier’s 199,000 sq ft One Reading Central.
The company will remain in its 550,000 sq ft Vodafone House on the Connection campus, also in Berkshire.
Last month, the mobile phone group announced sliding sales across the UK, down by 5.1% in the three months ended 31 December 2013.
joana.bourke@estatesgazette.com
