We have pleasure enclosing our latest ‘Focus On’ update, highlighting Development Opportunities we are currently marketing as well as sites we have recently sold.
If you or your company currently have a site you are considering selling or you could be interested in purchasing any of the sites mentioned, please do not hesitate to make contact with the relevant Hurst Warne office.
Surrey County Council has bought a 56,205 sq ft headquarters in Woking town centre from Woking council, a building that Woking only bought in February of this year.
In a statement today, Surrey council said its new base will be Midas House at 62 Goldsworth Road in Woking.
Surrey will occupy all of the four floors, sparking requirements from current tenants including Robert McAlpine and Menzies, CoStar News can reveal.
Councillor Tim Oliver, leader of the council, said in a statement that did not include details of the sale: “I am truly excited about this momentous move, which will accelerate changes in the way we work, enabling our employees to work even more flexibly and spend more time with our residents and service users.”
The council announced back in October last year that it was considering moving from its current Kingston home, where it occupies 100,000 sq ft, and back into Surrey. In April it emerged that the two options for a new base were Guildford and Woking.
Woking bought the building in February from the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority (owned by Aberdeen Standard Investments) for £23,397,951.
Vail Williams Partner Kevin Cook has advised Surrey on the acquisition and its office requirement.
Cook said: “This decision marks the end of a 15-year project working for Surrey County Council and we are delighted it has arrived at this conclusion. It allows Surrey to relocate into their own Borough which was the main objective while also enabling them to move into a more modern environment and enable more modern working practices for staff. It is also accessible for the people of Surrey.”
Hurst Warne said: “Office rents for the town continue to improve with best prime A stock now forecast to reach the mid to upper £30s level in 2020. Current take up for offices in the town at Q4 2019 stands 67,000 sq ft to date with a further 45,000 sq ft under offer excluding the SCC acquisition. In common with much of the South East office market, take-up is largely driven by locally based occupiers already in or nearby to the Woking market. A recent example is Woking based occupier McLaren, leasing the 66,000 sq ft Victoria Gate building in 2018. Victoria Gate is now owned by WBC.”
Peter Richards , director of Hurst Warne’s Woking office, said: “This news is a great endorsement for Woking as the place to work in Surrey. We expect SCC move will encourage further inward investment in to the town in all of the property sectors.”
On Sunday, 1st September; Mark Haldane, Matt Fradgley, Jessica Clegg and Max Pullen of the property management team, ably supported by Steve Barrett from the Farnborough office, took to the water to take part in the 2019 Odiham Raft Race. This annual event, which began in 2018, has already gathered considerable support and 12 teams took part in this year’s event.
Rafts, constructed by the individual teams in the weeks leading up to the race, took various forms. Some teams adopted a ‘canoe’ style approach, whilst others used Space Hoppers for buoyancy and only one team failed to make it past the start line. Hurst Warne’s approach was stability over speed!
The course, which ran along the Basingstoke Canal for a total of 2.2km (1.36 miles), started and finished at Colt Hill Wharf with a turnaround point at Lodge Copse Bridge. Whilst the winners managed a time of 31 minutes, the management team finished 5th with a time of 46 minutes – only 34 seconds behind 4th place.
As a testament to the Hurst Warne raft’s construction, the following weekend, the local kayak club put it back in the water and were able to stand 14 children on the raft at the same time!
Further details and more photos of the event can be found here https://www.facebook.com/odihamraftrace
On behalf of Irish Life Assurance, Canada Life have sold Wells Court in Woking, a 38,194 sq ft office campus, to Marson Property for £7.25 million.
Unit 1 and Unit 3 were let to CSG International and Something Big respectively whilst the 16,375 sq ft Unit 2 had been fully refurbished and was vacant.
Hurst Warne advised Canada Life on the sale whilst Marson Property acted for themselves.
Simon Fitch, Director at Hurst Warne said “We are delighted to have achieved such a positive result for Canada Life on the sale of Wells Court. The disposal generated a good level of interest from a variety of different sectors which demonstrates the attractiveness of Woking as a place to do business. Having been involved in a number of building sales in Woking over the last 24 months, Hurst Warne were ideally placed to advise on the sale and maximise receipts.”
For further information contact; Simon Fitch @ Hurst Warne on 07917 531707 simon.fitch@hurstwarne.co.uk
We are pleased to announce that Tom Boon has recently joined our Leatherhead office team as a Graduate Surveyor after completing his Real Estate Management degree at Oxford Brookes University.
Tom will predominantly be focusing on office; industrial and retail agency work in the southern M25 markets.
Tom can be contacted on:
E: Thomas.boon@hurstwarne.co.uk
M: 07879864647
Role – Full time Graduate / recently qualified General Practice Surveyor
Job location – Hurst Warne’s Leatherhead office
Salary – On application
Responsibilities – The role will provide the candidate with a broad experience in the following areas:
Selling / acquiring development sites
General commercial property consultancy
Within the role, there is a strong agency focus which includes:
Key applicant attributes – The role will suit a confident and enthusiastic person that is keen to join a long established and thriving southern M25 commercial property advisory practice.
The successful applicant will be part of the company’s southern M25 team with good prospects for career progression.
Contact – Will Gelder 07917569111 / will.gelder@hurstwarne.co.uk
Unit 5 Woking 8 has been let to Aligned Assets Ltd following an extensive refurbishment programme by Winter Star Holdings Ltd.
This 4,396 sq ft office was pre-let on a 10 year lease, prior to any formal marketing taking place, at a rental of £22 per sq ft, which is a new benchmark for the Estate.
The Landlords were advised by Clare Charrett of Hurst Warne & Tim Shaw of Lambert Smith Hampton, and the Tenants were advised by Mark Edwards of FTD Johns.
Clare commented that the agents were delighted to achieve an early letting at this level.
The owner is also very pleased that the offices have been so well received, with all 8 units totalling, approximately 33,000 sq ft, to shortly be fully let on good lease terms.
Kennedy Wilson Europe have sold Theta, their multi-let office investment, to Surrey Heath Borough Council. Theta is located adjacent to junction 4 of the M3 motorway at Frimley.
The offices are let to Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Amer Sports and Zoggs International. There is also a vacant suite which is available for let.
Hurst Warne advised Surrey Heath on the purchase and CBRE acted for Kennedy Wilson Europe.
Peter Richards, Director at Hurst Warne said “Over the last few years Hurst Warne has advised Surrey Heath on a number of strategic local property investment purchases within their Borough. These have all been in the industrial/warehouse sector. Surrey Heath were keen to spread their investment holdings across other asset classes. Theta is one of the best out of town offices within the Frimley/Camberley area so when it was offered for sale, we identified this as another strategic investment opportunity for the Council.”
Karen Whelan, Chief Executive, Surrey Heath Borough Council said; “We are very pleased to have secured this office building in Frimley. This purchase forms part of SHBC’s wider property investment strategy, which has been put in place to protect council services after the withdrawal of Government funding for local authorities. This building is situated in a key site in our borough and will generate an important revenue stream for our vital services. As is the case for all our investments, we have taken advice from a number of independent experts to ensure this property represents a sound long-term investment.”
Hurst Warne are appointed as letting agents for the vacant suite and have also been appointed as managing agents for the building.
For further information contact; Peter Richards @ Hurst Warne on 07803 078011 peter.richards@hurstwarne.co.uk
Travis Perkins Properties Limited have sold their long leasehold interest in a site occupied by Dunelm and Wickes on Invincible Road, Farnborough. Since their acquisition of the site in early 2015, Travis Perkins Properties Limited have totally refurbished the scheme. Wickes have downsized from their previous occupation and the surplus of approximately 19,000 sq. ft has been let to Dunelm (Soft Furnishings) Limited on a 10 year lease, with circa 8.5 years remaining at the time of sale. The other unit, of approximately 20,000 sq. ft, has been let to Travis Perkins’ subsidiary, Wickes Building Supplies Limited, who have re-committed to the location on a new 20 year lease from the date of sale with a tenant break at year 10.
Hurst Warne were appointed by their long standing client to advise on a number of key asset management roles. Hurst Warne agreed terms for the new letting to Wickes, arranged all necessary acquisition reports and negotiated terms for the acquisition of the Travis Perkins long leasehold interest. The asset was acquired by clients of Hurst Warne for a price of £11 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.5%. Hurst Warne’s property management team are now managing the estate on behalf of the buyer.
ESH advised Travis Perkins Properties Limited on the sale. Hurst Warne advised the buyer on all property related matters with regard to the purchase.
Commenting on the purchase, Peter Richards, Director of Hurst Warne said:
“This was a complicated yet exciting off market acquisition for Hurst Warne. We were able to draw upon the breadth of professional skills within our business to best advise our client on all aspects relating to this purchase. Our client now owns an investment which is situated in a prime retail and trade location within the principle commercial and residential hub of the Blackwater Valley.”
For further information contact peter.richards@hurstwarne.co.uk 07803 078011
Note;
Hurst Warne are one of the leading commercial property agents and Chartered Surveyors in the South East with a network of five offices in Woking, Farnborough, Leatherhead, Guildford and Redhill.
18 January 2019
Our Property Review & Solutions brochure provides a selection of available properties from our extensive portfolio of office and warehouse stock.
Furthermore, you will find commentary on topical commercial property.
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