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A Look Back
Staines, still considered Heathrow's closest town, was another market that experienced a covid bounce back in 2022 regarding take-up, recording almost 100,000 sq ft, compared with half the year before and less in 2020. Even with 50,000 sq ft coming from ADP, who moved from Chertsey to the recently completed 2 Causeway Park, there was still steady take up at the c.10,000 sq ft bracket from Pure Storage, Toshiba, DHL and Natwest.
The town centre has suffered a couple of hits since the pandemic, with Waitrose closing and the usual Debenhams issue. Still, the street scene has improved with the completion of the aspirational residential quarter Eden Grove and a regeneration piazza, London Square.
The prime achieved rent remains in the mid £30.00's, but this is edging upwards on smaller suites and fitted space, as L&G have demonstrated at Lotus Park.
A Look Forward
ADP's relocation to Staines, alongside Syward Place in Chertsey, selling for residential development, further cement Staines as the leading commercial centre in the locality. We anticipate that more businesses from Chertsey will consider relocation to other South Western M25 towns when their lease events arrive. However, the scale of L&G's comprehensive refurbishment of 75,000 sq ft at 1000 Hillswood in the adjacent office sub-market of Chertsey could prove an outlier, with some interesting named demand considering the scheme at the time of writing.
All eyes will be on the plethora of big US IT/Computing companies, such as VMWare and ServiceNow, that have significant lease events ahead.