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Woking has seen significant public and private sector development in recent years. The public realm and retail development has been key in underpinning the amenity piece required for the new office developments to achieve record headline rents. Recent key office lettings have firmly established Woking as an investment competitor to Guildford which had traditionally been the more glamorous (and expensive) market.
Woking Borough Council has led the charge on regeneration projects such as the circa £700 million Victoria Square development which will see two 32/34 storey residential towers, a 23 storey Hilton Hotel with sky bar, 125,000 sq ft of commercial space including a new M&S completed this year.
Asahi’s pre-let of Brook House at £36 per sq ft is demonstrative of a local lease event moving to best quality product, while Space has succeeded in enticing Astellas Pharma from Chertsey, proving in-migration is possible. This success is tempered against McLaren recently putting around 20,000 sq ft on the market at their recently acquired Victoria Gate scheme, indicating local business putting “grey space” on the market. Woking is becoming a two tier market to a degree with transactional evidence suggesting at least £10 per sq ft between prime and secondary rents.
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