Lonza buys former British Gas HQ in expansion drive

Swiss pharma giant Lonza has bought British Gas’s former headquarters at Thames Valley Park in Reading, which it aims to turn into a high-spec manufacturing facility. Basel-based Lonza has secured the site for around £60m, according to market sources, and will seek a development partner to construct a 400,000 sq ft CGMP (current good manufacturing practice) facility with heavy power requirements. The acquisition comprises three existing buildings, known as Murdoch, Hutton and Faraday, measuring a combined 184,500 sq ft of workspace. Lonza has also bought the freehold for a three-acre site known as plot E, which already has consent for around 70,000 sq ft of office space. The site is strategically located close to Lonza’s existing manufacturing plant in Slough, spanning some 226,000 sq ft and used for the production of mammalian biopharmaceuticals. A Lonza spokesperson confirmed to EG: “Lonza has purchased a plot in Thames Valley Park near Reading. This acquisition provides us with additional development opportunities as our business continues to grow. We are looking forward to working closely with the relevant stakeholders as we develop our plans.” Thames Valley Park is located in east Reading on the River Thames. Occupiers include tech companies Oracle and Microsoft and serviced office space provider Regus. BG Group employees relocated from its offices in Thames Valley Park to London at the end of 2016 following a £35bn takeover by Royal Dutch Shell. The owner of the building was a private Middle Eastern investor. The former British Gas HQ is managed by Berkeley Estate Asset Management, which took over the UK real estate portfolio from Astrea in January this year. The acquisition comes as Lonza continues to expand its footprint across the UK. The firm is in talks to occupy 25,457 sq ft of space at Oxford’s first speculative “lab-ready” property, known as the Iversen Building, at the Oxford Science Park. Cushman & Wakefield advised Lonza, while JLL acted for the vendor. To send feedback, e-mail evelina.grecenko@eg.co.uk or tweet @Gre_Eve or @EGPropertyNews Discover which agents have been most active in Reading so far this year >> Photo © Thames Valley Park