South East Around The Market

Agents pick most significant recent deals (four months to end of December) 265-279 Iffley Road, Oxford Type of deal Investment Vendor Private Purchaser Wrenbridge Land Size 30,000 sq ft Value £7m NIY 5.34% Chosen by Jon Silversides, partner, Carter Jonas (Oxford) I selected the sale of 265-279 Iffley Road, which exchanged just before Christmas, as my most significant transaction principally due to the strength of the figure achieved. It is indicative of the continuing attraction of Oxford to developers and investors. In a year that witnessed record investment transactions, Oxford, and Oxfordshire as a whole, have enjoyed their fair share of activity, with trophy assets such as the Randolph Hotel changing hands for a reported £33m, and the likes of 1-9 Oxford Business Centre and Fenchurch Court achieving well above guides. The Iffley Road site, which comprises a mixed-use garage and residential investment, comes with income until 2022. As well as being underpinned by that medium-term income, it offers potential for future development, most likely student housing. These combined features make it a rarity as an investment in Oxford – and contributed to the strength of the price achieved. 31 Chertsey Street, Guildford Type of deal Leasing Landlord Standard Life Tenant BDO Stoy Hayward Size 10,000 sq ft to BDO  (also 15,000 sq ft to Penningtons Manches) Rent In excess of £30 per sq ft Chosen by Rhodri Shaw, partner, national markets office agency, Strutt & Parker The letting by Standard Life at 31 Chertsey Street to BDO Stoy Hayward set a new headline rent for Guildford after more than two decades. Following hot on the heels of this deal there has been another transaction there, to Penningtons Manches, at the same level. Prior to this activity, the record rent of £30 sq ft had been constant, having been set in 1990. The refurbishment of 31 Chertsey Street delivered much-needed grade-A office space in the town, which was then able to cater for major occupiers seeking modern space and good transport links. The lack of grade-A supply in Guildford arguably contributed to the rent achieved. This deal will, nevertheless, provide confidence in surrounding Surrey towns, where further speculative developments and refurbishments are planned, while underlining Guildford’s credentials as a key office location. Centrium, 35-43 Greyfriars Road, Reading Type of deal Freehold purchase Vendor Aube Properties Purchaser Croudace Properties Size 10,000 sq ft Price Confidential Chosen by Marcus Smith, associate, business space, Vail Williams Croudace Properties’ purchase of Centrium demonstrates the strength of Reading as an office location. The vacant property, next to the £500m Station Hill regeneration scheme, comprises a three-storey office building of 10,000 sq ft, but Croudace is now considering various options to refurbish and extend it – adding value as well as additional accommodation. The deal follows an earlier acquisition by Croudace of 3 Queens Road, which is also undergoing an extensive upgrade. Both acquisitions highlight the developer’s belief in the town’s office occupational market, which must be further boosted by Station Hill, the station refurbishment and Crossrail. In addition, since the government brought in permitted development rights, allowing offices to be converted into residential developments without the need for planning permission, it is comforting to know that there is still a very buoyant office market in prime locations. These deals prove that Reading is most definitely one of them. People, politics and peculiarities Gazumping galore in Brighton Famed for its nightlife, Brighton knows how to raise the roof in other ways, too. It is the gazumping capital of Britain, according to online estate agent eMoov, which found nearly 35% of housebuyers are affected by the practice. Motorway toll for Amazon In Kent, there are plans for a new junction on the M20 at Ashford to smooth deliveries to and from an Amazon warehouse being built nearby. However, there could still be a bumpy road ahead for the retail giant. The GMB union, which represents Amazon workers, was holding a meeting earlier this week in Ashford to highlight a raft of concerns, including a demand that Amazon cough up anything between £66m and £90m for the additional motorway access point. Public pooh pooh Portshampton Those who came up with the idea of merging Southampton and Portsmouth councils might be starting to regret their eureka moment. Creating “Southmouth” or “Portshampton” or, to give it its official tag, the Solent City Combined Authority sounds good on paper – more control over how billions of pounds are spent in Hampshire, making sure the area gets its fair share of devolution action, and so on. But the two cities are far from best buddies and local reaction has not exactly been encouraging – “I predict a riot” and “never in a million years” being some of the more repeatable responses. Bicester beef clobbers Clegg plans Before Christmas, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was very pleased with himself, having announced yet another solution to the housing crisis – namely turning Bicester in Oxfordshire into a garden city, with 13,000 houses to be built there. But there was still the small matter of local residents’ beef about traffic to be dealt with. A Twitter campaign has already provoked a petition demanding a halt to the plans until congestion issues are resolved. Vail Williams dedicated to fun Agents at Vail Williams in Guildford have proved they know how to have a good time at work. The firm picked up a Best Company gong at the Surrey Property Awards, having been nominated for being “fun, professional, proactive and dedicated”. Bonneville boost for Downton hospital Villagers in Bampton, Oxfordshire, are raising money to restore a library and museum which is used as the cottage hospital in Downton Abbey. Their efforts are now getting an aristocratic boost from the show’s very own Earl of Grantham actor, Hugh Bonneville, who has made a film about the campaign. St Albans prices heat up St Albans witnessed sharper house price rises than London during 2014. Research by the Nationwide revealed an average increase of 24%, compared with 17.8% in the capital. McCarthy steps into Gosport McCarthy & Stone unveiled plans for a 10-storey development of retirement flats in Gosport, Hampshire – forming part of the Millennium Promenade Walk. Guildford top for growth Guildford bumped Cambridge off the top spot in a league table of UK locations most likely to see economic growth over the coming year. Lambert Smith Hampton’s UK Vitality Index assessed large towns and cities outside London and ranked them for robustness. Brighton, Reading, Milton Keynes and Oxford all joined Guildford in the top 10. Pinewood plans start rolling South Bucks planners approved 500,000 sq ft phase one plans that will eventually result in a 1m sq ft extension to the Pinewood Shepperton studios, west of London.   BNP axes Southampton staff BNP Paribas was due to announce job losses at its Southampton office, following confirmation that it would be closing the South Coast branch. Around 10 members of staff were likely to be affected. Bank exits South East stores The collapse of the Bank fashion chain placed several South East stores on the market, including those in Reading, Kingston and Milton Keynes. EG gauges the trials and tribulations of the South East property market