The town was hit hard by the pandemic and the closure of Gatwick Airport, but businesses in Crawley are coming back with a vengeance.
Over the past 12 months, our Gatwick agents have witnessed an office market revival in the town, with around 200,000 sq ft of office space leased up – the best office take-up since the 60,000 sq ft lows of 2021.
From businesses already based in Crawley relocating to new Grade A space, to inward investment into the town by those seeking to locate there, the number of office deals is significantly up on two years ago. This, combined with some of the older redundant office stock being sold for alternative uses, has heavily reduced the overall office supply.
But who has been active in the market and why are occupiers choosing Crawley as a place to locate their businesses? Gatwick Agency Partner, Steve Berrett, explores.
What deals have been done and where
Most of the office deals over the last year have been ‘out of town’, demonstrating that not all markets are driven by the pull of a city or town centre – albeit it does have an important role to play.
The larger deals have been few and far between, with Nestlé taking around 40,000 sq ft at Park House whilst remaining committed to their premises at City Place, and Dolby Vivisol securing 22,000 sq ft at Palladian in a move from Lowfield Heath. Finally, Bramble Energy acquired 34,000 sq ft at Atrium Court in Tilgate.
However, the majority of leases signed have been for smaller requirements between 1,500-5,000 sq ft, including Thales who took 5,000 sq ft of Grade B office space at Platinum House at £18.00 psf.
We have also seen companies relocate from smaller towns or hubs to reach the larger employment pool of Crawley, to benefit from the value for money and connectivity it has to offer.
Albion Rye Associates relocated from their serviced offices to take around 6,000 sq ft of office space at Explorer at £25.50 psf.
Meanwhile EVC Limited relocated to Crawley from Pulborough, expanding to take 9,000 sq ft of Grade A office space at Nexus, Gatwick Road, in a deal negotiated by our Gatwick commercial property agents.
At Manor Royal, the biggest business park in the Gatwick Diamond area, we have seen a lot of cross over between industrial and offices, with many of the deals this year for hybrid uses where occupiers have sought a mix of office, industrial and training space.
This was the case for TUI which moved from Lowfield Heath, downsizing from their 50,000 sq ft warehouse / office to move operations to Explorer 2 on Manor Royal where they have taken around 4,800 sq ft of refurbished Grade A office space at £27.50 sq ft.
Occupiers have also demanded better environmental credentials. Alongside this, Manor Royal BID (Business Improvement District) signed an agreement with leading energy consultancy firm Eden Utilities earlier this year to support tenants’ journey to Net Zero.