Market Insight

Staines-upon-Thames: Surrey’s unsung business location

Staines-upon-Thames’ reputation as a place to live and work has been transformed in recent years.
October 26, 2021

In 2015, it was hailed as the number one town for business creation, beating London to the top spot. Since then, and has become home to large corporates including Centrica, Bupa and Samsung.

Indeed, in 2021 alone, in excess of 50,000 sq ft of office space has been let in the town since January, compared with just 7,000 sq ft in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. COVID-19, together with a multi-million pound town centre regeneration programme, have catalysed a complete transformation for the town.

Of course, the pandemic initially took its toll as it did elsewhere in the UK, with high streets the primary victim. The net result was the worst year ever for Staines, mirroring 2019 in which there were just two office lettings totalling less than 10,000 sq ft.

However, as businesses have begun to think about their future workplace strategies and return to the office, we have seen a transformation in Staines’ commercial property fortunes.

There has been a flurry of office deals over the last six months, split between Spelthorne and Runneymede, the two Boroughs over which the Staines office market straddles. These range from small start-up suites at 2,500 sq ft through to more expansive 12,000 sq ft suites for large occupiers in the tech and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Lotus Park Staines has seen over 13,000 sq ft of Grade A office space let with Juniper Networks UK and Kinetico UK both taking 5,770 st ft and 7,408 s ft respectively, in deals secured by our office agency team on behalf of Legal & General Investment Management.

Another large transaction includes the letting of 10,865 sq ft to DWP at 100 Church Street in the town.

Meanwhile, Waterfront, a stunning new office development on the banks of the River Thames, which we are marketing on behalf of London Malborough, has continued to be sought-after by a variety of occupiers.

Packaging and creative solutions provider, BP Media, and open-source solutions provider, Suse, each acquired 6,500 sq ft of office space achieving the highest rent in Staines, and the last 4,500 sq ft unit is currently under offer to complete in October 2021.

As you would expect from both Runnymede and Spelthorne Borough Councils, both have been active in the investment market, purchasing office opportunities within their own boroughs.

But what has changed and why is Staines experiencing such a resurgence?

Why Staines?

Situated on the banks of the River Thames, the town has undergone significant regeneration and rejuvenation, making it a destination of choice for residents, businesses and investors alike.

With its shuttlebuses, car parking facilities and glorious greenspaces at Colne Valley Park, Staines Moor and Reservoirs and with the lure of walks along the River Thames, not to mention the town’s retail offer, Staines has also become ‘bustling shopping hub in a picturesque and convenient location’ from which to live and work.

As a result, several residential development schemes are underway here – Eden Grove and London Square to name but two – as it fast becomes the new commuter hot spot, where house prices are rising as a result – 8% in the last year alone.

For businesses, its location, surrounded by the M3 and M25, makes access to national transport networks incredibly convenient, with Heathrow Airport on its northern fringes and Reading and central London within regular striking distance by train in under an hour. As a result, we’ve seen an exodus of businesses out of other local towns in favour of the up-and-coming Staines, to benefit from the better amenities on offer here.

 

“If recent interest is anything to go by, Staines is undoubtedly experiencing an office revival. As a location, it has so much to offer businesses and their people. This, together with its strong supply of good quality office stock, is creating a lot of demand for purposefully designed buildings to meet the needs of the modern workspace and occupier. At Lotus Park, we have achieved this by focusing on delivering a high-quality office product, installing Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) monitoring services and new VRF Air Conditioning. We have also focused on creating a workplace which supports the health and wellbeing of our tenants – from creating beautifully landscaped waterfront gardens overlooking the River Thames, to providing designated BBQ and picnic areas for al fresco eating, as well as a Pétanque pitch, table tennis and yoga and Pilates classes.”

Nick Webb, Senior Asset Manager at Legal & General Investment Management, owners of Lotus Park.
What’s on offer?

Situated in the heart of the town at the picturesque Market Square, Mallard Court is an innovative refurbished office building offering suites between 1,255 sq ft – 9,509 sq ft, with excellent transport facilities and access to a wide range of retailers and food outlets.

Indeed, this building is in high demand at the moment, with two suites let in recent weeks to Delmonte Foods and Fed Cap spanning 3,357 sq ft and 4,361 sq ft across the third and first floors respectively – deals which our Surrey agency team completed on behalf of landlord, McKay Securities.

Lotus Park 1-3, which is home to Salesforce, Mallinckrodt, Pure Storage and Ricoh, offers a fantastic range of office space with lifestyle amenities to support the health and wellbeing of your people, including a concierge service and shuttlebus service to the local train station.

Lotus Park, Staines.

Twenty Kingston Road in the town centre offers newly refurbished, flexible, high-class office space with strong sustainability credentials, including a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for those companies facing their ESG policies head on.

Also in the town centre, yet just five minutes’ drive from the M25, is Pinetrees which has a range of Grade A office suites available, from 6,727 sq ft to 29,547 sq ft, for the larger occupier.

Built in 2000, One London Road which we are marketing on behalf of Aberdeen Standard, has a range of office suites available between 4,000 sq ft and 34,500 sq ft on the first and fourth floors, which have recently been refurbished and benefit from excellent prominence on London Road.

Just out of town and within a 15-minute drive from Heathrow and central London, the business campus at Causeway Park also boasts an excellent range of Grade A office opportunities, with extensive onsite facilities.

What can you expect to pay?

Spelthorne has experienced a low vacancy rate which is projected to remain at less than 4%, highlighting the level of demand. This is now being reflected in market rents, which are expected to reach pre-covid levels by 2025.

For Grade B space in Staines, you can expect to pay £28.00 psf with values remaining relatively stable.

However, with occupiers seeking a flight to quality and demand for Grade A space on the up, rental values are increasing.

Grade A space, which is relatively plentiful at Lotus Park and Mallard Court, 1 London Road and Causeway Park, will cost somewhere in the region of £35.00 psf.

Meanwhile Grade A accommodation has reached £36.50 psf at the likes of Waterfront, where we acted for London Malborough in achieving record rents here last year.

Throughout the pandemic, landlords have also been willing to offer competitive and incentives but it’s worth noting, as demand returns to the market, that this will not last forever.

For those landlords and investors with ageing stock in the town, now is the time to invest in the refurbishment, to answer the increasing demand that we are seeing here – demand which we expect is here to stay.

Don’t miss the boat

A stunning location on the River Thames, be sure not to miss the boat to Staines – Surrey’s unsung office location, because it has so much to offer both your business and your people.

Our office agency team can help you to find and secure the perfect home for your business on the best possible terms here.

And if you are an investor looking for the next big thing, our Surrey-based office agency team can help you to acquire the right investment in Spelthorne or Runneymede, and can project manage the delivery of your quality product to market, marketing and letting it on your behalf.

For more information, contact our Surrey agency team, Steve New or Elliot McNish.

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