Bracknell BID’s successful conference showcases Bracknell as 'Industrial capital of the Thames Valley'

Published by

Peter Davison

PIC BY STEWART TURKINGTON www.stphotos.co.uk

Leading property experts heard why Bracknell’s business areas are among the best in the country during a high-profile conference run by Bracknell Business Improvement District (BID).

Investors, commercial agents and landlords from across the UK attended ‘Invest in Bracknell’ to listen to speakers from the property sector and global business community share strategic insights, trends and predictions about Bracknell’s thriving Southern and Western Business Areas.

The event, which was hosted in partnership with UK Property Forums at Waitrose Conference Centre on Thursday 10th November, also included the unveiling of a short promo film showcasing the vast improvements and initiatives taking place in Bracknell, and the enormous development and property investment potential in the town.

Sean Griffin, Bracknell BID manager, said: “We are thrilled with how well attended the conference was by national and international companies and leading investors who left thinking very seriously about what Bracknell has to offer.

“We were delighted to team up with our partners at UK Property Forums to shine a light on the exciting multi-million-pound developments and substantial plans that will be coming to fruition in the Southern and Western Business Areas over the coming months and years.

“Guests heard that Bracknell is one of the best places in the UK to do business, and that it is part of one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the country outside of London.

"The long-term investment potential really is enormous, largely due to the unrivalled location and connectivity, rising local employment opportunities, strong inter-trading, and the promising property market.

“We’re confident we will see further investment and growth from global companies and SMEs in the area.”

Heather Harvey-Wood (pictured), partner and head of Thames Valley Industrial for Cushman & Wakefield and keynote speaker at the event, said: “The level of growth, activity and redevelopment opportunities has led to Bracknell leap frogging Reading as the new industrial capital of the Thames Valley.

"Prime industrial rents have now exceeded those seen in Reading and investment yields are on a par too, with more redevelopment opportunities to come.”

Matthew Battle, UK Property Forums managing director, said: “Bracknell offers unrivalled opportunities and has one of the most UK’s attractive new town centres.

"This event has given investors and developers the chance to meet some of the key stakeholders and occupiers in the town, and to find out really crucial information about where it goes from here.”

Panels were facilitated by commercial property experts Matthew Battle of UK Property Forums, Nick Hardy of Hardy Page and Harris, and Susan Halliwell, chief executive, Bracknell Forest Council.

There was also representation from national and international businesses including Panasonic, Natural Baby Shower, Morgan Lovell, SEGRO, Kier Property and Frasers. The event closed with a tour of the Southern Business Area.

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.