Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), acting on behalf of The Wilky Group, has sold a 0.64 acre development site in Mary Road, Guildford, for £3.45 million to Investra Capital.
The Pembroke House site has planning consent for an office development of 29,927 sq ft (NIA) on three floors, to provide a BREEAM Very Good building. This will be the first speculative office development seen in Guildford for some time, says LSH.
Investra, the boutique investment and development house, was keen to secure this site as there are very few office development opportunities in Guildford town centre with which to take advantage of growing rental values. Construction is planned to start in the third quarter of this year and completion is due by the end of 2017.
Charlie Lake, director of capital markets at LSH, commented: "The marketing of the Pembroke House site attracted written proposals for a variety of potential alternative uses. The acquisition by Investra reflects market confidence in the tightly-constrained Guildford office market and is a pointer to continued liquidity in the capital market."
Nick Hornby, development director at Investra, said: “With the exciting new master plan for the town, we saw an opportunity to capitalise on its dynamics.”
Paul Dowson, director of office agency at LSH, added: “With prime headline rents already hitting £31.50 per sq ft, availability standing at under 7% of total built stock and no grade-A construction in progress in the town centre, this site provided a prime investment and occupational opportunity."
Malcolm Young, chairman and CEO of The Wilky Group, explained: “This strategic sale has generated working capital and freed us up to take forward various other development and regeneration opportunities in our portfolio of commercial properties and sites across the South East.”
Pembroke House is set in a riverside location five minutes away from Guildford train station (itself due for a proposed £150m redevelopment programme) and the town's shopping centre.
LSH acted on behalf of The Wilky Group on the disposal. Bray Fox Smith advised Investra on the purchase. LSH and Bray Fox Smith are to be joint letting agents for the new development.
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