Reading: SEGRO supports Sytner Group and Audi expansion to Imperial Way

SEGRO plc (SEGRO), Europe’s largest listed owner, asset manager and developer of industrial property, is delivering a new 55,000 sq ft Audi car dealership for the Sytner Group at its Imperial Way estate in Reading on a pre-let agreement.

By moving into the new premises the leading motor retailer and manufacturer will be able to expand its business operations in the region, which are currently run from smaller premises in Reading and from an established site at SEGRO’s Slough Trading Estate.

Imperial Way is strategically located at the heart of the Thames Valley. The seven-acre site occupies a prominent position just off the M4 motorway and is an ideal location for businesses looking for facilities that are close to major conurbations, key transport routes, and their customer base.

Sytner Group has agreed a 25-year lease on the new premises.  The firm’s relocation to Imperial Way will enable the retention of 53 jobs in Reading with the potential to increase the number of employees to 127 by 2020, a 58% increase compared with the current facility.

Gareth Osborn, SEGRO’s business unit director for the Thames Valley and National Logistics, said: “Imperial Way is an exciting development site for Reading and for SEGRO. We are delighted that Sytner and Audi have chosen this location to step up their operations in the region.

“This is further evidence that our strategy of developing high-quality units in the right locations is meeting occupier demand.

“SEGRO’s in-house team of specialists has worked closely with the firms during the design phase and carefully guided the planning submission through to consent.”

Nigel Mills, Sytner’s group property director, said: “Market demand in the Thames Valley is steadily growing and the move to Imperial Way will enable us to meet our and Audi’s ambitious growth objectives for the area.

“Sytner Group had been searching for a larger premises in the Reading area for a number of years and so we were delighted to learn of SEGRO’s Imperial Way site. Our existing relationship with SEGRO meant that they understood our business and were able to procure a successful design for us which will enable us to move seamlessly into a larger well located site, helping us to provide a boost to the local economy and generate new jobs.”

Work on Sytner’s Audi car dealership is due to start in April this year with completion by Spring 2016.  It will join GeoPost UK  at Imperial Way, which signed a pre-let agreement for a 37,900 sq ft cross-dock parcel delivery centre which was completed in August 2014. Imperial Way is now fully let.

Sytner Group was advised by Nigel Lawrence Partnership, and SEGRO by Haslams LLP and CBRE.