Thames Valley: Frasers Property completes largest office deal in region this year

Frasers Property has signed Vyaire Medical Products, a respiratory care business, for a UK headquarters at the recently refurbished Chineham Gate, on Chineham Park in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

At 49,255 sq ft, the 10-year lease at a rent of just over £1 million pa is the largest office letting completed so far in 2018 in the Thames Valley.

It comes as Frasers Property has announced plans to refurbish the 85,000 sq ft office property named Maplewood, having agreed the surrender of Ericsson’s lease on the building. The refurbishment is due to complete in June 2019.

Rupert Batho at Frasers Property UK said: “This letting is vindication of our strategy to significantly re-invest in our core office stock thus creating contemporary, yet affordable space. The building’s prime location at the entrance to the park makes it an ideal setting for Vyaire’s international headquarters. Our focus is now to secure similar success at Maplewood.”

Frasers Property, part of the Singaporean group that has businesses in Singapore, Australia, Southeast Asia, China and Europe, has also completed two lettings along the M3 Corridor at Watchmoor Park in Camberley, where Flagship Foods has taken 12,500 sq ft and photonics specialist Jenoptik 22,500 sq ft, with both leases agreed on 10-year terms.

Frasers said occupancy has lifted from 72% to circa 90% in the six months since it bought Watchmoor.

Frasers Property UK’s business park portfolio also includes Winnersh Triangle in Reading; Farnborough Business Park and Hillington Park, Glasgow.

Frasers Property International bought the portfolio of four UK business parks for £686m from Oaktree, reflecting a net initial yield of around 6.35%, at the end of last year.

Frasers was represented by BNP Paribas Real Estate and Hollis Hockley; Vyaire Medical Products was represented by Spring 4, Flagship Foods was represented by JLL and Jenoptik was represented by Campbell Gordon.

Source: CoStar