Weybridge becomes Surrey’s office hotspot

Weybridge has become Surrey’s office hotspot but dwindling space and little new development is set to leave demand outstripping supply, says an industry expert.

Agency specialist Steve New, Partner based in the Woking office of property consultancy Vail Williams’s Surrey region, said the firm had transacted more than 100,000 sq ft of office deals for occupiers and landlords in Weybridge over the past 18 months.

He said: “Weybridge is a typical leafy Surrey town with parks, golf clubs and private gated communities are the norm, but, just 17 miles from central London, it also has immense appeal as a business location.

“Unlike other towns in the area, Weybridge’s office market is centred primarily out of town. Business park locations with good access to the M25 are attracting major corporates from Samsung and Sony to P&G and Michael Page Group. Vail Williams has produced a market insight report on Weybridge which is available on the firm’s website.”

Office space was also being lost through various means, with at least one business park sold for redevelopment into an industrial/logistics hub, ongoing conversion to residential under permitted development rights and little or no new office development in the pipeline.

Rents were therefore increasing with between £35.50 £36 per square foot the norm, and north of this at prestigious locations such as The Heights, Brooklands. Steve said Weybridge still represented a competitive alternative to more expensive surrounding towns such as Staines and Windsor which have experienced record office rents in recent months.

He added: “We need to see more supply come to market to meet rising demand. We expect much of this to come via the return of grey space or tenant space to the market over the next 12 months.

Vail Williams is currently marketing 7,732 sq ft of such space on behalf of Knights plc at Bourne Business Park, just to the east of junction 11 on the M25, with a shuttle bus to the nearby railway station for occupiers.

Steve added: “Options such as this represent a good opportunity for businesses seeking to locate to Weybridge, who will now actually benefit from more choice of Grade A space in the market, at competitive rates.

“Amid such strong demand and the critical lack of office mass within its town centre, landlords/investors of office assets in Weybridge would be wise to invest in getting them refurbished.”

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