reading:uk #4

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:UK

The magazine for business in R

eading

issue four/autumn 2014

reading:ukThe magazine for business in Reading…

Excellent connections, good growth, relocations and festival buzz

Our clients often tell us that without our teams’ technical excellence, planning expertise, our fastidious attention to detail and market leading project management their schemes would have never have happened. Go to www.peterbrett.com or to Twitter @peterbrettllp to find out how your next scheme could be #poweredbyPBA

We’re proud to be making the UK’s most important development and infrastructure projects happen

Paradise Circus, Birmingham

Cornwall Marine Renewables Business Park

Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent The Helix Project, Falkirk Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge

PBA_Reading_UK_Ad_v7aw.indd 1 14/08/2014 12:13

Reading UK CIC, the economic development company for Reading, provides services for businesses, developers and investors.

• Free advice and practical support

• Business intelligence and research

• Support with recruitment and employment needs

• Property agent contacts

• Networking and introductions

• Reading branding and media

• Staff relocation

• After care

The benefits of London without the overheads and hassle

Contact: Sue Brackley, Economic Development ManagerTel: 0118 937 4340Email: [email protected]

Tailored support to help your move to ReadingThe smart route to practical information on living and working in Reading

www.investinreading.co.uk

Make Reading your next move

Reading UK mag ad 2014 v5.indd 1 23/07/2014 15:36

READING BRIDGE HOUSE

• Mainline urban location• Close to transport hub• Large open fl oors of 11,850 sq ft• Convenient and sustainable space• Remodelled reception and café• High specifi cation showers and lockers• On-site parking for cycles and cars

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With a four minute stroll to the station’s new north interchange and spectacular Thames views, Reading Bridge House is the smart place for business.

4,000 – 68,280 sq ft

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Good for Business HoWever You vieW it

New HQ buildings in a prime town centre location totalling 371,876 sq ft

No.1 Forbury Place (185,940 sq ft) completes Q2 2015

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Based in Reading for over eight decades, we can quite confi dently say that we know the town inside out...we’ve helped shape the built environment that surrounds us today and mould many plans for Reading’s future growth and success.

Find out more about our Reading 2050 initiative, plus see our beautiful hand drawn map of the town in more detail: www.bartonwillmore.co.uk/Reading or scan the QR code above.

Scan to see more

http://www.bartonwillmore.co.uk/Reading

07 News A round-up of news and information about Reading’s economy and projects.

11 Quality of life Economically successful, well connected – and a great place to live.

18 Connectivity Proximity to Heathrow, ease of access to London by rail – and Crossrail by 2019.

22 Projects Summaries of key development opportunities and major projects, planned and under way.

34 Markets Facts and figures about Reading’s economic advantages.

37 Relocation Reading is booming again, with its new station catalytic in attracting investment to the town.

44 Acts and figures The long-running, world famous Reading Festival – a key fixture in the UK’s music calendar and a vital boost to the local economy.

51 Housing Moving to Reading offers a wide choice, from riverside dream homes to city centre apartments.

© 3Fox International Limited 2014. All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of 3Fox International Limited is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited.

COVER IMAGE: Reading station ©Jim Stephenson for Network Rail. EdItORIAl dIRECtOR: Siobhán Crozier HEAd Of dEsIGn: Rachael Schofield dEsIGn: Oswin Tickler, SmallfuryCOntRIbutInG EdItOR: Sarah Herbert CHIEf REpORtER: James Wood dIRECtOR: Paul Gussar busInEss dEVElOpMEnt MAnAGER: Chris JoyceOffICE MAnAGER: Sue Mapara subsCRIptIOns MAnAGER: Simon MaxwellMAnAGInG dIRECtOR: Toby Fox IMAGEs: Reading UK CIC, David Tothill, Jim Stephenson for Network Rail, Reading Borough Council, Doyle Town Planning, Taylor Wimpey, Reading Festival – Sidney Bernstein, Marc Sethi, Pooneh Ghana, Simon Moss, Mike Malfait; ©LHR Airports Limited see photolibrary.heathrow.com, ©Crossrail Ltd, Green Park – Oxford Properties, Landid Property, JLL, Reading Enterprise Centre

pRIntEd by: PPG Print

publIsHEd by:

375 Kennington Lane London SE11 5QY 020 7978 6840 3foxinternational.com

In pARtnERsHIp: Reading UK CIC(The economic development company for Reading)The Library BuildingAbbey SquareReading RG1 3BQlivingreading.co.uk

EXECutIVE dIRECtOR: Nigel Horton-BakerReading UK CIC0118 937 4339

subsCRIptIOns And fEEdbACk: readingukmagazine.com

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contents

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READING:UK The magazine that tells you about Reading

GROWING PEOPLE GROWING BUSINESS Working with employers to deliver skills for the future in Reading and across the Thames Valley

Reading College works closely with its specialist apprenticeship arm, Activate Enterprise, the leading apprenticeship and training provider in the Thames Valley region. Activate Enterprise have a successful track record of supporting over 1000 organisations every year with their training and team development.

How an Apprenticeship can benefit your business:

» Cost effective, flexible staff development tailored to your business needs » Training delivered by specialist tutors working in partnership with you » Improved performance of individuals, teams and the organisation » Fully administered funding (subject to eligibility)

Wide choice of training

» Accountancy » Beauty Therapy » Business Administration » Childcare and Teaching Assistants » Construction Trades » Customer Service » Engineering » Food Manufacture » Hair and Barbering

» Health and Social Care » Heating and Plumbing » Hospitality and Catering » IT » Logistics – Warehousing and

Driving Goods Vehicles » Management and Team Leading » Motor Vehicle » Sports and Leisure

Contact us today for a free business consultation to find out how Reading College can support your business to grow talent.

0845 467 6068www.reading-college.ac.uk

/readingcollege @ReadingCollege “Reading College”

RC_0397_Reading_UK_CIC_Fullpage_Advert.indd 1 04/07/2014 11:32

http://www.reading-college.ac.uk

GROWING PEOPLE GROWING BUSINESS Working with employers to deliver skills for the future in Reading and across the Thames Valley

Reading College works closely with its specialist apprenticeship arm, Activate Enterprise, the leading apprenticeship and training provider in the Thames Valley region. Activate Enterprise have a successful track record of supporting over 1000 organisations every year with their training and team development.

How an Apprenticeship can benefit your business:

» Cost effective, flexible staff development tailored to your business needs » Training delivered by specialist tutors working in partnership with you » Improved performance of individuals, teams and the organisation » Fully administered funding (subject to eligibility)

Wide choice of training

» Accountancy » Beauty Therapy » Business Administration » Childcare and Teaching Assistants » Construction Trades » Customer Service » Engineering » Food Manufacture » Hair and Barbering

» Health and Social Care » Heating and Plumbing » Hospitality and Catering » IT » Logistics – Warehousing and

Driving Goods Vehicles » Management and Team Leading » Motor Vehicle » Sports and Leisure

Contact us today for a free business consultation to find out how Reading College can support your business to grow talent.

0845 467 6068www.reading-college.ac.uk

/readingcollege @ReadingCollege “Reading College”

RC_0397_Reading_UK_CIC_Fullpage_Advert.indd 1 04/07/2014 11:32

Autumn stArt for bridge developmentWork is set to begin in the autumn on a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Thames in Reading.

Planning consent was approved by Reading Borough Council in October 2013 for the £4 million bridge, which will link Christchurch Meadows with the redeveloped railway station.

The structure will be about 120m long with a 68m span over the River

Thames. A single supporting mast, which will be on the north bank of the River Thames, will be 39m high.

Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s lead member for strategic environment, planning and transport, said: “When complete the bridge will be a stunning landmark structure for Reading and provide a vital new link across the River Thames for

pedestrians and cyclists coming to and from the town centre.

“Construction is due to start in the autumn, but before that the council is planning for the obvious challenges of building such a large structure.”

The design proposals for the bridge were drawn up by Peter Brett Associates and Design Engine.

Reading Ready to RideA bicycle hire scheme has been launched in Reading, with docking stations installed across the city. The ReadyBike venture allows visitors and residents to hire purple and orange bikes at 29 Reading locations.

Annual membership is £50, which includes free use for the first half hour and then costs £1 per hour. The day pass cost is also £1 per hour.

There will be 200 bikes available initially, with the potential to expand the scheme to more places within Reading in the future. Locations for the docking stations include Reading Station, Broad Street, Thames Valley Park, University of Reading, Madejski Stadium, Whitley, Green Park and Caversham.

Councillor Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s lead member for strategic environment, transport and planning, said: “The launch of Reading’s own bike hire scheme is an important landmark for the council’s long standing ambition to get more people to consider cycling as an option for getting around town.

“If it proves to be successful we can then look into extending the scheme further in future years.”

Corporate membership is also now available, allowing businesses to offer staff and visitors the opportunity to use the scheme at a discount.

7

READING:UK The magazine for business in Reading

A new bridge for Reading will link Christchurch Meadows with the railway station for pedestrians and cyclists, while the city’s bike hire scheme has just been launched.

Reading news

8

news updAtes At reAdingukmAgAzine.com/news

one vAlpy opensA 5,579sq m office scheme in central Reading opened for business on 11 August.

One Valpy is a mixed-use development owned in a joint venture between Brockton Capital and Landid. As well as contemporary office space, it includes a restaurant unit and other on-site amenities.

It is located within a five-minute walk to Reading train station, where journeys to London Paddington take 24 minutes.

Reading at MiPiM UK

Reading UK CIC, the economic development company for Reading, will have a presence at MIPIM UK, the property trade show.

Taking place between 15 and 17 October 2014, the event will host investors, developers, local authorities, occupiers, hotel groups, agents and business service providers to promote areas for economic development.

Based on the Thames Valley Berkshire stand, Reading UK CIC will promote investment opportunities, highlighting the strength and confidence in the town’s economy, connectivity, skills and success in attracting business.

£50m for science parkThe University of Reading is to invest £50 million to establish a science and innovation park.

The funding will be used for the infrastructure during phase one of construction at the park, located near clusters of knowledge businesses based in the Thames Valley.

Target businesses will be technology-led companies seeking both a strategic location and access to the research and graduate support provided by the university.

Sir David Bell, university vice-chancellor, said: “The University of Reading’s commitment to invest in a new science and innovation park underlines the vital contribution this university makes to the Thames Valley’s position as one of the most successful economic sub-regions in Europe. The provision of dedicated facilities and services will provide a platform for the regional knowledge economy to thrive.

“There is a substantial market in the region for such a facility, with no dedicated science park currently operating in the Thames Valley or London. We expect strong demand from both UK and international companies seeking a prominent Thames Valley location, while the science park will also be the natural choice for London-based companies that are looking for space to expand, as well as emergent Thames Valley SMEs.”

“The science and innovation park will reinforce our position as one of the most forward-looking and entrepreneurial universities in the country.”

One Valpy, a mixed-use development by Brockton Capital and Landid, was opened in August, located in the transformed area around Reading station.

a Royal oPeningThe Queen visited Reading to open the £900 million redeveloped rail station on 17 July.

The project includes five new platforms, a passenger footbridge and two station entrances linked to a new bus terminal. Existing platforms have been lengthened for longer trains, rail bridges have been widened to reduce congestion, with canopies and waiting rooms added. Retail outlets have also been developed.

The project began in 2010 and was completed in July 2014. Non-stop trains now run between Reading and London Paddington, taking less than half an hour.

The redevelopment has drawn huge investment, with over 185,806sq m of office space either completed or in development within 500 metres of the station.

Business occupiers will be able to make use of the train services to central London, and occupancy costs are 60% higher in west London than Reading.

Sue Brackley, economic development manager for Reading UK CIC, the city’s economic development company, said: “The area around Reading station is being transformed as investors respond to the demand for high-quality offices, linked to rail infrastructure and connections to London and international markets.

“With the capacity for the new station set to double in future years and electrification of the Great Western Main Line, as well as the impending arrival of Crossrail and rail links to Heathrow, Reading is perfectly placed to consolidate its role as the key regional business hub.”

Ft RanKing Rates ReadingReading has been ranked among the top 10 European business cities of the future for foreign direct investment (fDI) in an awards programme and a bi-annual report produced by the Financial Times.

The town was named 10th overall in the fDI Cities of the Future 2014 Awards, behind places such as London, Barcelona and Berlin, and was named fourth best overall in the UK and Ireland.

The awards were based on measures such as economic potential, local labour market, infrastructure and business friendliness, as well as strategy for encouraging foreign investment.

Reading was also ranked second best Small European City for business friendliness and was rated in the European top 10 in four other business categories.

Reading UK CIC, the economic development company, put together the bid. Sue Brackley, economic development manager, said: “The fDi Awards demonstrate the international significance of Reading not only as one of the strongest economies in the UK, but as a leading European city for business investment.

“Reading’s offer to business, rather than financial incentives, is at the heart of its attractiveness to foreign investors. Its strengths are a well-balanced economy, with a skilled workforce, easy access to transport hubs, top performing schools and a great quality of life. Businesses enjoy the benefits of being in the UK’s top performing knowledge economy outside of London – without the high costs of the capital’s overheads.”

A planning application has been submitted to redevelop Thames Tower opposite Reading station.

The proposals, submitted by developers Landid Property and Brockton Capital, will see the tower extended to 16 floors, which will include office space of 17,000sq m.

The scheme will also include a restaurant and cafe, opening out on to the new public space between the building and its neighbour, the Station Hill development, and the station itself.

cRossRail in 2019

Crossrail will be extended to Reading and is due to open in 2019, the Department for Transport and Transport for London have announced.

Extending the east-west rail line to Reading opens up destinations across central London and beyond, without the need to change at Paddington. Crossrail will offer a direct connection to London’s main employment centres, and reduced journey times on a twice hourly service.

thAmes tower plAns reveAled

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McKay Securities PLC is a Reading-based commercial property investment

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1111

Economic growth is not everything, concluded the experts who compiled the 2013 Good Growth Index. Looking beyond traditional measures of financial success, they included not just GDP but also job opportunities, skills,

transport and work-life balance as defining factors. The report – devised by PwC and thinktank Demos – ranked the UK’s best performing cities, and were clear on which area belonged in top spot: Reading and Bracknell.

While the likes of London battle the trade-offs of

Economically thriving, well-connected and offering a fantastic quality of life, Reading holds a wealth of possibility, just a stone’s throw from the buzz of London. Lucy Purdy finds out what makes Reading and its environs tick

Living proof

strident economic growth – congestion, pollution and sky-high house prices – mid-sized urban centres are quietly making progress. As a centre of ‘good growth’, Reading and the surrounding area hosts the kind of jobs which are likely to contribute to improved quality of life.

So what places Reading in such a favourable position?Location, location, location is key. The area occupies a

prime spot in the south-east of England, with excellent transport links to boot. Reading is just 36 miles west of central London, and 24 miles from Oxford.


Pleasant surprises in Reading’s urban centre – London Street Brasserie, set in an 18th century toll-house on the River Kennet, serves great food for business lunches or leisurely evenings.

Reading’s railway station offers high-speed links to and from London Paddington. Direct trains reach Gatwick in an hour and a quarter and the RailAir bus service to Heathrow takes 40 minutes. A direct rail service to Heathrow is scheduled for 2021 and Crossrail will run from 2019.

It is no surprise therefore that the area has become a magnet for corporate HQs, both British companies and the UK offices of foreign multinationals. Microsoft UK, Thames Water, ICT solutions provider Huawei and hibu – formerly Yell Group – are all based in Reading. And this is a thriving business community which crosses political boundaries, as Greater Reading encompasses the likes of Wokingham and Bracknell: economically successful, encouraging of enterprise and poised for further investment to prompt job creation.

Now in its third term, Reading Business Improvement District (BID), which covers the town centre, became the first established outside of London when it began in 2005.

“It has made Reading a better place to work and enjoy,” says Adam Jacobs, of Jacobs the Jewellers and chair of Reading BID. “It has brought in more shoppers, made Reading cleaner and more secure and made the town more of a destination. Crucially, the BID allows individual businesses access to services and facilities that they might not have the time or resources to organise themselves. The BID is collaborative, practical and inclusive: it’s about acting as a collective.”

From Christmas lights switch-ons to Eat Reading Live – a two-day outdoor food festival – the BID has come to be at the heart of the local business scene. The advent of Crossrail is another factor helping foster a sense of dynamism and optimism among companies in Reading, explains Jacobs.

“Everyone is really fired up about what the future holds for the town. Crossrail is now real and that will only help establish Reading as a destination. There is a sense that

12

Quality of life

Suits in the city: office-based employees enjoy ample choice of venues to work, meet or eat and Reading’s city centre has a wealth of peaceful green spaces and restful riverside spots.

people are very motivated and want to put their mark on the town through their businesses.”

Jacobs thinks it is important that people are able to live in or near the heart of Reading, which has a good mix of offices, leisure and residential provision. “We have an increasingly strong residential offer in Reading allowing workers to live near to the town centre,” he says.

Founded in 1121 and pre-Dissolution, Reading Abbey was one of Europe’s most prestigious religious and political centres. And now the historic Abbey Quarter is poised for a programme of revitalisation. Reading Borough Council’s bid to reopen the area to the public has won initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The council is currently considering detailed plans for the project which would entail extensive conservation work to the abbey ruins and gate. The authority has two years to work on an application seeking a grant of £1.7 million from the HLF.

Reading’s good vibes are reflected through its education results as well: it is the highest ranking local authority for A-level results and just outside the top 10% for students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C.

Earlier this year, students from Reading became the youngest in the UK to become Microsoft Technology Associates (MTA). Four youngsters from UTC Reading studied outside of their lessons to gain the professional qualification. The university technical college – of which Microsoft is a partner – specialises in computer science and engineering and opened in September 2013.

“Crossrail is now real and that will only help establish Reading as a destination”

13


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Reading’s planned Abbey Quarter will conserve existing buildings, the Abbey remains (above left). Reading’s Gerogian past lives on at the Malmaison hotel (above right).

Time ouTReading has a rich cultural heritage and boasts arts and leisure events all year round. New to the scene is Reading Rep, which combines high-class productions with education and community engagement. In the 18 months since its foundation, Reading Rep has hosted seven sell-out productions, including its inaugural season of The Dumb Waiter, A Christmas Carol, Miss Julie and Look Back In Anger.

The company has also launched an education and community programme which places enterprise, experience and employability at its core; and secured funding from Arts Council England and The European Social Fund among others. Aidan Grounds from the theatre said they want to help “transform the cultural landscape” of Reading and the surrounding area.

Artistic directors Daphna Attias and Terry O’Donovan are at the helm of theatre company, Dante or Die (pictured right), which brings site-sensitive dance theatre productions to Reading, inspired by contemporary stories and the “enchanting in the everyday”. Dante or Die presented a show at the Malmaison hotel in Reading as part of the Sitelines Festival in 2013, based around the drama ten minutes before a couple say: “I do”.

Theatrics aside even, the hotel itself provides a striking venue. Reading’s social butterflies can treat themselves to cocktails – virgin daiquiri for two, perhaps? – or dinner in Mal Brasserie, at the converted railway station hotel. Moody lighting, roll-top baths and huge beds add to the sense of drama.

Those looking for a creative boost would do well to look up Jelly: a Reading charity championing the creative arts. Jelly has played a strategic role in Reading’s cultural life since 1993, making a name for itself by arranging for art to appear in unexpected places. The charity creates pop-up exhibitions, events and workshops and has studios in Reading, where artists work on printmaking, photography,

painting, fine art, urban street art, vintage fashion, textiles and performing art, among other things.

“We believe in the power of the arts to delight, intrigue, challenge and enrich, and we’re committed to forming creative alliances and partnerships that encourage art and cultural life to flourish,” says director Suzanne Stallard. “Reading has so much creative talent.”

In July, Jelly recreated a new arts trail, celebrating all things Reading. And the area’s burgeoning visual scene is also in evidence on the Caversham Arts Trail to the south of the town centre and Whiteknights Arts Trail to the north. Based around the university, the latter showcases the work of artists in their own studios or homes and in venues such as museums, in media ranging from woodworking to glassmaking.

The members of Reading Bach Choir are passionate about introducing audiences to music from around Europe. A natural extension was to commission a new piece of music themselves – keen for it to have a connection with the town, they chose a text from Reading Abbey’s medieval manuscript collection before asking the composer Gabriel Jackson, to write the piece. Music fuelled by passion and provenance? Another tick in Reading’s box.

ReTaiL choice For those keen on shopping, Reading offers extensive retail choice in a compact area.

The Oracle is at the heart of the town’s retail and dining community with more than 80 shops and a Vue cinema. For the region’s fashionistas, Debenhams and House of Fraser sit next to the likes of Zara, H&M and Topshop, while Apple, Hollister, Timberland and Sky are also represented with stores.

The Riverside development forms an important part of The Oracle, offering a buzzy nightlife in the form of a range of restaurants and bars, from Jamie’s Italian and Browns to the London Street Brasserie.

14

Quality of life

Steve Belam, general manager of The Oracle, says: “The Riverside complex has fantastic dining to suit all tastes, in a cosmopolitan location. It offers a destination location with an average footfall of 300,000 every week.

“With some new signings on the horizon, including Ben’s Cookies, it’s an exciting time for The Oracle.”

Neighbouring Broad Street Mall is home to TK Maxx, and features a strong line up of high street names, including Argos and Wilkinsons.

New arrivals on the high street include Vans and Ecco shoes. Store manager Rosie Tarbox is enthusiastic about the brand’s successful arrival: “Reading is a great place for a new Ecco store, it has a high population, it’s a good tourist town with ample shopping and business opportunities.

“The local business community is good, relations between stores are very progressive and hopefully, in the coming months we can continue to build on these.”

But the town is not all about big names. Greg Costello, founder of Reading’s Workhouse Coffee, is proud to be based in Reading, with two shops now. And the town is proud to have him, judged as he has been to be in the top six of the UK Barista Championships for the past two years.

“The Riverside complex has fantastic dining to suit all tastes, in a cosmopolitan location. It offers a destination location with an average footfall of 300,000 every week”

“We are a true small enterprise based in Reading, having started in Reading, and continue to survive and grow,” says Costello. “Being specialist producers and suppliers we look forward to more specialist small businesses sprouting up in Reading.”

Food and drink connoisseurs can fill their bags and baskets at a stellar selection of shops, including wine merchants the Tasting House and The Grumpy Goat – independent retailer of British cheeses and bottled ales, based among a quirky range of shops in the Harris Arcade, one of Reading’s Edwardian gems. For the full dining experience, gourmets take their pick from restaurants including the Michelin-starred L’Ortolan in Shinfield. Housed in a beautiful listed building, guests can sample Alan Murchison’s contemporary French cuisine.

Reading’s quality of life adds to its appeal to relocators, with a good choice of residential property, excellent educational attainment, connectivity and high earnings.

And study after study demonstrates Reading’s pull for investors, creating the jobs that attract new residents and retaining a highly skilled workforce – in a Berkshire town that performs as a leading European city for investment, at the heart of a thriving knowledge economy.


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Landid Property backed by Brockton Capital together have assembled a unique portfolio of office buildings from Hammersmith stretching West to Reading and out to Uxbridge.Working with a team of creative designers, they are repositioning each building with the highest standards of contemporary design, sustainability, amenity, and integration with the town centre community.

Landid creates value through asset management, development and refurbishment. The highly experienced team has worked together for many years, enabling it to develop property which meets both the market and occupier’s specific requirements. Landid have been at the forefront of sustainable development since 1995 and continue to incorporate these skills into all of their developments in a pragmatic and cost effective way.

Landid Property LtdTrevor Silver

020 7495 9100

Brockton Capital is a specialist UK focused, real estate investment manager responsible for investing global institutional capital into a wide range of property assets across the UK. The founding philosophy of the business is to create value by investing in high growth sectors of the real estate economy and by applying intensive, forward thinking asset management and building design principles to ensure that each asset attracts the greatest occupier interest and demand. Brockton CapitalTony Edgley

020 7220 2500

Landid and Brockton are proud to sponsor the Reading UK event and excited to be at the forefront of the redevelopment of Reading town centre.

http://www.landid.co.uk/

18

Making ConneCtions

connectivity

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T he days when passengers travelling to Reading by rail invariably found themselves on slow-moving or stationary trains are over. Network Rail has invested £900 million to radically alter Reading’s complex track layout, allowing trains

to smoothly move their way to their allotted platforms. New rail and road links connect residents, businesses and

investors to London, UK and world markets. A new viaduct to the west of Reading will carry fast passenger trains on the Great Western Main Line – increasing track capacity to meet rising demand for high frequency passenger services.

Reading station already has new entrances and a new passenger footbridge with step-free access to five new platforms. All of these will hasten Reading’s growth as one of the UK’s busiest rail stations. Currently, 19 million passengers use Reading station each year – and demand for rail travel is expected to only grow. Centrally located, the station offers plenty of Grade A office space within minutes.

The entire station network redevelopment will be completed in 2015, significantly enhancing connectivity to markets in London, the south-east, the west and Wales, and to world markets via Heathrow. Electrification of the line will make it faster and more reliable.

Under the Thames Valley Berkshire Growth Deal, announced by the government in July, almost £9 million will be invested in a new transport hub at Green Park in south Reading, on the Basingstoke to Reading line. The project will also deliver a park and ride system and car park. Nigel Horton Baker of Reading UK CIC said it would ensure Reading remains the Thames Valley’s “power house”.

crossrail impactReading will also reap new opportunities created by Crossrail. The Department for Transport and Transport for London have announced the extension of the east-west Crossrail route to Reading. Residents will be connected to 39 stations served by Crossrail when two trains an hour start to run on the fully extended route in December 2019.

Destinations include stations close to London’s main employment centres – Heathrow, the West End, the City, and Canary Wharf – with Crossrail removing the need for Reading commuters to change at Paddington.

Scott Witchalls, partner at Peter Brett Associates, said: “It is vital for the future development and continued regeneration of Reading that improvements in the capacity and connectivity of its transport systems are delivered.”

“The Crossrail brand is important in the context of both connectivity to London and in the attractiveness of Reading as a place for inward investment and growth. While Reading will already have superb direct, high speed services to Paddington, the Crossrail connections will add easy and frequent services to Maidenhead, Slough and west London, and then onwards to the City without the need to change.”

Reading is only a short hop to London – and UK and global markets are increasingly within easy reach, writes paul coleman

Reading residents and businesses will be connected to 39 other Crossrail stations when two trains an hour start on the fully extended route in December 2019.

FutureTwice-hourly, semi-fast services and fast mainline services between Reading and London Paddington will continue to operate when Crossrail arrives. “I have also requested Network Rail look at the cost benefit of increasing the number of faster trains between Reading and Paddington,” said the then rail minister Stephen Hammond MP.

It was Hammond’s view that Crossrail could free up capacity on the Great Western Main Line, with possible direct services from Reading to Heathrow. The Western Access Rail Programme could see a direct rail service from Reading to Heathrow via Slough. Currently, passengers have to change at London Paddington. The link could be in place by 2021, with a journey time of 28 minutes.

Internal connectivity is also strong. The borough-wide ReadyBike cycle hire scheme was launched in June and a direct bus service runs from the University of Reading to the train station every seven minutes.

Dedicated services also operate to Green Park and Thames Valley Park. The new station at Green Park is set to increase connectivity between a key business growth area and the town centre and mainline. Work on a new pedestrian bridge over the Thames will begin this autumn.

Horton-Baker also welcomes the revitalisation of Reading station, into which more than £1 billion has been poured.

“In short, the station is now ‘fit for purpose’ in the 21st century. You only have to look at the area around the station to see how much redevelopment and refurbishment is going on, with major companies seeing the benefit of staying close to the station.

“Several major companies have stayed rather than relocated – for example Thames Water have kept their HQ next to the station.”

Witchalls said that creating a gateway to Reading was “fundamental” to the scheme’s vision.

“Both the station and the immediate surrounding area need to create a positive and lasting impression of Reading. That is why so much effort has been put into the quality and capacity of the station itself, but perhaps more importantly, the public realm nearby and interfaces with the town centre as well. These will all be completed by the autumn. Because of this, some of the run-down buildings around the station are being taken forward for redevelopment with complementary connections and public realm.”

airport linksCrossrail will also improve Reading’s links to Heathrow. Four services per hour will serve the airport. RailAir, the direct coach service, already links Reading station to Heathrow.

Non-stop, air-conditioned coaches leave Reading every 20 minutes and take passengers to Heathrow’s Terminal 5, Terminals 1 and 3 – and to the newly refurbished Terminal 2, the Queen’s Terminal. A free connecting transfer to Terminal 4 on the Heathrow Express rail link is also offered.

“ You only have to look at the area around the station to see how much redevelopment ... is going on”

connectivity factsCurrent or planned in next 5 years

• Track electrification London – Reading and main line to Bristol and south Wales

• New high speed electric trains, London – Reading and beyond

• Completion of new track work and modernised Reading station – opened by the Queen on 17 July, completing spring 2015

• Introduction of Wi-Fi on all high speed trains• 3,000 additional standard class seats across

First Great Western network• Work starting on Western Rail Access to

Heathrow Airport• Summer 2017 – Intercity Express Programme

replacing current fleet, London – Reading and beyond

• Crossrail – December 2019

20

Reading station will have five new platforms built, meaning trains will not have to queue while approaching the station. Space will be available too for six more freight trains per day.

connectivity

roadThe M4 motorway runs to the south of Reading with three junctions offering access to the town. Reading centre, business parks and distribution centres are strategically sited just off the M4. Elsewhere, £2.5 million of improvements to the M4 will relieve congestion around junction 10.

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22

map Reading

UNIVERSITY OFREADING

RIVER THAMES

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Residential1 Hatch Farm dairies2 Sibley Park3 Bulmershe Campus4 Wells Hall5 Bewley Park6 Hyde End Road Shinfield7 Montague Park8 Loddon Park9 310 Kings Road10 King’s Mead11 The Chambers12 Hindmarsh Lofts13 Kennet House14 Kennet Island15 Lok’nStore development 16 Chatham Place17 Green Park Village18 Kentwood Farm

Commercial offices19 Abbey Gardens South20 9 Greyfriars Road21 One Reading Central22 Aquis House23 The Blade24 Apex Plaza25 Phoenix 26 Pincents Lane IKEA27 Green Park28 Thames Tower29 R+30 One Valpy31 Reading Bridge House32 Forbury Place 33 RG Squared34 Kings House35 Reading International

Business Park 36 Thames Valley Science Park37 Winnersh Triangle

Commercial industrial38 Hays Logistics site39 Arlington Business Park 40 Southside41 Worton Grange42 Imperial Way43 2 Manor Park

Mixed-use44 Caversham St Martin’s Centre45 Royal Mail sorting office46 Station Hill47 Reading Borough Council

office site48 Reading Gateway

Other49 Reading Abbey50 Park and ride Mereoak

Railway line

Railway station

Roads

Proposed mass transit system

River

Motorway junction

Key

to southampton by trainSouthampton Central, 47 minutes

to Bristol by trainBriston Temple Meads, 68 minutes

23

UNIVERSITY OFREADING

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QUEENS ROAD A329

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Reading town centRe23


The reading property Map

For the most up-to-date information on development projects, go to: investinreading.co.uk

to London and Heathrow by trainLondon Paddington, 25 minutes Heathrow, 52 minutes

Reading station aRea

The £900 million redevelopment of Reading station – with new platforms and entrances, a passenger bridge and increased track capacity – has had a huge impact, with 60,400sq m of office development under way within 500 metres of the station and another 100,000sq m to start within a year.

Station Hill by Sackville Developments, a joint venture between Stanhope and Benson Elliott, is an employment-led, mixed-use scheme with 83,700sq m of office space over four buildings, with 300 residential units and 3,690sq m of retail and leisure space.

Phase one includes a temporary public space, ready by 2015, and 38,600sq m of office space over 17 floors, with typical floor plates

of 1,260sq m and an excellent BREEAM rating. Building One is due to complete by the end of 2016. The car park will be redesigned, increasing capacity to 850 cars. Retail will include a modern interpretation of Reading’s historic shopping arcades.

The scheme will be on either side of a new pedestrianised north-south route between Station Hill and the junction of Friars Walk and Friar Street. The first buildings on the site will be demolished later this year.

M&G is to redevelop the R+ building directly opposite Reading station. Due to complete during late 2015, the 9,300sq m block will provide a Grade A corporate headquarters building, just 26 metres from the station.

Aquis House, built in 1997, is being refurbished to create 3,318sq m of office space over six floors.

Opposite the station, a £100 million refurbishment of Thames Tower will see it extended by four storeys, reconfigured and re-clad to create a high specification office block.

Brockton Capital and Landid Property bought the 13,320sq m property in autumn 2013 from La Salle and submitted a planning application earlier this year.

Already complete after a multimillion-pound refurbishment, Apex Plaza comprises four linked blocks around a landscaped seven-storey central atrium, with a cafe. Occupiers are in the legal, accounting, IT, and financial sectors.

projects profiled

24

Projects

Samsung Electronics is the first occupier of Phoenix, a six-storey, Grade A block next to the station, refurbished at a cost of £4.35 million. Samsung has leased 864sq m from owners Ediston Properties and Europa Capital. Actuarial specialist Xafinity Consulting is moving its headquarters to Phoenix.

One Valpy now overlooks Forbury Gardens and offers flexible floor plates, a restaurant, and a nursery.

PwC has recently bought a 10-year lease of the 2,025sq m fourth floor of One Reading Central, while training company BPP has taken 620sq m of the first floor, joining international software business Pegasystems, and hibu (formerly Yell). The refurbished, 1099sq m, 10-storey Reading Bridge, recently sold to M&G, completed in March. The Thames-side building is home to Royal London Group, accountancy firm Throgmorton and IT services group SCISYS.

The 2.6-ha Royal Mail building, to the north of the station, was bought by Hermes Property Unit Trust in 2012. It is let to Network Rail until 2015, but has outline planning permission for a mixed-use scheme of offices, homes, hotel and leisure, in a development of up to 66,600sq m.

Significant redevelopment at Reading station (opposite page) and the surrounding area, including the recently opened One Valpy (left and below).

25


The Abbey Quarter has successfully secured Heritage Lottery Funding, while Forbury Place is expected to attract both UK and international occupiers.

abbey QuaRteR

The Abbey Quarter in Reading was the civic and ceremonial centre of the county town of Royal Berkshire since the 12th century, defined by the medieval streets and rivers that outline the precinct of the 1121 Reading Abbey. These contain a royal residence, civil war defences, Victorian public gardens, Jane Austen’s school and Reading Gaol.Impressive municipal buildings were designed by Sir John Soane, AWN Pugin, Alfred Waterhouse and Sir George Gilbert Scott.

To preserve listed buildings and scheduled monuments, Reading Borough Council was successful in its bid for Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF), focusing on the conservation and protection of the ruins and the abbey gate, plus interpretation of the Abbey Quarter, including pedestrian signage and a programme of activities.

The council has two years to work up a full grant application, with initial support of HLF.

Public access to the ruins was closed in summer 2009 to protect its rapidly deteriorating walls. The bid seeks an HLF grant of £1.73 million, to include a repairs programme, with the council match funding up to £1.36 million.

The Grade II-listed Reading Gaol, famous for Oscar Wilde’s poem about his incarceration, closed in December 2013 and will be sold by the Ministry of Justice for redevelopment.

Reading Borough Council has published an outline development framework on the history of the site and its context, making clear the requirement for a detailed archaeological investigation, and highlighting national and local planning policies for a prospective buyer to consider.

A potential developer would need to produce a detailed conservation assessment of the site’s buildings and its wider Abbey Quarter setting.

26

Projects

27


FoRbuRy Place

A town centre office campus development is under way at Forbury Place. Expected to attract UK and international occupiers, it is set to provide 34,374sq m across two buildings with 450 parking spaces and 290 cycle spaces.

No 1 Forbury Place is on-site and will provide 16,722sq m on seven floors, with large flexible floor plates, high quality landscaping and provision for parking.

M&G Real Estate and its development manager Bell Hammer are developing Forbury Place, designed by architect Aukett Swanke, the letting agents are CBRE and Campbell Gordon.

Forbury Place will include typical floors of 2,415.5sq m, a double height reception area, large ground floor atrium, sixth floor roof terraces, views over Forbury Gardens and Kings Meadow, Caversham Lakes and green fields beyond.

Phase 1 started on-site in November 2013 and is due for completion in summer 2015. Demolition of Energis House started in June 2014.

No 2 Forbury Place will be left as a hoarded site with a temporary landscaping scheme for the future development of 17,187sq m of offices.

The site is at the gateway to Reading’s town centre, about 250 metres east of the station, with Broad Street, The Oracle Shopping Centre and hotels nearby.

town centRe westeRn edge

Reading Borough Council is working with preferred bidder Kier Property to deliver a mixed-use scheme around the council offices in Hosier Street.

The council is working with Kier’s development division to draw up detailed plans for residential and retail development.

Demolition of the civic centre will start next year, once staff move to Plaza West, a town centre office building, undergoing refurbishment as the council’s new headquarters.

Extending the high street to the west is Chatham Place, a major component of the Reading City 2020 vision. The £100 million, mixed-use development is by Muse, in partnership with the council.

Phase one of the 66,600sq m scheme, across 2.8 hectares, was completed in 2009 and included a multi-storey car park, affordable homes, 211 private apartments, substantial public spaces and 900sq m of retail and leisure space.

The £35 million, 16,038sq m, second phase of Chatham Square is under construction. It will comprise two residential buildings of nine and 19 storeys, with ground floor retail, a public urban garden and improvements to highways, pedestrian linkages to the town centre and landscaping of the Chatham Street roundabout.

The site of the taller tower, with 139 apartments, was sold in September 2013 before it was built,

and is due for completion in early 2015. Muse’s 45 units in the second tower were all reserved off plan by individual owners or investors.

RG Squared provides six storeys of open plan office space of around 1,035sq m per floor, which can be divided into self-contained wings from 450sq m upwards.

And in Calcot, demolition work has been completed in June on Pincents Lane in preparation for a new IKEA store. The £5 million, 38,000sq m retail development adds £5 million of road improvements and creates up to 400 jobs.

IKEA is working with the Highways Agency and West Berkshire Council on the design of road improvements.

Town centre schemes include the second phase of Chatham Square, the completed Blade and the conversion of Kennet House into 103 apartments.

28

PRojects

town centRe easteRn edge

The first major project to be completed around Kings Road is the refurbishment of Abbey Gardens South. Hermes bought the vacant 1980s office block and following extensive renovation it is now the largest self-contained, Grade A office space in Reading. Its eight storeys have large floor plates, allowing flexible configuration, with natural light.

Boultbee Brooks Real Estate bought the 6,300sq m Kings House office building out of receivership and plans comprehensive refurbishment into a 7,560sq m Grade A office building, available for occupation early in 2015. Planning proposals would see the relocation of the central core during redevelopment, so that each of the seven floor plates can be occupied as an unbroken 1,080sq m.

The Blade – at 82 metres – the tallest building in Reading, continues to attract occupiers. The latest tenant is Barton Willmore, leasing 1,050sq m

of offices on the ninth and 10th floors. The building is now over 50% let, with tenants including Hays Recruitment, Cambio Healthcare, Kaplan Financial and Urban Science.

Hindmarsh Lofts, an office to residential conversion by Highfield Developments, was due for completion during summer 2014.Thomas Homes has developed 46 contemporary one and two-bedroom apartments at 310 Kings Road.

Kennet House, a 1960s office building sitting where the Thames and Kennet rivers meet, is undergoing conversion to 103 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, 10 of which will be managed by Raglan Housing Association.

The rebuild, by Crest Nicholson, will add four floors, each set back from the floor below to create a terraced appearance and maximise the number of apartments with river views. Completion is due in autumn 2014. 29

READING:UK The magazine that tells you about Reading

south Reading gRowth aRea

Part of the Reading masterplan, this emerging vision for development on land south of the town aims to provide a well-connected, mixed-use, sustainable urban community hub, including Green Park, Green Park Urban Village, the University of Reading’s Thames Valley Science Park, and further community development south of the M4.

Green Park, the 78-ha landscaped business park, where 5,000 people work – was designed to encourage biodiversity, with 50 bird species and a lake. All buildings have impressive green credentials, while a 120-metre wind turbine, designed by Foster + Partners, generates 2.3 megawatts of power annually, sufficient to meet the energy needs of 1,200 homes.

Close to Green Park and around its potential station will be Green Park Village, a development by St Edward. With consent since 2011, plans include 737 homes, 16,000sq m of commercial space, a school and a surgery.

In July, funding of almost £9 million was allocated through the Thames Valley Berkshire Growth Deal, to be invested in a new station for Green Park. On the existing Basingstoke-Reading line, it will provide a transport hub for the south Reading business base, as well as local housing developments. The project includes a park and ride facility and short stay car park.

The government has allocated £15.6 million to transport schemes in east Reading, plus £2.9 million for a park and ride scheme, and £4.5 million to south Reading.

As part of the borough’s 2020 community strategy, Peter Brett Associates (PBA) is developing a transport

strategy to provide alternatives to the car, meeting the demand for travel and improving management of the transport network.

PBA’s Reading Area Transportation Study identified that road, rail and bus network capacity will not meet demand over the next 20 years, and innovation in transport is essential to support planned developments.

Proposals include a ring of park and ride interchanges that could provide up to 9,000 spaces, orbital bus services and a mass transit system, focused around a new interchange at Reading station.

The first phase of the station project is now complete, and PBA has worked with Reading Borough Council to

30

Projects

develop a radical scheme to transform the inner distribution road, creating space for urban regeneration, environmental enhancements and ‘streetscape’ improvements. It also developed a planning and development scheme for car parks. Other key projects include the development of a mass rapid transit system, new railway and river crossings and intelligent transport systems.

The next phase of the Kennet Island development – part of the Southside development just north of Green Park – has been granted planning permission. Berkeley Homes plans to build 546 residential units – the Waterside Apartments – with infrastructure and landscaping, to improve the southern gateway into the town centre.

Berkeley Homes Kennet Island first launched in 2006 and has a gym, licensed cafe, convenience store and a nursery, all in the piazza.

The University of Reading is developing plans for a 72,000sq m innovation centre, the Thames Valley Science Park, aimed at technology-led companies wanting a strategic location and access to the research and graduate support provided by the university.

The project will be phased over 20-25 years and link to the town via improved infrastructure, including a shuttle bus service between the park and the university campus, Reading station and the centre.

Planning consent for a park and ride facility at Mereoak includes a terminal building, about 600 parking bays, with access to the A33 and the M4 junction 11.

Industrial property specialist SEGRO has reached a pre-let agreement to develop a 3,300sq m parcel-delivery centre, on a 20-year lease, for GeoPost at its 2.8-ha Imperial Way development. Construction started in February, with completion due August 2014.

The Reading Gateway site recently acquired by Kier is one of the remaining large development sites and has stood empty since Hewlett Packard vacated it in 2006. This key site could add to Reading’s hi-tech manufacturing or logistics facilities footprint as well as supporting the need for more housing.

south oF the M4

The Reading area has an acute need for additional homes. To this end, and to help Wokingham Borough Council meet targets for housing over the next decade, the area south of the M4 around Shinfield, Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross is designated as a strategic development location to create around 2,500 homes, as well as community infrastructure and public transport improvements to the three villages.

Most of the development projects are at Shinfield, with 1,350 homes, including 150 extra care homes, a new village centre, a small-scale village extension of 126 homes at Cutbush Lane, and a further 126 homes replacing a derelict research site at the Manor.

A further 900 homes, plus a new primary school, open space and play facilities, will be developed on two sites, one near Spencers Wood and the other east of Three Mile Cross.

Plans were finalised by Wokingham Borough Council for a scheme by Taylor Wimpey West London and David Wilson Homes (Southern), for starter and family homes, affordable rented and shared ownership properties.

Infrastructure works are planned to commence later this year, with the first phase of 276 homes starting at Spencers Wood next spring and residents expected to move in from Autumn 2015.

31


Green Park (left) is continually expanding, PBA’s proposed mass transit system (centre), Kennet Island (below), and the University of Reading’s Innovation Centre.

A development by:

A new chapter for Reading. A new home for you or your business. Station Hill is where everything changes. A sustained commitment to regeneration means Reading is blossoming. And we’re at the heart of the town’s future. A fully-managed estate in a contemporary urban setting, Station Hill will be a new concept in working, shopping and living.

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vital statistics

Reading has an average property value of just under

Reading had 78.1% of residents in work in 2013, the UK’s highest employment rate

Reading has only 2% of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (May 2014) – the lowest for six years (DWP)

Reading was named

10th best European City

for Foreign Direct Investment in the

Financial Times Foreign Direct Investment Awards

2014/15

Its average earnings are second only to London, at £606

per week compared with London’s 2013

average of £634

PRIvAtELy REntED RooMs AttRACt,

on AvERAgE, £444 A Month In READIng

(valuation office Agency, June 2014)

University of Reading is in the top 1% of the world’s 20,000 universities. (source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2013/14) It has 17,040 students from 141 different nationalities

Reading has the fifth best-educated workforce in the country, with 42.6% of the working-age population educated to the degree-equivalent standard or above in 2012

Reading has a 25-minute diRect Rail seRvice to london

34

MARKEts

over 2 million sq ft office space planned or under development in 2014 within 500 metres of Reading station (Reading uK cic), including the largest speculative office development outside london – Forbury Place (Property Week)

PwC and Demos Good Growth for Cities report, places Reading top out of the 36 largest economic areas in the country for economic performance

It hosts 397 CoMPAnIEs PER 10,000 REsIDEnts (thIRD In thE UK), AnD 52 stARtUPs PER 10,000 REsIDEnts (FIFth In thE UK)

Reading was ranked fifth in the uK’s top towns and cities outside london within the ‘uK vitality index’, lambert smith hampton’s indicator of the regions best placed to support future economic growth

3,206 new businesses started in 2013, a 6%

increase on 2012 (duport)

Reading has the second highest density of smes in the uK behind london with 364.6 per 10,000 population in 2013 (centre for cities small Business outlook 2014)

35


Shaping Reading’s futureMuse Developments is currently delivering Phase 2 of this new town centre district that will provide 184 additional homes, shops and new public space - building on the success of the first phase.

Completion of Phase 2 is expected in summer 2015.

www.musedevelopments.com

http://www.musedevelopments.com

37

What makes for an economically prosperous place? In Reading, regeneration projects are once again in evidence all around the city. A high proportion of the

workforce holding degree level qualifications is part of the appeal to new investors and educational initiatives with local businesses delivering successful recruitment programmes. Reading is also known as a place where organisations collaborate across the public and private sectors to develop long-term strategy for prosperity, all contributing to its achievement in competing against the UK’s strongest economies. In annual data published by the urban research thinktank, Centre for Cities, for six years

In few places are the signs of recession receding more rapidly than in Reading. The quarter around its new station hums with the activity of cranes, construction work and office refurbishment. The station is certainly catalytic but Reading has other serious advantages which draw investors in. James Wood reports

Back on track

running Reading has ranked in the top five most successful places for economic performance out of 64 UK cities. The town is holding its own against the likes of London, Manchester and Birmingham.

Reading has the third largest number of startup businesses in the country, with one of the most educated workforces – 42.6% have obtained a degree-level standard of qualification or higher – and is home to the highest earners in the UK outside of London, who took home an average of £606 a week in 2013.

The town also ranks fourth in the Top 10 Cities category for the UK and Ireland – behind London, Cambridge and Dublin – and third in the Small European Cities Overall category of the fDi Intelligence report, 2014/2015

37


European Cities and Regions of the Future. The study is based on a mix of data and expert opinion to rank cities and regions with the best prospects for inward investment, economic development and business expansion. Reading also scored second for business friendliness, sixth in the economic potential category and is ranked seventh for its FDI strategy.

Educational facilities contribute to this success. The University of Reading, in particular, has been key to helping businesses develop – adopting one of the largest entrepreneurship programmes in the country.

The Reading Enterprise Centre, an office facility set up in 2012 at the university, is set over 5,100sq m at the Whiteknights campus. Designed as flexible workspace, it provides businesses with space to develop and grow, and allows them direct access to the university’s talent pool of staff, students and graduates. Around 60 companies currently have lettings and are benefiting from the project.

Meanwhile, the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has received a £1.23 million grant from the government’s regional growth fund and has appointed business support expert VitalSix, based at the Science and Technology Centre at the University of

“As a local region, we have massive support mechanisms in place to help develop businesses”

The £900 million regeneration of Reading’s rail station has been the catalyst for new development in the town centre (right).The university’s Enterprise Centre (below).

38

business relocation

Reading, to manage the enterprise hub, which is a support service for SMEs.

David Gillham, director of research and enterprise services, also non-executive director of the LEP, stressed the importance of developing SMEs from an early stage at the university’s facilities.

“As a local region, we have massive support mechanisms in place to help develop businesses,” he said. “Through the LEP, we have always championed SMEs and will continue to adapt a very supportive environment to support their growth and development.

“We see these startups as the engine of growth for the whole Thames Valley Enterprise area.”

The LEP has also announced £7.25 million of funding to create a new ‘escalator fund’, which will offer financial support to SMEs. Coupled with the university developing a business growth accelerator advisory programme at the Henley Business School for startup businesses, support is there from all sides. Highly ambitious companies are applying for grant funding through the enterprise hub.

One such business, Datasift, which analyses social data, has grown from being a one-man band born out of the Enterprise Centre, to become an employer of around 80 people, selected from Reading’s pool of talent. Its growth and expansion has been so rapid that it now has bases in San Francisco and New York.

And it’s not just startups that are benefiting from Reading’s strong commercial culture. In the area’s business parks, multinational companies are moving in and staying put, creating a healthy and diverse mix of hungry

case study: job opportunities with tesco

The largest distribution centre in Europe, operated by Tesco and located in south Reading since 2013, has created 1,150 jobs, the majority of which were filled by local people.

The relocation was the result of Tesco’s consolidation of its distribution operations in two large centres, deciding to develop sites in Reading and Dagenham, east London.

Reading UK CIC is the economic development company for the area, which works closely with businesses and Reading Borough Council to support inward investment. Part of the CIC’s remit is to provide specialist support for business recruitment, helping to meet the needs of employers.

Reading UK CIC worked with Vinci, the team responsible for building Tesco’s 83,600sq m distribution centre, to secure apprenticeships during construction of the centre.

The collaboration resulted in the partners’ agreement to implement an employment and skills plan (ESP), which was devised to enable residents of Reading and the surrounding area to secure jobs created by the project.

After the construction phase, Reading UK CIC worked with the Department for Work and Pensions and Reading College, to support recruitment of the permanent warehousing and administration staff for the centre. This entailed introductions to enable Tesco to make links with the local community, relevant agencies and local government.

In particular, job opportunities were promoted among people living in hard to reach areas, with the CIC brokering pre-employment training to help prepare candidates for interviews and for work. This initiative also resulted in a commitment to identify 69 guaranteed jobs for unemployed people who previously had fewer opportunities to succeed in the jobs market, and a further 13 were supported through work experience with Vinci.

Simon Petar, corporate affairs manager at Tesco, said: “The ESP was a collaborative process with our partners, because at Tesco we are passionate about giving members of the local community the best chance of gaining employment with us.”

Nigel Horton Baker, executive director of Reading UK CIC, said: “In Reading we can demonstrate results as a partnership that provides a tailored staff recruitment service to ensure efficient set up for new companies and a long-term relationship to meet their ongoing needs.”

The University of Reading’s Enterprise Centre provides office space with R&D facilities for innovative businesses, and is available on flexible terms (bottom).

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entrepreneurs and global corporations in the town.Computer software companies the Oracle Corporation

and Websense, the latter of which develop anti-cyber attack software; natural gas company, the BG Group – and Microsoft – all have headquarters at Thames Valley Park.

So why Reading? A resilient economy is a factor, but the town also offers convenient transport links via the M4 and rail networks to Heathrow, London and beyond. Reading is surrounded by designated areas of outstanding natural beauty and the city’s “cafe culture” creates opportunities to interact, particularly at the business parks where there are benefits from being based near like-minded companies.

Charles Saunders, senior director of corporate and marketing communications at Websense, says: “As a fast growth company, it is important for us to be located alongside fellow technology companies. In that respect, being at the heart of the Reading area – which is dubbed the UK’s own Silicon Valley – is a perfect location to support our growth efforts.”

For Stuart Snelling, head of global business services at BG Group it’s the transport networks: “BG Group moved to its headquarters in Reading in 1991. With its road and rail transport links, and proximity to London, Reading has provided BG Group with a very good base as the company has grown,” he says.

And Thames Valley Park is not the only thriving business destination in Reading. Among the 45 businesses to have established headquarters in Green Park is one of the world’s largest providers of pharmaceutical products,

“Outside of London, the Thames Valley is an established hub for business”

Quintiles, which moved to its Reading base to consolidate its operations in 2011.

Quintiles employs more than 2,000 people in the United Kingdom, 500 of which are in Reading, and has been ranked consistently in the list of best workplaces in the UK by the Great Place to Work Institute.

Charlotte Taylor, Quintiles’ head of the UK and Europe’s media relations, says: “Outside of London, the Thames Valley is an established hub for business, meaning we can recruit talented experts locally.

“A large part of the benefits to establishing a strong workforce are to do with Green Park’s working environment. There are plenty of activities to support employee health, wellness and engagement.

“The newly launched bike scheme has a station in Green Park for employees wishing to cycle either around the park or to and from central Reading, and there is also a Green Park Triathlon, Royal Berkshire 10k run, summer fete, sporting Wednesdays, winter wonderland and even an Easter egg hunt.”

The park is owned by Oxford Properties and was developed by Prudential and PRUPIM.

The benefits for businesses in Reading are clear. What makes the town stand out against its competitors, however, is the combination of a progressive and business friendly local authority, a strong university and the foresight shown by developers in dealing with an increasing demand for improved office space.

Councillor Tony Page, deputy leader of Reading Borough

Demand for highly qualified people is high among Reading’s employers. The University of Reading’s Science and Innovation Park is being developed (below).

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business relocation

A new cycle scheme is now in operation at Green Park (above).Two prestigious headquarters blocks are under construction at Forbury Place in the town centre (right).

Council and the lead member for strategic environment, planning and transport, says: “Geographically, we are in a very good position and our successful lobbying to secure investment in the Reading station regeneration project is part of that – next summer we will see its conclusion.

“This investment of nearly a billion is not simply a local project, it benefits the whole national network, although we were determined to maximise the benefits locally, to promote the town as a highly sustainable location, its proximity to Heathrow is very important to investors.”

And there is more to come, adds Page: “The government has now given its support to the Crossrail extension to Reading, on land which was secured under the last government – the remaining dots are now joining up.”

Page and his council officers continue to lobby for a southern rail link into Heathrow, which is not yet committed by government. He says: “The western rail access between Reading and the airport is definite and will happen in 2020 or 2021. With these further improvements to Reading’s connectivity to all points, the town is in a pivotal position for inward investment.”

Page views it as important that the council backs up the claim that it is open for business: “We’re up for

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Two new office headquarters at Forbury Place. The scheme is by M&G Real Estate and Bell Hammer, with the first building due to complete in 2015.

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Grade a development Within 500 metres of Reading station, in square footage

one Valpy Valpy Street 53,000

aquis House Blagrave Street 37,000

Forbury Place Forbury Road 372,000

kings House Kings Road 80,000

r+ Forbury Street 103,000

Sub-total 645,000

Recent investments

Phoenix Station Hill 51,000

abbey Gardens South

Kings Road 77,000

apex Plaza (refurb)

Forbury Road 205,000

reading Bridge Reading Bridge 116,000

Sub-total 449,000

Planned investments, due to start within 12 months

thames tower Station Hill/Station Road

183,000

Station Hill Station Hill 900,000

Sub-total 1,083,000

Total 2,177,000

meetings, we give a high priority to requests and have good relationships with the people leading the developments around the station, such as Stanhope, also Brockton Capital and Landid Property, owners of Thames Tower.”

Another vital asset is the economic development company, Reading UK CIC, which works with business and the local authority to support inward investment.

The advantages of Reading continue to attract investors and demand for office space is strong, eliciting a positive response from the market (see panel, left). M&G Real Estate and Bell Hammer have obtained consent for two office headquarters, totalling 34,374sq m on Forbury Road. No 1 Forbury Place is due to complete in summer 2015.

With office blocks shooting up or being reconfigured around the station (see panel and Projects Profiled), confidence to invest in Reading has never been higher. What stands out is a common goal shared by businesses, academics and entrepreneurs. They are planning for the future, building on this city’s proven record of economic success.

“We’re up for meetings, we ... have good relationships with the people leading the developments around the station ...”

greenpark.co.uk

Discover better business

A thriving business community for companies of all shapes and sizes

http://www.greenpark.co.uk

Come as you areWhile global brands choose Reading as a thriving business location rich in talent, it is equally recognised as a destination for the world’s greatest bands. The Reading Festival, held for 30 years at Little John’s Farm, has become one of the most famous musical events internationally, attracting young hedonists from far and wide and boosting local businesses – a different take on the Reading brand. James Wood reports

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Acts And figures

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“The band selection is brilliant and increasingly the organisers have leaned to cater for a wide variety of tastes. “

reading Festival, 1992, and speculation is spreading through Little John’s Farm. Rumours abound about whether a hotly anticipated headline show from the most legendary band of the day – Nirvana – was really going ahead.

What ensued is still talked about among seasoned patrons of the festival as one of its most memorable moments.

That summer, grunge music had made the transition from the sweaty basement bars of Seattle to global phenomenon – in large part due to the success of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and the subsequent album, Nevermind. The fragility of the band’s singer, Kurt Cobain, who was in and out of rehab at the time, tackling drug addiction, was the talk of the festival.

The memory of Cobain arriving on that stage dressed in a hospital gown and pushed in a wheelchair by English music journalist Everett True, was a moment that would come to not only characterise Cobain’s eye for irony, but would be the band’s last ever UK performance.

It was a turning point for the festival, which had fallen out of favour and had been cancelled by the council in 1985 when the site was earmarked for development. It re-emerged two years later and slowly began to recover its popularity. By the time Nirvana came to play their now famous set, it had become a key event in the calender for lovers of indie and rock.

Now the country’s longest-running music festival, Reading continues to attract big names. Tickets for 2014 sold out more than three months before the gates opened and this year’s festival was headlined by Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, Paramore and Blink 182.

A thriving music festival scene in the UK means the choice has never been wider, from underground hipster gatherings to teenyboppers in the park, but for 16-year-olds who have GCSE exams done and dusted and summer stretching out further than they can remember, all roads lead to Reading on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

A band selection which is tapped into the demand of its demographic is not the only thing going for the festival. Its location, bang in the middle of the town, allows for easy access, as ticket holders make use of the short walk from the newly refurbished train station to the site. Stocking up on supplies and last minute purchases is made easy by the shops in the locality of the town centre.

Teen spirit (above).Sub Focus perform on the festival’s first ever dance stage in 2013 (below).

It is not just teenagers who are attracted to Reading’s most famous event. Others have attended for 25 years, such as Antony Morris, who works for local solicitors Clarkslegal. He spoke to Reading:UK about why the festival’s popularity shows no sign of abating: “It is quite amazing to see just how far it has come.

“My first year was in 1989. It was a fairly low-budget, badly organised affair back then, but it was also around the time that things were starting to pick up.

“The festival endures. The band selection is brilliant and increasingly, the organisers have learned to cater for a wide variety of tastes. By widening their horizons and by continually excelling at discovering up-and-coming acts, the age range and variety of people attending has really broadened out.

“It’s a very well organised event now too,” he continues. “The security is much improved, you don’t have to put up with the cross-pollination of music from different stages and it’s really well-located and easy to reach from the cities. People come from all over.”

Reading is the world’s oldest music festival still in existence and originated as an annual jazz and blues event managed by the National Jazz Federation and London’s Marquee Club.

It was brought to the town for the first time in 1971. A slow transition took place through the decades – the 70s mirroring the favoured musical genres of the time, from progressive rock to punk, with confusion reigning in the 1980s, when the festival’s image ranged from being at times too mainstream and at others too niche.

The management company Mean Fiddler took on shared ownership in 1989 and sole ownership in 1993. A sister event at Temple Newsam in Leeds was spawned in 1999 and in 2007 the Mean Fiddler name was sold and Festival Republic was born.

Bringing the town to the attention of an international audience, Reading continues to sell-out year upon year, even as its capacity increases.

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Acts And figures

Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic, explains its durability: “The key thing is maintaining a relevance to the target audience,” he says. “Younger people are less pigeonholed by music these days. A Led Zeppelin fan 35 years ago would have likely been into bands of a similar ilk, but these days, teenagers have so much access to music and tastes are broader.

“It’s something I think we’ve managed to stay on top of. In 2013, we had a dance stage for the first time and a number of hip-hop and grime acts have played over the last few years.”

Azealia Banks rapped at Reading in 2013 (above).Leap of faith (left) Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy.

“The band selection is brilliant and increasingly, the organisers have learned to cater for a wide variety of tastes“


47

Reading’s location is also a selling point, says Benn. “It is one of the greenest and most sustainable because it is the only major music festival in the UK that you can walk to from the train station. I really don’t need to tell you what a difference that makes in terms of cutting down on car consumption.

“The easy access from London and other cities makes a difference too. It helps retain that target audience, as those just finishing their exams might not be able to drive yet.

“If the whole rite of passage still exists, and I’m sure that it does, then it’s really a wonderful thing that this is the case. I went to Reading for the first time when I was 16 and it was certainly the case for me.”

Around 7,500 people work on site during the weekend and by attracting a wealthy crowd, the festival boosts the local economy. In 2009, Festival Republic commissioned an Economic Impact Assessment, which found that the total gross spend associated with the festival that year was in excess of £31 million. And visitor spending by more than 90,000 people who attended amounted to an estimated £19.3 million – an average of £209.19 per visitor – according to information based on 2,200 interviews carried out on site by a research team from the University of Reading.

Benn says: “When we took over in 1989, the festival was effectively bankrupt. From then, the audience has

“If the whole rite of passage still exists, and I’m sure that it does, then it’s really a wonderful thing“

grown from 30,000 to 40,000 and today it has a capacity of 90,000. I feel very positive about the future and getting to the target of 100,000.

“It’s all in the planning. When you have a very limited amount of time, if you don’t plan an event like this in the right way, you don’t achieve success.”

Though Benn stresses that the festival delivers a significant financial boost for the economy of the south-east, money is not uppermost in his mind when asked what he finds ultimately satisfying.

“That would definitely be opening the gates at the start of the festival,” he says. “Just seeing the excitement on young people’s faces, year in-year out, as they rush to find a place to camp. That will never stop being a huge thrill.”

Arctic Monkeys (top) and Paramore (above) at Reading Festival – both were headline acts of the 2014 event.

Acts And figures

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Up to 77,000 sq ft of stunning new officesAbbey Gardens offers the perfect mix of business advantages with all the benefits of a prominent location in the centre of Reading.

•Stunning headquarters office building with high quality specification

•Spectacular views over the River Kennet and across Reading town centre

•Excellent natural light and large floor plates

A DEVELOPMENT BYALL ENQUIRIES

Rhodri Shaw DD: 020 7318 5066 [email protected]

Simon Knight DD: 020 7312 7419 [email protected]

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www.bellhammer.co.ukKeith Wise DD: 0118 959 7555 [email protected]

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Happy resident of Reading and employee of PRA International, a pharmaceutical company at Green Park, Rachel Whitelaw, says: “Ten years ago, when closure of my company’s office forced us to relocate, the

prospect of moving to Reading was painful, but today I love it. I love how much is going on, the trees everywhere and such community spirit.

“We love the proximity of the countryside, we can walk to everything we need – our friends’ houses, the doctor’s, the cinema and even the river. And there is the university with its arts, music, independent film: something we never thought we’d replicate from Cambridge.”

And Whitelaw is not the only one drawn to the town and the surrounding area. Demand for housing in Reading is booming, both from investors and owner-occupiers. It is especially popular with those moving from London, seeking more space for their money and good schools. “As managers and executives are moving in – thanks to companies like Microsoft, Oracle and British Gas with their Reading headquarters – we’ve seen a jump in prices for premium properties, particularly around Caversham or the university,” says Chris Cullity of Haslams Estate Agents.

Rental values are on the up, he says, and current and planned transport improvements look set to make Reading even more attractive to investors.

Home sweet HomeSo, you want to move to Reading, for its amazing work prospects. But what’s it like to live there? What’s the choice of housing? Where should you go? And what kind of home are you likely to find? Sarah Herbert guides you through the town, from its village-like, villa-filled outskirts to the vibrant urban centre

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Up to 77,000 sq ft of stunning new officesAbbey Gardens offers the perfect mix of business advantages with all the benefits of a prominent location in the centre of Reading.

•Stunning headquarters office building with high quality specification

•Spectacular views over the River Kennet and across Reading town centre

•Excellent natural light and large floor plates

A DEVELOPMENT BYALL ENQUIRIES

Rhodri Shaw DD: 020 7318 5066 [email protected]

Simon Knight DD: 020 7312 7419 [email protected]

www.hermes.co.uk

www.bellhammer.co.ukKeith Wise DD: 0118 959 7555 [email protected]

AW_AGS_Ad_01.indd 1 01/08/2014 15:15

52

Attractive Victorian housing in Redlands is close to the University of Reading. Dream homes on the Thames at Caversham (below) with moorings.“First-time buyers are keen to get in, buying up just

about anywhere – especially near the station or university.“Reading has changed over the past 10 years, especially

the town centre, with large restaurants and excellent shopping replacing what had been a bit piecemeal. The next stage will be the rise of independent cafes and shops. This is starting to happen. If we could improve the connection to the Thames, the town centre will have arrived.”

Both Whitelaw and Cullity point out how much more you get for your money than in, for example, London. Yet it doesn’t have a small town mentality.

“There’s an artisan food market, loads of children’s clubs within walking distance, swimming, football, cubs, scouts, ballet, Berkshire Maestros, music lessons in school…” says Whitelaw. “Whatever you’re interested in, you can find it.”

In common with so many, Reading, with its roots in the Middle Ages, has expanded over the centuries to swallow up a number of smaller communities, creating a metropolitan area comprising distinct urban villages.

CaverSHam/emmer Green North of the Thames is Caversham (pictured right), dating back to the Doomsday Book, with its grand houses, ranging from Victorian to 20th century on tree-lined roads. For the Reading-bound senior executive, one property to consider might be the newbuild Reve House on the river, where £3.5 million will buy you four receptions, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a 45ft mooring, though there are plenty more modest, spacious, detached villas.

The area is home to Caversham Park, a former stately home and now the site of BBC Monitoring, with its own shopping centre. The town centre is due a revamp, with a scheme in the pipeline by Hermes Real Estate Investment Management to regenerate the St Martins Centre, improving links to the river, creating a loop between the High Street, Caversham Square and Market Square, and enhancing the district centre, and creating a sense of place.

Nearby Emmer Green feels more rural – complete with village green and pond – and links the town with the Oxfordshire countryside.

SonninGThis historic part of Reading has no fewer than eight churches dating back to the 12th century, as well as a famous narrow-arched bridge across the Thames (damaged in last winter’s floods), the independent Reading Bluecoat School, and The Deanery, a fine Edwin Lutyens house complete with a Gertrude Jekyll garden.

Buyers could consider Aberlash House, a nine-bedroom Georgian house in two-hectare riverside gardens, with its own fishing, a circular garden pavilion, boathouse and multiple mooring points. For a more modest, yet still huge detached home, expect to pay between £700,000 and £1.5 million.

TileHurSTAs its name implies, Tilehurst was famous as a centre for brick-making before Reading’s expansion westwards made

“ First-time buyers are keen to get in, buying up just about anywhere – especially near the station or university”

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Housing

53

Taylor Wimpey’s Loddon Park scheme at Woodley (above). Affordable, central living at Kennet House (below), by Raglan Homes, offering one and two-bedroom apartments.

it a key residential centre. As well as its own station, it also has a well-loved retail heart, schools (including a special school), shops, banking and public transport. Recreational facilities include Prospect Recreational Park and several leisure centres, while the Thames is a 10 minute drive.

Some of the most exclusive houses are in a gated community of ‘executive’ 20-year-old homes next to Calcot Park golf course, the site of the old manor house, with other homes nearby mostly less than 60 years old, apart from in the older conservation area of Tilehurst Village.

WeST readinG/oxford roadThis vibrant area, popular for rented accommodation and among first-time buyers, has large numbers of Victorian terraces and converted properties. Reading’s most multicultural area, and famous for its array of ethnic shops and eateries, it offers easy access to the town centre.

univerSiTy/redlandSPopular with families, some of the town’s finest red-brick properties can be found here. Sitting to the south-east of the town en route to the university’s Whiteknights campus, it is a popular choice for privately rented student accommodation. Where Rachel Whitelaw, our relocator lives, between the university and the hospital, “is a vibrant place, not dominated by the university, with everything in walking distance. There’s even a museum of rural life.”

Woodley Housing choice in Woodley ranges from a converted 17th century barn to new homes such as new-build apartments and houses at Loddon Park, by Taylor Wimpey, via Victorian houses and even dilapidated bungalows, that would make excellent self-build projects. The area offers local shopping, several weekly and monthly markets, its own Museum of Aviation – celebrating the area’s wartime hosting of an airfield and centre for aircraft manufacture – and even an annual carnival, complete with floats.

Together Woodley and Earley host some of the largest new housing estates in the UK.

WokinGHam/SouTH of readinGMany, once quiet, villages to the south of Reading, such as Spencers Wood, Three Mile Cross, Mortimer and Burnfield are popular, thanks to their position off the M4’s junction 11, retaining a Victorian and rural charm. Wokingham and south Reading is where much of the new housing will be focused. Here, growth is the buzzword.

BerkSHire and norTH HanTS villaGeSFor ease of commute, many of the other villages in Berkshire and North Hampshire provide great options. Burghfield, Bucklebury, Goring, Steatley, Pangbourne, Swallowfield and Risley are all sought-after and have slightly different characteristics.

ToWn CenTreFor many single people or couples, the town centre is an increasingly popular place to live, with new developments complete or nearly complete, such as Muse’s Chatham Square (its second phase is due for completion next year), Bewley Park, and no fewer than three schemes on King’s Road, converting offices to apartment buildings (see box on new developments).

affordable homes

For those unable to afford market prices, there are various options. Housing association Thames Valley Homes has a number of properties available, on several different schemes, while Catalyst Housing owns many part-share homes for sale in Caversham, Earley and central Reading. For anyone keen to live centrally, another option is taking one of Raglan Homes’ 10 one and two-bed apartments in Kennet House, at £72,000 for a 40% share.

Sovereign Housing Association has rental, and low-cost homes, and is unveiling its Pangbourne Rise shared-ownership development of two and three-bed houses in summer 2014.

In Whitley, Affinity (a consortium of Radian and Southern Housing Group) manages, maintains and refurbishes around 1,350 council-owned properties on the North Whitley estate.

And in the pipeline are 281 affordable homes, of a total of 763, on the Dee Park estate, under a regeneration scheme by the Dee Park Partnership, a joint venture between Catalyst Housing and Willmott Dixon. The scheme will replace the 1960s buildings, which do not meet current housing standards, with high-quality family homes around a new estate layout, with a new community hub, two-form entry primary school and shops.

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One new town centre resident is Andrew Stuart, who relocated to Reading from Aberdeen in 2013, as it was a better place for his new IT company – Datto – to grow. “We looked at London,” says Stuart, “but we wanted to be where a lot of our partners and competitors were, from a recruitment perspective. Eight of the nine members of staff moved down with me. I live in central Reading, and it’s ideal for me. I walk to work at Green Park, while my staff use the shuttle bus. A lot like Reading’s close proximity to London – it’s only 30 minutes to get in for weekends away – and the convenience of Heathrow.

“When I first visited Reading, I liked its pedestrianised centre, good cafes, and the fact you could walk about – Aberdeen has a bad traffic problem. I had a car when I moved down, but got rid of it as I never used it. Everything is within walking distance, and if it isn’t, the public transport is great. There are different areas of the town but it never feels too big. It’s an upbeat place, with a lot of headline tech companies like Oracle, Microsoft, so a good place for my industry. People are welcoming – I’ve made friends with other businesses. And it’s got great shopping!”

Another of Reading’s strong points for new and existing residents, is its schools. Reading School, founded in 1125 is the 16th oldest school in England. There are six other state secondary schools, with the grammar system a big draw for many, and 37 state primary schools, together with a number of independent schools and nurseries.

The majority get a ‘good’ Ofsted rating, with three secondaries – Kendrick Girls’ Grammar, Reading School and Maiden Erlegh ‘outstanding’. The national shortage of primary school places is affecting Reading, with demand for reception year places growing for a number of years and expected to continue to increase until 2016/17.

To tackle the problem, Reading Borough Council is undertaking a £64 million expansion programme, increasing the capacity of nine primary schools to provide more places in reception, building on expansion projects undertaken at four other schools. Some will double in capacity, and one (the Ridgeway Primary School in Whitley) will even triple in size. Detailed plans for each school are being drawn up, and exhibitions will be held for parents and residents to find out more and comment.

neW developmenTS

Chatham Square Muse Developments’ two-tower scheme on the western edge of the town centre is due for completion in early 2015, and has already been pre-sold or reserved. The taller, 18-storey tower, has 139 units, while the nine-storey south tower has 45, arranged around a garden and courtyard.

310 Kings RoadTo the east of the town centre, many of the 46 one and two-bedroom apartments in the Thomas Homes development are reserved. Due for completion at the end of 2014.

Hindmarsh Lofts On Kings Road, Highfield Developments’ conversion of an office block into apartments, with retail on the ground floor, was due for completion during summer 2014.

Kennet HouseCrest Nicholson’s conversion of a former office block on Kings Road is due to complete in October. Hundreds queued to view show flats when the development opened for marketing in spring. The developer has so far released 35 of the 93 apartments and all have been reserved.

Kennet IslandBerkeley Homes launched the next phase of this mixed-use scheme on the A33, Skylark House, in July 2014. The residents of the waterside block of one and two-bedroom apartments will benefit from a landscaped piazza, gym, hotel, children’s play area, nursery and community room.

Bewley ParkFive minutes walk from The Oracle, Bewley Homes’ development of 61 houses and 12 apartments is surrounded by mature trees and a nature reserve. The scheme includes conversion of a Victorian water tower and pump house into flats, which have all been reserved. The development will be launched in September.

Sibley ParkCharles Church’s collection of three, four and five-bedroom homes in Earley, is an easy drive to the town centre and near to excellent schools.

Kings MeadBellway Homes’ scheme of apartments and houses on the eastern side of Reading town centre offers city centre life, with proximity to in-demand schools, both state and private. It is due to launch in spring 2015.

Chatham Place (left) Bewley Park (below), and Kennet Island (bottom) are among the housing developments under way in and around Reading.

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Housing

Reading UK CIC, the economic development company for Reading, provides services for businesses, developers and investors.

• Free advice and practical support

• Business intelligence and research

• Support with recruitment and employment needs

• Property agent contacts

• Networking and introductions

• Reading branding and media

• Staff relocation

• After care

The benefits of London without the overheads and hassle

Contact: Sue Brackley, Economic Development ManagerTel: 0118 937 4340Email: [email protected]

Tailored support to help your move to ReadingThe smart route to practical information on living and working in Reading

www.investinreading.co.uk

Make Reading your next move

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