One of the UK’s biggest privately-owned property firms has completed the largest office letting in the Luton area since 2008.
IM Properties (IMP) has signed a deal with Randstad, which will see the global employment agency take almost 30,000 sq ft of Grade A space at Building 450, on the Capability Green scheme, on the outskirts of Luton.
Randstad will move its UK headquarters from the centre of the town, once a £1.5m refurb of the three-storey building is complete and its own fit-out has been finished, which is expected to be in early July.
IMP, which has £900m of assets owned and under management in the UK, Europe and the United States, bought the scheme in 2008.
Its surveyor, David Cook, says Randstad has taken a seven-year lease, and the letting to such a significant occupier justifies the strategic decision to invest heavily in a quality refurbishment throughout the building:
“We bought three buildings here in 2008, and over the past eight years have invested over £3.5m into improving the real estate, attracting Lumesse and Oracle along the way. We’re always looking to add value to our real estate portfolio, and I believe the latest letting to Randstad underlines the merit of that approach.
”We identified significant pent-up demand in the Luton market for Grade A space, securing 11,000 sq ft to Oracle, and now 30,000 sq ft with this deal, and we think there’s more to come. Randstad have taken sufficient space to allow for expansion, which is a sign of their confidence in the area’s economy.”
London-based Trilogie Corporate Estate acted for Randstad. IMP’s agents at Capability Green are Savills and RARE.
Guy Parkes, Director at RARE is a specialist in the South East market, having previously been JLL’s head of the Western Corridor.
He says the Randstad deal is the largest office letting in the Luton area, since the pre-recession peak of 2008.
“The local market is relatively tight, but IMP have demonstrated that if the product is right, then top-quality tenants will look to move and upgrade and take space here,” says Parkes.
“Luton’s airport is only a couple of minutes away from Capability Green, and that’s a major draw for international occupiers, and especially for US corporates. The park is also barely a mile from J10 of the M1 and within a 15 minute drive of the M25, so in terms of location, it couldn’t be bettered.
“There’s been a trend for some time for occupiers to look for key modal points; so either close to a major train station, or near to an airport and the motorway network, and I don’t see that changing, so I expect this scheme to maintain its popularity.
”As always, if you can offer a quality product at the right price, then potential tenants will be interested, and we’re already got viewings booked for other space at Capability Green, so we’re very optimistic for the second half of 2016.”
