Lincoln MGT, the joint venture between Lincoln Property Company and MGT Investment Management, is set to sign the first three tenants for more than 100,000 square feet of offices to anchor Reading's £750 million Station Hill mixed-use development, CoStar News can reveal.
Financial services and accountancy giant PwC, advised by Cushman & Wakefield, is likely to be the first tenant to sign at Reading's key gateway site. It is set to take 40,000 square feet in One Station Hill, the 275,000-square-foot office at the heart of the development.
Food and drinks giant Pepsico, advised by Colliers, is in talks to sign for 40,000 square feet, relocating from the Green Park business campus in Reading where it occupies the 450 South Oak Way building
Finally NewFlex, the “space-as-a-service” solutions operator, is understood to have been selected to take the serviced office space and operate around 35,000 square feet across the first and second floor.
JLL and Hatch Real Estate are advisers at Station Hill.
The offices form part of the second phase of the giant scheme. The first phase of the wider Station Hill development comprises 600 build-to-rent private and affordable homes which have been completed and are being operated by Native Residential.
Station Hill will ultimately provide up to 1,350 homes, office accommodation for approximately 9,000 jobs, space for retail, cafes and restaurants, and a new pedestrian link and public realm between the station and the town centre.
In 2021, Lincoln MGT secured a £107 million construction loan from BentallGreenOak for the second phase. The loan is funding the offices, a public square and a link bridge with level access from the train station to the town centre. The development includes a £50 million investment in surrounding infrastructure.
The office lettings are a crucial milestone for a South East site that has struggled get off the ground for decades. Station Hill includes the area outside of Reading Station, incorporating the Garrard Street car park and the site of the old Friar's Walk Shopping Centre. The plans include a complete remodelling and refurbishment of the former NCP car park.
Lincoln MGT took on the project in 2018. Lincoln MGT is a strategic joint venture between the US developer Lincoln Property Company and UK based MGT Investment Management and it is understood to have paid around £68 million for the opportunity with backing from Baupost.
In January 2011 the Station Hill development was bought by private equity firm Benson Elliot and Stanhope after long-term owner Sackville sold a majority stake in the scheme, but retained a small interest.
Their plans replaced long-running plans from Reading tycoon John Madejski’s Sackville Developments for a 1.7 million-square-foot scheme comprising a 22-storey tower, 870,000 square feet of offices, 243,000 square feet of retail and leisure and 650 flats which obtained planning consent in September 2010.
A specialist fire investigation is under way after a large fire broke out at the development in November.
All parties declined to comment.