Legal & General Investment Management continued a strong lettings run in the South East in 2023 after signing American industrial gas supplier Air Products for all of a 75,089-square-foot office in Chertsey in Surrey. The deal, revealed by CoStar News, picks up the Impact Award in part because it showed a landlord being rewarded for a commitment to a highly sustainable development.
Air Products has agreed a lease at 1000 Hillswood Park and it is expected that staff will relocate from the existing Hersham Place Technology Park office in Walton-on-Thames, where it occupies a similar amount, indicating occupier preference for highly sustainable new developments.
L&G appointed Savills and CBRE in May to lease its recently completed "ESG exemplar office refurbishment".
About the Project: The 1980s building is in 96 acres of woodland and lakes, and has been regenerated to be EPC A rated and achieve a NABERS UK 5 star rating, which marks a building's operational energy efficiency. That made it one of only 13 developments in the UK to achieve a rating of 5 stars or greater as of January 2023, L&G said in the summer. The company is also targeting a BREAAM rating of Excellent.
The building has remote monitoring of mechanical and electrical systems and central plant, low energy LED lighting, air source heat pumps for heating and cooling, 26 electric vehicle charging points, two electric bike charging points and on-site clean energy generation photovoltaic solar panels. There is also an atrium with a café, meeting spaces, concierge services and an events calendar including networking events, a "bike doctor" and pop-up events. Occupiers can also use The Pergola, an outdoor room, for events.
1000 Hillswood Park is a mile from Junction 11 of the M25 motorway.
What the Judges Said: Jonathan Manning, founding director, Rare Property Advisors praised the ESG focus: “Demonstrating that occupiers are persuaded by both the quality of the completed scheme and the effort that a developer goes to to ensure the development achieves market defining ESG credentials which serve to convince not only the corporate occupier but also their staff who increasingly play a critical part in the selection of a new headquarters based on how it makes them feel about the environmental responsibilities demonstrated by their employer.
"L&G went above and beyond what was required in creating a truly outstanding refurbishment and embraced many of the "new standards" that occupiers demand when considering a new HQ such as external meeting/social collaborative spaces, an innovative reception which doubled as a cafe to enhance the experience of not only staff but also visitors and incorporating fitted touch down and collaborative workspace throughout the building to increase those serendipitous moments so important in "earning the commute" of staff to the office. The refurbishment of the WCs was also a notable feature of the scheme. “
James Watson, head of development, London & Southern England, Panattoni UK, reflected on the size: “Office lease deals are very tricky indeed in this market – let alone one of this scale! This is clearly stand-out."
They Made it Happen: Andrew Willcock, head of Greater London & South East office agency, Savills; Olivia Jones, director, surveyor, office agency, Savills; Steven Williams, director, Realest; Jeremy Rodale, senior director, CBRE; Matt Willcock, director, CBRE.