Post on 27-Jan-2022
RARE HQ OFFICE REPOSITIONING OPPORTUNITY
FOR SALE
24,038 SQ FT ON 0.57 ACRES
SUPERB
OPPORTUNITY47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #2
PARKING85 car spaces at grade and basement level.
SITE AREA0.57 acres (0.23 ha).
FLOOR NET INTERNAL AREA GROSS INTERNAL AREA
SQ M SQ FT SQ M SQ FT
Basement - - 2,104.62 22,654
Ground 942.61 10,146 1,037.28 11,165
First 646.48 6,959 746.82 8,039
Second 644.12 6,933 746.82 8,039
Third - - 262.88 2,830
TOTAL 2,233.21 24,038 4,635.54 49,897
The existing building provides 1970s built office accommodation over ground and 2 upper floors with basement parking.
The property has been measured in accordance with the RICS Code of Measuring Practice and provides the following approximate areas:
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #3
ESTABLISHED
PROPERTY
EXISTING FLOOR PLANS
Basement Second
First
Ground Third
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #4
Watford
Edgware
HemelHempstead
Wembley
Harrow
HayesSlough
Enfield
Cheshunt
Romford
London
A10
A40 A41
A13
A406
M25
M11
M1
A1(M)
M4
A1M40
Upton Road
St Al
bans
Road
Rickmansworth Road
Exchange RoadClarendon Road
Watford JunctionStation and Car Park
WatfordHigh Street
Station
Radlett RoadPlaying Fields
Cassiobury Park
West HertsCollege
intuWatford
A411
A412
A4178
West HertfordshireSports Ground
CitiPark SuttonCar ParkCitiPark Gade
Car Park
P
P
FLAGSHIP
LOCATION• Situated on the edge of North London and the
commuter belt of Hertfordshire and South Bucks, Watford is ideally placed for continued growth and to become even more dominant as an office location going forward
• Watford town centre has three mainline train stations, Watford Junction, Watford High Street and North Watford, providing regular and direct access to Central London, with a fastest journey time of 16 minutes to London Euston, and numerous Greater London destinations
• Additional direct rail connections to Birmingham, Central Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans Abbey from Watford Junction and Rickmansworth, Amersham, Chesham, Harrow-on-the-Hill from Watford Metropolitan Line
• The town lies 15 miles north west of Central London, 6 miles south east of Hemel Hempstead and 8 miles south west of St Albans
• Junction 20 of the M25, 4 miles north west provides quick access to the national motorway network, and junction 5 of the M1, 2 miles to the north east, provides a direct route southbound into Central London
Watford is the principal commercial
centre in the north M25 benefiting from exceptional rail and road connections.
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #5
Gatwick57 miles
Stansted45 miles
Heathrow22 miles
Luton18 miles
Central London15 miles
Birmingham New Street69 mins
St Albans8 miles
St Albans16 mins
Hemel Hempstead6 miles
Clapham Junction41 mins
M25 (J20)4 miles
Milton Keynes22 mins
M1 (J5)2 miles
London Euston16 mins
WELL CONNECTED
Direct access to Central London, with
a fastest journey time of 16 minutes to
London Euston
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #6
Clarendon R
oad
Cambridge House
51
42-44
40
Victoria House
Edward Hyde Building
45
41-43
3734
36
HannayHouse
Beechen G
rovePERFECTLY SITUATED
The building is on Clarendon Road, the prime office district
in Watford
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #7
1 TJX2 KPMG3 PwC4 Ralph Lauren5 Wunderman Thompson Commerce6 Employment Tribunal Service
7 ACI8 Veale Wasbrough Vizards9 HYDE – L&G refurbishment10 Wickes head office11 Hilton Hotels Europe head office12 JD Wetherspoons head office
LOCAL OCCUPIERS
14
2
11
10
12
3
68
9
7
5
Holiday Inn
Watford Junction Station
Jury’s Inn
NRG Gym
CitiPark Gade
Cineworld
Intu Watford
Watford Palace Theatre
Iceland
Sainsbury’s
IN GOOD COMPANY
A412 St Albans RoadA411 B
eechen Grove
High Street
TJK Europe New HQ53CR site
PLANNING
AND POTENTIAL
Watford Borough Council has been supportive of major development projects in recent years, particularly on Clarendon Road where the retention of employment space has been at the forefront and high rise buildings have been permitted.
Clarendon Road is subject to an Article 4 Direction restricting the conversion of the building to residential under Permitted Development.
A pre-application has been undertaken with Watford Borough Council for the following:
• Refurbishment and extension of existing building for office use, Class B1 (a)
• Two storey roof extension to provide additional 1,020 sq m of office accommodation, NIA increasing from 2,294 sq m to 3,314 sq m (44% uplift), plus commercial amenity space on first and fifth roof levels
• Facade enhancements to existing building, improvements to the ground floor entrance and public realm
• Car parking provision retained within basement and cycle parking provided
The response from the council is overwhelmingly positive for a design led redevelopment as proposed.
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #9
PRE-APPLICATION
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #10
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #11
OPPORTUNITY TO REPOSITION THE BUILDING IN A CONTEMPORARY STYLE AS HAS BEEN DONE RECENTLY ON CLARENDON ROAD WITH EXCELLENT RESULTS.
40 Clarendon Road Hyde
GNR8 - formerly Victoria House
POTENTIAL PRE-APP SCHEME (NET INTERNAL AREA)Floor Office Terrace
Fifth 420 sq m 4,517 sq ft
Fourth 539 sq m 5,800 sq ft
Third 539 sq m 5,800 sq ft
Second 641 sq m 6,900 sq ft
First 641 sq m 6,900 sq ft 439 sq m 4,723 sq ft
Ground 725 sq m 7,803 sq ft
Reception 229 sq m 2,469 sq ft
Total 3,314 sq m 35,672 sq ft 859 sq m 9,240 sq ft
First
Ground
Typical Second / Third / Fourth
9 Cycles 8 Cycles
Basement
PROPOSED FLOOR PLANS
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #12
• The total office stock for Watford is approximately 4.6 million sq ft and this includes both the town centre and out of town markets.
• Rents in the town have hit a new high of £36.50 psf at Columbia Threadneedle’s 40 Clarendon Road, which is refurbished Grade A as opposed to brand new Grade A.
• Rents approaching £40.00 per sq ft might be expected in the next 24-36 months for the very best space.
• Since June 2020, take-up of 100,000 sq ft and further space under offer despite the Covid pandemic, other business headwinds, and a diminished choice of space for occupiers.
WATFORD MARKET OVERVIEW
Watford is the largest and most dominant office market in the north London and North M25 sector.
Record rent achieved in 2020 and sustained in
subsequent letting.
Less than 2 years supply based on typical take-up.
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #13
• Take-up shows a 5 year average of over 200,000 sq ft per annum in Watford.
• The total take-up for whole of the NW M25 in the past 5 years equates to 2,500,000 sq ft meaning that Watford is responsible for 45% of all take-up.
• An interesting highlight of 2020 is that none of the tenants were originally from Watford but attracted from Harrow, Southall, Uxbridge, St Albans, Radlett and Denham. This suggests there is still outstanding churn to come from indigenous Watford occupiers as would be typical in other years.
• These statistics do not include the fact that TJX Europe (TK Maxx) will start to occupy its newly constructed 200,000 sq ft HQ on Clarendon Road during 2021 while retaining a proportion of its current estate.
• Key supply of c.370,000 sq ft comprising 170,000 sq ft in the town centre, 60,000 sq ft on Croxley Park and 134,330 sq ft elsewhere out of town, most notably 97,748 sq ft tenant space at Leavesden on behalf of ASOS.
• A notable lack of Grade A office readily available, only L&G’s 68,000 sq ft HYDE refurbishment and the 10,000 sq ft floor at Columbia Threadneedle’s 40 Clarendon Road provide high quality Landlord space.
• A new building of 80,000 sq ft is under construction at Croxley Park, known as Building 1, following the successful development of the fully let Building 2.
Date Address Size (sq ft) Tenant Lease Details Rent (psf) Landlord
U/O Royalty House, 10 King Street 23,379 Magistrates Court TBC TBC Aviva
Jan 21 Egale 2, St Albans Road 17,076 Department of Work &
Pensions5 year lease, 3 year break, 5 months’ rent free £32.00 Columbia Threadneedle
Jan 21 GNR8, 49 Clarendon Road 1,907 Parasol Homes Ltd 5 year lease £34.75 RO Real Estate
Oct 20 1 Blackmoor Lane, Croxley Park 10,147 Clinisupplies 11 year lease, 6 year break , 12 months’ rent free £19.71 Watford Borough Council
Oct 20 Ground Floor, 40 Clarendon Road 8,696 15 Marketing 10 year lease, 5 year break, 12 months’ rent free £36.50 Columbia Threadneedle
Oct 20St Andrews House, Belfry Business Park,
Colonial Wayc.8,000
SpaMedica(Medical Use)
10 year lease, 5 year break and 6 months’ rent free £25.00 Columbia Threadneedle
Aug 20 Part Ground Floor, B3, Croxley Park 14,230 Vibrant Foods10 year lease, 5 year break, 18 months’ rent free
(6 month rf or pen on break)£27.60 av. Watford Borough Council
Aug 20 Part 2nd Floor, B4, Croxley Park 10,045 CSL DualCom 10 year lease, 6 year break, 19 months’ rent free £28.50 Watford Borough Council
June 20 2nd, 3rd & 4th, 40 Clarendon Road 28,211 PwC 15 year lease, 10 year break, 22 months’ rent free £36.50 Watford Borough Council
Oct 19 Egale 2, 78 St Albans Road 17,071 Finest Dental20 year lease, no breaks, 5 yearly rent review,
31 months’ rent free£31.00 Columbia Threadneedle
May 19 2 Century Court, Tolpits Lane 9,500 Direct Save Telecom Freehold sale £1.7m £179 F/H Private vendor
Oct 18 Building 2, Croxley Park 20,712 Regus 10 year lease, 28 months’ rent free £32.00 Columbia Threadneedle
Oct 18 Building 6, Leavesden Park 9,548 Mane Contract Services 10 year lease, 5 year break, 9 months’ rent free £21.50 Warner Bros
Sept 18 Hercules Way, Leavesden Park 123,796 ASOS 15 year lease £26.00 Kennedy Wilson
June 18 Building 4, Croxley Park 7,375 Yopa 10 year lease, 5 year break, 6 months’ rent free £28.50 Columbia Threadneedle
May 18 36 Clarendon Road 28,000 Salmon 15 year lease, 18 months’ rent free £31.50 Boultbee Brooks
April 18 Building 7, Croxley Park 6,222 Starleaf 10 year lease, 5 year break, 7 months’ rent free £28.00 Columbia Threadneedle
Feb 182nd Floor, Sunningdale,The Belfry, Colonial Way
6,106 Data Locater10 year lease, 5 year break 18 months’ rent free
(6 month break penalty)£25.50 Columbia Threadneedle
KEY TAKE-UP IN WATFORD
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #14
The redevelopment of 47 Clarendon Road would provide much needed new office space in a very undersupplied market. While there is seemingly a healthy pipeline of potential developments, with a 5 year average of take-up over 200,000 sq ft pa, the space under construction /refurbishment could be swiftly soaked up.
Other schemes are hampered by their size and complexity, may not be developed in the short term and may never get out of the ground in their current guise.
A scheme of the size proposed for 47 Clarendon Road is a manageable and fundable size and could be relatively quickly brought to market to deliver in to a very under-supplied 2023 market.
Building Size sq ft Rent per sq ft Spec Landlord
Town Centre
40 Clarendon Road 1st - 10,233 £36.50 Grade A refurb Columbia Threadneedle
Lucidus House,41-43 Clarendon Road
1st - 10,795 2nd – 10,7053rd – 10,7094th – 9,307
£30.00 £28.50 passing£28.50 passing£28.50 passing
FIS Global - tenant spaceTJX – tenant spaceTJX – tenant spaceTJX – tenant space
Tenant (expiry May 2023) Tenant (expiry Feb 2023)Tenant (expiry Feb 2023)Tenant (expiry Feb 2023)
HYDE, 38 Clarendon Road 68,587 £37.00 Grade A refurb L&G
Oak House, Reeds Crescent Gnd - 16,788 Pt 1st - 8,920Pt 2nd - 6,663
£24.58 passing £30.00£30.00
Europcar space Grade B+Grade B+
Tenant (break in Aug 26) FI REM (for administrator) FI REM (for administrator)
Egale 1, Station Road 3rd - 5,886 £32.50 Grade A Columbia Threadneedle
The Junction, Station Road6th - 6,7327th – 6,728
Dentons – tenant space Tenant (break in Aug 21)
Out of Town
B1, Croxley Park 80,000 TBA New build p.c. Q1 2021 Watford Borough Council
B3, Croxley Park 15,046 £30.00 1st floor refurbished and
2nd floor to followWatford Borough Council
B4, Croxley Park 19,682 £30.00 2nd floor refurbished and
1st floor to followWatford Borough Council
B6 Croxley Studios,Croxley Park
8 suites from 1,499 - 6,819 sq ft totalling 27,735 sq ft
£28.50 Mostly due refurbishment Watford Borough Council
Gleneagles, 13 Colonial Way 5,411 £26.50 Grade B+ Columbia Threadneedle
Axis, Rhodes Way
Building 2 – 4,247Building 3 – 4,620Building 4 – 7,131Building 5 – 5,173
£25.00 Grade B+ REIM
6 Hercules Way, Leavesden Park c. 10,000 £23.50 Grade B+ Warner Bros
ASOS, 100 Hercules Way,Leavesden Park
97,748 £26.00 Grade A tenant spaceHeadquarter building leased by ASOS potentially
available but suits larger 20,000 sq ft+ requirements better due to size and configuration.
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #15
SUPPLY
Immediate
54 Clarendon Road
Area: 29,830 sq ft NIA with planning permitted to extend to c.50,000 sq ft
Owner: Canada LifeComments: Addition of 4th floor and rear extension due to
commence in early 2021. Parking reduced from 88 spaces to 66 spaces providing a ratio of 1:757 sq ft.
Medium-term
Cassiobury House, 11-19 Station Road
Area: 36,179 sq ft NIA office with planning application to redevelop to a 168 bed hotel and c.40,000 sq ft office with 70 car spaces (1:571 sq ft)
Owner: Tellon Capital Comment: Multi-let with latest expiries
in late-2021. Scheme requires both elements be built simultaneously with shared basement.
Medium-term
53 Clarendon Road
Area: 104,260 sq ft NIA consented with 166 car spaces (1:628 sq ft)Owner: Seven CapitalComment: Cleared site but no firm plans to start construction. Previously had consent
for c.55,000 sq ft office and 59 residential units that was considered unbuildable / unviable.
Medium-term
48-50 Clarendon Road
Area: 59,620 sq ft NIA existing. Planning consent for 67,900 sq ft NIA with 61 car spaces (1:1,113 sq ft) plus 100 residential units
Owner: VerdoseComments: Occupied by TK Maxx short
term, holding over under L&T Act as accommodates critical IT. Current design requires both the residential and office scheme to be built simultaneously with shared basement. Agents been marketing the scheme for sale but unviable at the level sought.
Medium-term
Milbuck House & Hannay House,37-39 Clarendon Road
Area: 50,208 sq ft NIA existing. Planning consent for 111,902 sq ft NIA offices with 150 car spaces (1:746 sq ft) and 154 residential units over 23 levels
Owner: Clarendon Road Developments LimitedComments: Current design requires both the
residential and office scheme to be built simultaneously with a new, shared basement on 3 levels.
DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #16
47 CLARENDON ROAD • WATFORD • WD17 1HP #17
INVESTMENT COMPARABLES EXECUTIVE SUMMARYContinued appetite for well located, town centre assets and value add opportunities.
Radius House, 51 Clarendon Road, Watford
Area: 35,977 sq ft Tenancy: Multi-let to 3 tenants 8.1 years WAULTRent: Reversionary rent of £754,800 pa
(£20.98 psf) Vendor: M&G Owner: Sold to CLS Holdings (December 2020)Comments: £16.9m / 5.60% / £469.74 psf
Horizon, 28-38 Upper High St, Epsom
Area: 21,819 sq ft Fully refurbished in 2017Tenancy: Single let to the NHS on new 10 year lease Rent: Rent of £425,000 pa (£20.00 psf) Vendor: Kennedy Wilson Owner: Sold to CIFCO Capital Ltd (Babergh D.C.) (December 2020)Comments: £7.97m / 5.00% / £365.28 psf
Honeywell House, Bracknell
Area: 72,379 sq ft Recent in-situ refurbishmentTenancy: Single let to Honeywell UK Ltd 10.5 years to expiryRent: Rent of £1,870,401 pa (£26.00 psf)Vendor: Legal & General Owner: Sold to Runnymede B.C. (March
2020) Comments: £32.8m / 5.37% / £453.17 psf
10 Bricket Road, St Albans
Area: 26,436 sq ft £9.05m / £342 psfVendor: Columbia
ThreadneedleOwner: Sold to Canmoor and
Legal & General with sub-1 year income in late 2019 for major repositioning
• Existing building of 24,038 sq ft NIA with 85 car spaces at basement and grade
• Positive pre-app to extend the building to 35,672 sq ft NIA
• Potential for more comprehensive redevelopment or massing
• Located on the north M25’s pre-eminent office pitch
• Record rents recorded on Clarendon Road in 2020 and expected growth
• Limited Grade-A office space and development pipeline
• Watford has seen sustained take-up in H2 2020 and Q1 2021
• Further notable office deals in detailed negotiations
FURTHER INFORMATION / DATA ROOM
Further planning, technical, Title and scheme information can be found in the Data Room.
Please request further information or Data Room access from one of the agents.
PROPOSAL
Offers are invited for the freehold interest.
VIEWINGS
Viewings are strictly by appointment only. Please contact the sales agents to arrange an inspection.
Peter Brown
T: 01923 205 521M: 07740 170 458E: peter.brown@brasierfreeth.com
Tim Howlings
T: 01923 205 524M: 07702 884 402E: tim.howlings@brasierfreeth.com
Rob Bray
T: 07768 800 280E: robbray@brayfoxsmith.com
James Shillabeer
M: 07824 663 594E: jamesshillabeer@brayfoxsmith.com
Disclaimer: The agents for themselves and for the vendors or lessors of this property whose agents they are give notice that: (i) the particulars are set as a general outline only for the guidance of intending purchasers or lessees and do not constitute the whole or any part of an offer or contract: (ii) all descriptions, dimensions, references to condition and necessary permissions for use and occupation, and other details are given in good faith but without any responsibility whatsoever and any intending purchasers or tenants should not rely on them as statements or representations of fact, but must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to the correctness of each of them; (iii) neither the agents nor their employees has any authority to make or give any representation or warranties whatsoever in relation to this property; (iv) unless otherwise stated all prices and rents are quoted exclusive of VAT, and intending purchasers or lessees must satisfy themselves independently as to the applicable VAT position. (v) All the plans and maps provided within the particulars are for identification purposes only. February 2021.
TENURE
Freehold held under Title number HD375698.
TENANCY
Mapeley will take a 12 month lease of the 2nd floor at £69,330 per annum (£10 per sq ft).
Mapeley will have the option to extend this occupation for a further3 months with 3 months prior notice.
VAT
The property is elected for VAT purposes.
It is the intention of the vendor to treat this transaction as a Transfer of a Going Concern (TOGC).
EPC
The property has an EPC rating of C-60 and the documents are available in the Data Room.
AML
In accordance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Regulations, the purchaser will, at Heads of Terms stage, be required to satisfy the vendor on the source of the funds used to complete the transaction.
TECHNICAL
A number of technical items are available and are downloadable via the Data Room.