Yell to relocate Reading HQ to new hi tech business centre - 27 February 2008
Yell, the international directories business, today announced it has signed a lease agreement with property developers Kier Property and Invista Real Estate Investment Management for a new UK head office in a landmark office building under construction in the centre of Reading, Berkshire.Yell will take 153,500 sq ft of office space over eight storeys in One Reading Central, the first new property in a substantial business campus being developed near the town’s main rail station. This first phase of the Reading Central development will comprise 216,000 sq ft - the largest ever office building in Reading town centre. On completion, the development will comprise three high specification office buildings that will exceed 600,000 sq ft and completely reshape the Reading skyline.
Around 1,350 Yell employees are scheduled to move into One Reading Central in summer 2010, in a relocation from two existing Reading town centre offices.
These are a six-storey property in Queens Walk where it has been based for more than 20 years and two floors at Bridge Street Plaza. Around 50 employees currently based at Yell premises in Slough, Berkshire, and who have head office supporting jobs will also relocate to One Reading Central.
Yell has been represented in the property acquisition by national commercial property consultancy, Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), which will handle the search for future occupiers of the vacated buildings.
John Condron, chief executive of Yell, said: “Yell has seen tremendous growth and development in recent years and the opportunity to relocate our UK head office teams to one building will enable us to build on this for the future and gives us the opportunity to enhance team working and communication.
“With its sophisticated, distinctive architecture and specially designed working spaces our new UK headquarters will provide the best of office environments that are right for Yell’s business status and dynamism.”
The office premises, which will incorporate renewable energy systems, are being built to a highly distinctive and sustainable design that will mark it out from traditional red brick buildings prevalent in the older parts of Reading town. A key external feature will be extensive glass cladding.
The new building will have energy conservation and environment-friendly infrastructure systems to reduce its carbon impact – a design target being that the building attains a BREEAM (British Research Establishments Environmental Assessment Method) rating of “very good”.
Leigh Thomas, associate director at Kier Property, said: “One Reading Central will be an exceptional office building and a landmark for Reading and the Thames Valley business community.
“With Yell’s stature as an international blue chip business and its long history in the town, it is fitting that it will be the first occupant of Reading’s largest ever office building.”
The building’s location in central Reading, within a few minutes walk of the main rail station, means it lies at the heart of the Thames Valley, acknowledged as the UK’s most successful commercial centre outside London.
Invista and Kier have been represented by DTZ.
Yell has been represented by Lambert Smith Hampton.
For further information about this press release, please contact the Yell Press Office.
Notes to Editors
About Yell
Yell is a leading international directories business operating in classified advertising markets in the UK, US, Spain and Latin America through printed, online and telephone-based media. Yell’s principal brands include: in the UK, Yellow Pages, Yell.com and Yellow Pages 118 24 7; in the US, Yellow Book and Yellowbook.com; and in Spain, Paginas Amarillas and PaginasAmarillas.es. All these brands are trademarks.
Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH)
LSH is a leading commercial property consultancy with an unrivalled national network focused on the UK and Ireland property markets. Its expert teams deliver a full spectrum of transactional and consultancy services and business-driven solutions for clients. LSH is the ‘UK’s most active national agent’, ‘Top National Office and Industrial Agent’ (Estates Gazette’s ‘EGi Deals Competition’) and 'Industrial Agency Team of the Year’ (Property Week Property Awards 2007). www.lsh.co.uk
Invista Real Estate Investment Management
Invista Real Estate Investment Management is the largest UK listed real estate fund management group and was voted Property Fund Manager of the Year at the 2007 Property Awards. The Group manages both commercial and residential property across the UK and continental Europe, and has a total of £9.6 billion of assets under management as at the 31 October 2007. Invista Real Estate currently manages a total of 19 funds, some of which are for the largest UK providers of savings and investment products such as Clerical Medical, Halifax and St. James’s Place. Invista Real Estate has nearly 100 employees and in 2006 transacted over £3.5billion of real estate assets. www.invistarealestate.com
Kier Property
Kier Property is one of the UK’s foremost commercial developers. It has built up a portfolio totalling over 6m sq ft of offices, industrial, retail and mixed-use schemes, worth over £700m; it has a particularly strong track record for partnering major occupiers to deliver bespoke solutions for their property requirements. Such occupiers have included Ordnance Survey, National Trust, DEFRA, Sainsbury’s, EDS and BAe. www.kier.co.uk
