Page 8 - Caxtons KPMR 2021

Caxtons’ Property Market Analysis
Science and Business Parks Performance
A year on from our last report there is more concrete evidence on how businesses will take the experiences of the pandemic through to future business practices and working arrangements. It is now clear that homeworking to varying extents will become commonplace. Both businesses and workers will make decisions on how much of the office and commute they need or want. But survey evidence is pointing increasingly to the need for some form of communal working, to aid collaboration, creativity, training and underpin the culture of organisations.
Evidence from across Kent suggests hybrid home – office working arrangements appear most likely to dominate. Letting activity has returned following the highly disrupted 2020, with many of the county’s science and business parks operating with few or no vacancies. As a result rents have remained stable supported by continued steady demand. While most parks’ rents are unchanged, Eureka Park has seen an upturn following a few years of stability. This has fed through into a small increase in the average Kent prime science and business park rent over the last 12 months.
The county’s science parks have seen a particularly active year. The specialist nature of lab and high tech operations sustained park occupation levels throughout the lockdown period and has minimised the space deliberations seen
in other sectors. In addition, the challenges presented by the pandemic and growing investment funds available for science start-ups and grow-on companies is driving rapid growth. It is hoped the county’s science and technology sectors will benefit further from the Government’s new Innovation Strategy which will increase public investment in R&D to £22 billion a year.
Discovery Park has seen growth with the arrival of 36 new tenants since January 2021, 14 of them start-ups, and
2%
Average annual increase in the Kent prime business park rent over the last 3 years
Caxtons
£250per m2
Kent average prime business park rent reaches new historic high
Caxtons
forecasting there will be 40-45 new occupiers by end of year. More than 4,645m2 (50,000ft2) net space has been let, including approx 929m2 (10,000ft2) lab space, and there is strong demand for wet lab space from London based science companies. Construction will start this year on an incubator facility offering flexible laboratory, write up and office space for 20-25 businesses. The building will be delivered in 2022 and has been supported by the Government's Getting Building Fund.
Kent Science Park, which comprises laboratories and business accommodation across 47 buildings, has maintained a high level of occupancy over the last 12 months. There is an existing consent for three new buildings of 11,985m2 (129,000ft2), but a planning application for a significant extension of the Park to provide an additional 170,000m2 (1.8m ft2) of new floorspace creating 8,000
new jobs was submitted in July.
Kent average prime business park rent
260 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100
Source: Caxtons
Business park rents
2018 2019 2020 2021
450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100
50 0
Source: Caxtons
06 Kent Property Market Report 2021
New office space, Discovery Park, Sandwich.
Eureka Park
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Chatham Maritime
Crossways
Kings Hill
Chineham Business Park, Basingstoke
Arlington Business Park, Reading
Stockley Park, Heathrow
£ per m2
£ per m2
CREDIT: DISCOVERY PARK LTD