By Vanessa Clark, principal, Sinclair Clark
The arrival experience at East Croydon station has changed dramatically as Stanhope and Schroders power on with delivery of the next phase of offices at Ruskin Square.
2 Ruskin Square is under construction, comprising 330,000 sq ft and let in its entirety to the Home Office. The view along Dingwall Road towards the towering Ten Degrees block is stunning.
There can be no doubt Croydon has a permanent place in the heart of the public sector.
Other deals in this sector have flowed with the Department for Work and Pensions taking three floors of Simpson House and Reed in Partnership, already in several suites in Suffolk House, acquiring circa 10,000 sq ft in Norfolk House. Aligned to the public sector Croydon has been growing its educational offer attracting London South Bank University, who took a lease of Electric House. In addition, the Univeristy of Roehampton has started courses in conjunction with Croydon College joining University of Sussex, who occupy offices in Number One Croydon, in the town.
Has this spate of activity in the office market arrested the lull evident since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic? The simple answer is the office market is experiencing ongoing changes from the escalation of WFM. Uncertainty remains from tenants as to how much space they really need and where that space should be.
For landlords what is clear is office space needs to be made more attractive to attract tenants who want to encourage their staff back to the office with amenities, upgraded common parts, better air circulation and simply, more flexibility.
A driving force for take-up is structural change, by way of lease expiries and lease breaks. This will continue to drive churn in urban areas and Croydon consistently performs from this activity. With new lettings recorded at circa 50,000 sq ft over the course of the last couple of years, lease renewals provided a further 100,000 sq ft of take-up. The Ruskin Square large lettings, which are in essence finance agreements, kick into the statistics once the building in question is fully built.
Records show Croydon has many structural events in play over the next five years which will provide a great hunting ground for landlords seeking tenants and an equal opportunity to release buildings for repurposing.