Locate in Kent - Property Availability & Cost
Overall Summary
Property costs in Kent are on average 60% lower than the average for Central London. Prices vary widely across Kent with a maximum of about 322.50 per sq ft for top of the range new offices, and £8.50 for new industrial properties.
Manufacturing/Industrial
The preparation of the development site at Neats Court, Sheppey is under way with ground works, services and site infrastructure due to complete in autumn 2009.
2008/9 saw the completion of some smaller unit schemes. Schooner Park, Dartford comprises 24 high quality business units providing 159 - 480m2 (1,712 - 5,172ft2). Units are available leasehold or freehold, with quoted rents/prices in the region of £118.4m2 (£11ft2) and £1,722m2 (£160ft2) respectively.
Industrial rents (£), 2008/2009:
Thanet - 53.82
Tonbridge - 69.96
T.Wells - 86.11
Sittingbourne - 64.58
Sevenoaks - 74.81
Medway - 64.58
Maidstone - 86.11
Gravesend - 64.58
Folkestone - 59.2
Dover - 64.58
Dartford - 86.11
Canterbury - 64.50
Ashford - 75.35
Annual Rent Range: Up to £8 per sq. ft.
Warehousing/Distribution
Orbital Park - Mixed use site, just off the M20 motorway, with office, industrial and warehouse/distribution facilities. The site covers an area of 141 acres, of which most has been developed.
White Cliffs Business Park - Strategically connected business park of 65 acres, located at the junction of the A2 and A256 roads, two miles north of Dover town centre, providing easy access to the National Motorway network. White Cliffs offers a unique mix of position and space, where warehousing, distribution, manufacturing and business users can work together. Design and build facilities from 30,000 - 300,000 sq ft (2,787 - 27,870 sq m). Land sales available from 1.2 acres.
Kemsley Park - New mixed use development of business, industrial and warehouse units and also design & build up to 60,000 sq ft. Available freehold or leasehold.
GPark - Occupies a strategic position, with proximity to major trunk routes, rail and port facilities.
Annual Rent Range: Up to £8 per sq. ft.
Headquarters/Regional Offices
Kent and Medway's attractiveness as a prime business location is highlighted by the wide range of available business parks, development land, office and industrial property.
Significant recent and ongoing investment in Kent's road, rail and airport infrastructure will bring Kent closer to London and the continent, making Kent sites and premises an even more attractive package. For more information on Kent`s business parks, listed below, please visit www.locateinkent.com, and go to our 'Major Sites' section.
Eureka Park, Orbital Park, Altira Business Park, Eurokent Business Park, Crossways Business Park, White Cliffs Business Park, Eclipse Park, The Bridge, Ebbsfleet Valley, Betteshanger Business Park, Watermark, Kings Hill, Chatham Martime, Shearway Business Park, Kemsley Park and Estuary View.
Office rents (£), 2008/2009:
Thanet - 80.70
Tonbridge - 150.7
Tunbridge Wells - 193.75
Sittingbourne - 70.00
Sevenoaks - 193.75
Medway - 102.26
Maidstone - 236.81
Gravesend - 91.49
Folkestone - 86.11
Dover - 86.00
Dartford - 148.00
Canterbury - 134.55
Ashford - 172.22
Annual Rent Range: Up to £20 per sq. ft.
Back Offices/Call Centres/Administration Centres
Chatham Maritime - SEEDA has created one of the premier business locations in Kent with 100,000m2 of office space, providing 3,500 new jobs. Another 20,000 sq m are under construction. Companies that have already moved into Chatham Maritime, include Micro Medical, NatWest Bank Plc, Halifax Plc and Medway Council. Many other projects are underway, with the aim of bringing jobs and world-class companies to the area.
Eureka Park - A major business park, comprising in excess of 370,000 sq ft of built business space, with outline consent for a further 1,130,000 sq ft.
Kings Hill - A development by Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd and Kent County Council, providing an integrated business and residential community, supported by a balanced mix of sports, leisure, retail and educational facilities, set in a quality landscaped environment.
Annual Rent Range: Up to £15 per sq. ft.
Serviced Office Accommodation
There are many serviced office suites in Kent and these are becoming more and more popular. Regus have premises at Crossways, in Dartford, and at Kings Hill near West Malling. Capital Enterprise Centre have centres in Kings Hill and Sittingbourne (the latter being office and light industrial). Oxford Innovation have a centre - The Nucleus - at The Bridge, Dartford, which is aimed at hi-tech businesses, and Basepoint have premises at Lakesview, near Canterbury and Folkestone and Gravesend. There are many smaller serviced office suites.
Light Industrial
There are literally hundreds of sites around the county at a wide range of rents.
Annual Rent Range: Up to £8 per sq. ft.
Business Parks
Crossways, Dartford, welcomed the most significant new development in the county. Frogmore Real Estate Partners have launched Waterside Court, providing 2,280m² (24,544ft²) within nine office units, and Lakeview East and West providing 4,163.78m² (44,820ft²) and 2,576.58m² (27,735ft²) respectively. The accommodation is available to let or for sale, quoted rents being £263.72m² (£24.50ft²).
Also on Crossways, Shepherd Developments and Durngate Property Group have completed the first phase at Crossways Point, providing 8,235m² (88,642ft²) in two buildings, with quoting rents of £269m² (£25ft²).
The £100m second phase of White Cliffs Business Park is located on the outskirts of Dover. The scheme comprises a major mixed-use development project over 65 acres, with B&Q already in occupation.
Business Park Rents in £ per m²:
Eureka Park, Ashford - £205
Chatham Maritime - £194
Crossways, Dartford - £242
Kings Hill, West Malling - £242
Annual Rent Range: Up to £20 per sq. ft.
Research & Development, Innovation, Science Parks
Kent Science Park campus, one of the largest in the South East, offers over 47,100m² (507,000ft²) of high-specification, purpose built, R&D accommodation, flexible enough to nurture the ambitious start-up, as well as to serve the expanding or mature technology company. Protected by a high level of security, Kent Science Park provides an extensive range of services and amenities from steam generation to chemical storage, that currently support over 80 innovative companies, engaged in activities as diverse as pharmaceutics, biotechnology and high-tech engineering. With first-class infrastructure and high-quality facilities, Kent Science Park provides the conditions that technology-based companies need to flourish.
A new Enterprise Zone-Discovery park has just been designated on the site of Pfizer’s Kent R&D base.
Annual Rent Range: Up to £20 per sq. ft.
Land/Greenfield Sites
The Isle of Grain - Approximately 700 acres. The site is a former BP landholding. Current occupiers are energy and power generation related companies.
Development Plan allocation: Port related activities B1(c), B2, B8 and more specialist industrial uses.
GPark near Sittingbourne has proximity to major trunk routes, rail and port facilities. Design and build opportunities.
Betteshanger Business Park, between Dover, Canterbury and Ramsgate, is reached from London via the M2/A2 link. A new landscaped area of approximately 20 hectares (50 acres) with 6.17 hectares (15.24 acres) of serviced plots for new development.
Manston Park adjacent to Kent International Airport, with easy access to the port of Ramsgate, the rest of the Kent, and the UK.
The site alongside Kingsnorth Power Station. The Thames Gateway Planning Framework recognizes the potential of Kingsnorth for industrial uses less suited to urban areas.
Kent International Airport ‘Northern Lands` adjoins the main airport complex.
Retail
All new schemes are let, but there is a variety of second-hand space available.
