West Berkshire Council to lease empty £8m office building at Newbury Business Park

Building has been vacant since council used commercial property funding 2 years ago

AN £8m office block that has stood empty since West Berkshire Council bought it almost two-and-a-half years ago may soon welcome its first tenant, writes Local Democracy Report Nathan Hyde.

Today (Thursday), the council’s executive is expected to sign off on a deal to lease 8,000 sq ft of 4 The Sector, in Newbury Business Park, to an unnamed company.

That means the firm would occupy less than 30 per cent of the 28,700 square foot building, but the council says the deal could “attract other prospective tenants”.

The Conservative-run council bought the building for £8m in April 2018, as part of an ambitious investment programme, but it has stood empty for the last 29 months.

As part of the deal, the company that sold the building agreed to pay rent, rates, and service charges until April 2020.

But the council now has to cover those costs and pay to prepare the building for the new tenants.

The council says the prospective tenant is “keen to progress urgently” and provide much-needed income.