Orchard Street fully lets South East industrial estate following comprehensive refurbishment

Sustainable, energy efficient and flexible working environment supports H.E.L’s plans for growth. 

Orchard Street Investment Management (‘Orchard Street’), the specialist commercial property investment manager, has fully let its Centro Trading Estate in Hemel Hempstead following a 16,000 sq ft letting signed with H.E.L Group (H.E.L), a global developer and manufacturer of innovative laboratory tools for process optimization, safety, and scale-up. H.E.L has agreed to a 15-year lease on the estate’s last vacant unit, at a headline rent of £17.00 psf, and will use the space as its global headquarters and manufacturing hub.

This letting follows a comprehensive refurbishment of the unit, delivered with sustainability in mind to transform the green credentials of the space and improve the EPC rating from a C to an EPC rating of A. Other features built in to increase the environmental and cost efficiency of the units include an electric VRF system for heating and cooling, LED lighting and electric vehicle charging points to encourage low carbon travel. Orchard Street also installed rooftop PV solar panels, which are projected to generate more than 60,000 kWh of solar energy and save 14 tCO2 per year. Additionally, in line with Orchard Street’s responsible investment focus on enriching biodiversity and increasing circularity, the refurbishment included the installation of bird boxes and bug hotels while achieving a 94% recycling rate for all construction waste.

H.E.L will benefit from a high quality industrial workspace with 6.2m eaves height, excellent parking and a self-contained secure yard, in a location which provides excellent access to the M1 and M25 national motorways.

Josh Quinton Smith, Asset Manager at Orchard Street, commented: “That we have been able to let this unit to a high-quality occupier so soon after completing a comprehensive refurbishment of the space is testament to the appeal of well refurbished, sustainable buildings that are energy efficient and create attractive places to work. In line with our responsible investment approach, we will continue to evaluate how we can upgrade our wider portfolio, with the understanding that investing in sustainable buildings is not only the right thing to do but continues to attract a range of discerning occupiers who recognise the financial, corporate and environmental benefits of occupying these spaces.”

Louise Madden, CEO at H.E.L Group, added: “We’re delighted to be making the Centro location our new home. The new building provides H.E.L with the space to meet our scale-up requirements for our growing business. It also provides the opportunity for us to have a world-class customer-centric facility to accelerate that growth. The environmental credentials of the facility and the refurbishment were a key factor in deciding to locate ourselves here, as they align strongly to our mission to create a Healthier, Sustainable, Safer world for everyone.”

The Project was managed by J3 Partners, with Orchard Street being advised by Adroit Real Estate Advisors and Brasier Freeth.