Vodafone’s plans for sale and leaseback deal

Telecommunications company Vodafone has announced plans to sell off the freehold of its Newbury campus.

In selling their freehold on the Newbury campus, the Berkshire-based company will be able to take on long-term leases on the buildings they require. 

The company’s decision to move came as a result of a six-month hybrid working trial after the coronavirus pandemic - this strategy involves a mix of home based, site-based and blended roles. 

The 2002-built campus, called The Connection, has seven buildings with a total of 486,270 sq ft in 38 acres.

Vodafone stated that they were “exploring a change of ownership structure and its Newbury site” and are expected to lease back four of the seven buildings on the site.

The remaining three buildings, Babbage House, Faraday House and Clarke House, will be available for repurposing for other occupiers, and further development.

They reiterated that the proceeds from the sale will be invested back into their business, and that “Vodafone remains fully committed to a long term presence as a major employer in the town”.

Clare Corkish, UK HR Director for Vodafone, said: “This is an exciting time for Vodafone UK as we increase recruitment and investment in our people, and move forward with our future ready way of working based on flexibility and trust.

“The pandemic forced us to make many changes – we’ve learned a lot from these and have been able to make some big improvements to the way in which we work as a result.

“With our new approach, we’re confident that we can give our teams a great working environment with flexibility to suit them, recruit from more parts of the UK from now on, and continue to improve the service we provide to our customers.”

Head of office investment at Colliers, Chris Lewis, will be leading the sale of the site. He commented: “The Connection is a unique opportunity for investors. Located equidistant from London and Bristol with a tenant that is committed to remaining in the area, it provides an undoubted long-term index linked income stream underpinning a refurbishment or redevelopment on the remaining site.”