Land for Sale in Reading

Business character

Technology sets the tone. The business parks around the M4 hold campuses for Microsoft, Oracle and Hewlett-Packard at Thames Valley Park, Huawei, Cisco and CrowdStrike at Green Park, Nokia and Willis Towers Watson at Arlington Business Park in Theale, and over 60 companies employing more than 5,500 people at Winnersh Triangle. Professional services have moved into the town centre behind them: PwC and PepsiCo took the first floors at One Station Hill alongside the flexible operator NewFlex, and EY, Bayer and SSE are all major local employers. Utilities and insurance are the other large occupiers, with Thames Water's head office at Clearwater Court in the town centre. The public sector is substantial too: the Royal Berkshire Hospital employs around 7,500 people, the University of Reading around 3,900, and Reading Borough Council is one of the larger office employers. Retail draws shoppers from across the Thames Valley through The Oracle's 108 stores and Broad Street, while distribution and trade businesses cluster at Suttons Business Park, where Brakes, Royal Mail and Hitachi are among the occupiers, and around Theale at Junction 12.

Transport & connectivity

• Motorway: M4 (Junction M4 J11, 2 miles)
• Nearest rail: Reading (22 min to London)
• Airport: London Heathrow (27 miles)
• Key A-roads: A4 (Bath Road), A33, A329, A329(M), A3290, A327, A4074

Market context

Reading is a market with a wide spread between the top and the rest. The prime headline rent is £56 per sq ft, set at One Station Hill in 2025 and holding firm into 2026, and new builds and major refurbishments are achieving strong terms as competition for prime space grows. Refurbished town centre floors and the business parks let for considerably less, and small serviced rooms are usually priced by the room per month. Industrial space is tightly supplied. Vail Williams reported rents of around £13.50 per sq ft on refurbished space and £14.50 under offer at Suttons Business Park in late 2024, and Haslams expects prime space to pass £20 as better stock arrives, and current asking rents on listing sites run from about £9 per sq ft for smaller units up to £14 in Woodley and £18.50 for new space at Theale Lakes. Retail is concentrated in the town centre, where The Oracle reports occupancy above 97%. Freehold interest is unusually strong for a town of this size, with offices, shops and investment properties coming up for sale as well as to let.