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Watford Office Space Guide

Examples of serviced office space in Watford

[Last updated March 2023] A guide to serviced offices and office space to rent in Watford as well as general information that may be useful if you are thinking of renting office space in the Hertfordshire town.

For further offices information or to search office space for rent in Watford just click. Or contact us for any other office space query.

History & Geography

Approximately 20 miles northwest of central London, Watford is a thriving borough of Hertfordshire with its own unique identity and feel, despite the proximity of its larger neighbour. Watford is located on a small hill near a ford of the River Colne and was first inhabited as a rest stop for those travelling between London and the Midlands. The route heads up the Gade Valley and up the Bulbourne Valley to a low section of the Chiltern Hills, almost the exact route Watford’s High Street follows today. Due to its location, Watford became an important trading post and in 1100, Henry I granted permission for the town to hold a market. In 1230, Watford’s parish church of St Mary the Virgin was built and, in the 17th century, the Earls of Essex and Clarendon each built grand houses in the area. For many centuries, Watford was a mainly agricultural town with some trade being undertaken. However, in 1798 the Grand Junction Canal was built and, in 1837, the London and Birmingham Railway was constructed. Both chose to go through Watford to take advantage of the easy gradient over the nearby Chiltern Hills, and both brought a major change to the town. The canal and railway gave Watford efficient communications and caused unprecedented industrial growth. Coal was brought into the area and a gas works was built. Papermaking and brewing also became important industries in Watford. In 1925, the Metropolitan tube line was extended to Watford and the town continued to prosper. However, in the 1950s, Watford’s brewing industry declined along with the printing industry. Gradually Watford changed from being an industrial centre to a service-based economy. Today, Watford is known for being a commuter town feeding London, as well as a regional centre of retail and entertainment.

Economy

Watford’s rail links have made the area popular with businesses. The main bulwark of Watford’s economy is retail. The borough attracts many visitors with its Harlequin Shopping Centre, a huge indoor mall with more than 140 shops, restaurants and cafes. Opened in 1992, the centre provides hundreds of jobs to the area and is visited by over 17 million customers every year. Watford is also home to the headquarters of several large British companies including JD Wetherspoon, the operators of the National Lottery Camelot Group, Haden Young, and construction giants Balfour Beatty and Taylor Woodrow. There is also a growing media and creative industries presence in Watford with Leavesden Studios based in the city as well as over 300 other media and creative companies. Also among the more recent industries in Watford, is the environmental technology industry. The world-renowned green technology firms BRE and RES chose to base themselves in Watford. Many high-profile occupiers also have a presence in the area including Asos, Skanska, Total Oil, Sanyo, TK Maxx, Costco and Beko. The area is also well known for the Grove Hotel, at which several international golf tournaments have been held. 

Culture & Sites

One of Watford’s most famous landmarks is Cassiobury Park which was formed out of the grounds of the historic Cassiobury House which was demolished in 1927. In 2007, the park won a Green Flag Award, being recognized as one of the most beautiful green spaces in the UK. Another important landmark in Watford is the Watford Colosseum, a music hall which hosted some of the world’s most famous acts, including Robbie Williams, The Who and Oasis. The hall is regularly used by the BBC Concert Orchestra to record concerts. Also culturally important to Watford is the Pumphouse Theatre and Arts Centre, a venue based in an old pumping station on the lower end of Watford’s High Street. It contains a 124-seat theatre and a live music venue as well as rehearsal rooms and meeting areas. Also, well-known in the area is the Watford Palace Theatre, the only producing theatre in the county of Hertfordshire. The local football ground is Vicarage Road, from which Watford FC play. 

North of Watford

In South East England the term ‘North of Watford’ is used to refer to anywhere that is, in fact, north of London or not in the Home Counties. The term is also used to refer to anywhere provincial or unsophisticated.

Transportation

Watford is served by the West Coast Mainline connecting London to the Midlands and North West England. Some of the trains on this line also serve Watford Junction, located close to the town centre. Watford is also served by the London Underground’s Metropolitan line, with the station being located near Cassiobury Park. In Watford itself, the most popular form of public transport is the bus system which is run by a number of companies including Arriva, Uno, Red Rose Travel and Carousel. Due to its flatness, cycling is fairly popular in Watford and the town has a number of good cycle routes.

Office space to rent in Watford

In 2013, the prime rent in Watford was approximately £20 per square foot per year, a price, it was expected, to remain about the same for the next year or so.

Take-up had dropped fairly significantly in the last year ut agents saw signs that it was beginning to pick up again.

The M25 north area was seeing more speculative development as demand started to rise, however, little of this was in the immediate area in and around Watford itself. In 2013, the area has a vacancy rate of approximately 5 per cent.

In 2021, office space take-up in Watford was circa 116,000 square feet with that number boosted by sizeable acquisitions by Enterprise Finance and PWC. The take-up figure represented a 114% improvement on 2020’s total.

In 2022, 70% of the office transactions were Grade A space indicating a ‘flight to quality’ by occupiers. Landlords and developers are responding by delivering premium space that offers ESG credentials.

Landlords at Croxley Park have achieved £35.00 per square foot and rents were expected to reach £37.50 in 2023 at the 37-39 Clarendon Road mixed-use scheme delivered by the same developers that built TKMaxx’s new £93m European headquarters office.

Known as Clarendon Works, the 173,000-square-foot scheme is Watford’s largest speculative development.

Targeting BREEAM Excellent certification, the scheme has already achieved ActiveScore Platinum and WiredScore Platinum, and is also targeting WELL Platinum rating.

The scheme features car parking spaces with EV chargers, an onsite gym with classes, changing facilities, external green spaces, an onsite cafe, secure bike parking with repair facilities, and a spa treatment room amongst many other amenities and facilities.

There are 10 flex space providers in Watford that offer alternatives to traditionally rented office space. They offer fully serviced offices on short-term contracts, managed office suites with all-inclusive pricing, corporate coworking desk space membership plans and other forms of flexible workspace.

Profiles of all of these providers can be seen in this directory.

 

We carry out a free office space search and our advisory and acquisition services are also free, always. Our Watford office space brokers and agents are globally regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) ensuring the highest standards of commercial property advice and service at all times. We look forward to helping you find the best office space for rent for your business.

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The Office Providers are Regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

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