Woking Borough Council has completed the purchase of Dukes Court, an office complex including some 224,000 square feet of prime office space arranged over five blocks. The purchase price was approximately £72 million.
Davitt Jones Bould (DJB) acted for the Council on the transaction with Clifford Chance acting for the vendor. The DJB legal team was led by Partner Philippa Hipwell and comprised property, corporate, and tax specialists. Commenting on DJB’s performance on the transaction, Woking Borough Council’s Head of Legal Services Peter Bryant said:
“DJB did an excellent job for us. Their team was knowledgeable and efficient, which ensured that we completed the purchase in accordance with our desired objectives.”
The purchase is expected to safeguard Woking’s economic vitality by securing local jobs and future employment opportunities. With over 500,000 square feet of office space either lost or in danger of being lost for residential use, Woking Borough Council considered it critical that Dukes Court remained as offices.
The purchase of Dukes Court will also enable the Council, through the Woking Integrated Transport Project, to improve the highway network by moving its access to Stanley Road. This will allow the closure of Duke Street between the junctions with Locke Way and The Broadway to create a landscaped pedestrian public plaza with retail and restaurant opportunities, alongside the development of 157 homes at Elizabeth House.
Councillor David Bittleston, Leader of Woking Borough Council, commented that this was a “significant step towards underpinning the medium to long-term economic vitality of the town” that will “support our vision of transforming Woking to a modern, forward-thinking area that demands success”.