Since 1908, the Horlicks factory chimney and adjacent clock tower have loomed large over Slough town centre in Berkshire. The factory was opened by brothers James and William Horlick and became the manufacturing centre for their eponymous malted milk drink for more than a century.
Then, in 2018, owner GlaxoSmithKline moved production of the powdered drink abroad and the factory was closed. When the site was put up for sale, residential regeneration specialist Berkeley spotted the potential and snapped it up. Elkie Russell, managing director for Oxford and Chilterns at Berkeley Homes, says that as an opportunity-led developer, the company felt it was too good a chance to turn down.
Six years on, more than 500 homes – of which about half are affordable – have been built on the site and a further 800 are due to be completed by 2031.
The Horlicks Quarter, as it is called, is just one of the major new developments under way in the Berkshire town. Other projects planned for the area include North West Quadrant, a mixed-use development near the town centre being brought forward by Muse and Homes England that will include around 1,300 homes, 467,180 sq ft of office space and 43,900 sq ft of retail and leisure space; and Slough Central, a major mixed-use scheme that will create a new town centre by knocking down part of British Land’s Queensmere Observatory Shopping Centre.
British Land is finalising the details of the Section 106 agreement with Slough Borough Council and hopes to receive outline planning permission for the town centre redevelopment by the end of this year.
Berkeley’s Russell says there are clear attractions for developers in the area. “Slough has everything you need,” she says. “It has good transport links, a young population and great employment opportunities.”
The opening of the Elizabeth line in 2022, which stops at Slough rail station, has given the area a major boost. AshbyCapital, the private equity firm, owns grade-A office scheme The Future Works near the station.
“You can get to central London in 30 minutes and to Maidenhead and Reading easily. It feels like Slough is a really good location.
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When Berkeley decided to buy the Horlicks site, Russell says the company felt like a trailblazer as no other major residential regeneration developments were under way in Slough at that time. But she adds it had huge confidence in the potential of the local market.
“There is quite a lot of ambition within the local authority to see Slough grow and get better,” she says. “You have a local authority that recognises they have all the key assets: people, geography and transport links. They want success and growth.”
Slough has endured its share of ridicule down the years. The poet Sir John Betjeman famously called for the area to be bombed in his 1937 poem Slough, saying it wasn’t “fit for humans now”. More recently, the town was the setting for TV sitcom The Office, which portrayed the area as a dreary commuter town.
Changing perceptions
Russell says Berkeley is trying to “change perceptions of Slough” by delivering London-style living but without the capital’s high price tag. Prices at the Horlicks Quarter start at £280,000 for a one-bed flat and go up to £645,000 for a three-bed urban house.
“What we’re building is of aspirational high standard for Slough,” she says. “We have a café [on site]. We’re putting in gyms, co-working spaces and cinema rooms. A nursery has also recently opened on the site.” She adds: “You wouldn’t come out of London and think you’re compromising on specification and quality.”
Russell says sales at the development have performed well despite the recent sluggish housing market, with rental investors particularly keen to buy. Rental properties at the scheme achieve yields of around 6% a year, according to Berkeley. Russell says the latest construction phase also includes 327 build-to-rent (BTR) homes as part of Berkeley’s new (and as yet unnamed) BTR platform.
Berkeley is not the only major name to spot the rental potential. In October, pensions mutual Royal London Asset Management Property (RLAMP) acquired Aspire, a 151-apartment BTR development on Herschel Street, which was completed in spring.
Head of property Mark Evans says RLAMP decided to invest in Slough because of the robust local economy and strong demand for rental properties, which gave it confidence that the scheme would deliver long-term returns. “As a key commuter hub with superb links to London, Slough attracts a dynamic workforce seeking affordable, accessible homes, aligning perfectly with our strategy to invest in high-growth suburban and commuter markets,” he says.
The local office market has been slower moving. AshbyCapital completed eight-storey building The Future Works in 2018 and intended to develop two further office schemes on adjoining sites, but the outbreak of Covid derailed its plans.
Around 50% of The Future Works has been let to occupiers including flexible workspace provider Plus X Innovation and Tesco Mobile.
“The Thames Valley market was relatively quiet after Covid, but we’ve seen the market pick up this year. We have strong interest and a couple of potential large requirements [from occupiers] looking to take the remaining space, which is great news.
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For now, construction of the two additional office buildings remains on hold.
“Our focus is to let this building and reinvest in it.
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Facilities that AshbyCapital has added to The Future Works include a café, gym and roof terrace, all of which Arthur says “make coming into the office attractive” for employees.
“The number of people coming in [to the office] is increasing. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays were the key days and Mondays and Fridays were quiet. Now, we’re seeing Mondays to Thursdays are pretty much at pre-Covid [occupation] levels.
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Landmark trading estate
Slough has long been associated with the industrial and logistics (I&L) sector. I&L giant SEGRO can trace its roots in the town back to the First World War and the firm’s Slough Trading Estate is now the largest privately owned business park in single ownership in Europe. Occupiers on the site include leading brands such as DHL, Ferrari, Mars and Octopus Energy.
SEGRO is speculatively developing nine units on the estate at 136 Edinburgh Avenue that will be ready in early 2025. The buildings range in size from 2,000 sq ft to 45,000 sq ft and will target sustainability ratings of BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and EPC ‘A+’.
Anna Bond, head of the western corridor at SEGRO, says the I&L giant remains firmly committed to the local area. “We have a bold vision for the future of Slough Trading Estate over the next 10 years, aiming to create a variety of sustainable job opportunities and support economic growth.
“We’re also proud to host a leading cluster of data centres, helping our customers meet the growing demand for cloud computing and supporting the digital economy.”
Berkeley’s Russell says there is a real buzz around Slough, with developments such as the Moxy hotel opening and new residential schemes getting under way. “They see our success and it breeds success,” she says.
Slough may have endured its share of mockery over the years, but investors in the local market may yet have the last laugh.
Plus X Innovation’s workspace looks to the future
Plus X Innovation is a flexible workspace provider with a difference. Instead of just the standard desk and meeting room space, it offers occupiers access to specialist equipment including a wet lab, 3D printers and laser cutters.
Last year, it opened its latest site at AshbyCapital’s The Future Works building in Slough, taking 23,644 sq ft.
Co-chief executive Mat Hunter says: “We term this an innovation hub. It is a place to help businesses innovate and grow. Creating physical communities is a very powerful way of doing that. Entrepreneurship and innovation are very risky even at the best of times, so people like to come together.”
Plus X Innovation was established nine years ago and has sites in Hayes, west London, and Brighton, East Sussex. It offers space to entrepreneurs and businesses in all sectors, but is able to offer specialist support to manufacturing businesses.
Hunter says it was eager to open a site in Slough because of the strength of the local manufacturing sector and the number of graduates wanting to turn their business ideas into reality.
“London has more manufacturing than Birmingham,” says Hunter. “But who is supporting these people to innovate and grow? What we’ve found both in Hayes and here is that market is underserved.”
Start-ups based at the hub range from custom eyewear makers through to firms creating robots for crop-spraying.
“You have a co-working space and offices – and you can just walk next door and use something like £300,000 worth of specialist kit. It is a unique space.
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