Aviva Investors secures two lettings across Ealing office portfolio

Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, has secured two major lettings, totalling 18,500 sq ft, across its office portfolio in central Ealing, west London.

Countryside Properties, the FTSE 250 UK home builder, has agreed to take the entire c. 9,850 sq ft top floor of the Aurora building, at a rent of £42.50 per sq ft, on a 10-year lease. The building is now over 90% let, with the final 3,628 sq ft of space currently being marketed.

At Ealing Cross, Aviva Investors has agreed a new five year lease with existing occupier Ring Central, the cloud-based communications provider, for c. 9,100 sq ft, bringing their total occupation within the building to c. 17,500 sq ft across two floors. The building is now fully let to a diverse range of occupiers including AIB Group, Red Bee Media and Cognizant Worldwide.

Aviva Investors has identified Ealing town centre as a fast growing location due to its excellent transport connections, which will be further enhanced by the arrival of Crossrail, and current lower rents versus other West London locations.

In line with its targeted cluster investment strategy focused on regions of major growth, Aviva Investors’ has built an office portfolio in Ealing totalling 270,000 sq ft of Grade A office space across three multi-tenanted buildings: Aurora, Ealing Cross and Ealing Gateway.

As part of its approach to managing modern workspaces, Aviva Investors is also developing best in class customer service, amenities and benefits that will be rolled out across the portfolio, creating a community for its customers and an environment in which businesses can thrive.

Lucy Bannerman, Asset Manager at Aviva Investors, said: “Having established a strategic cluster of high quality office assets in Ealing, we are thrilled to have been able to facilitate an existing occupier’s expansion, whilst also welcoming a new customer in Countryside Properties. Appetite for best in class office space in Ealing is strong, with the high occupancy levels across our hub endorsing Aviva Investors’ strategy of targeting this location.”

Knight Frank advised Ring Central with Savills representing Countryside. Hanover Green and Knight Frank are retained as advisors on the portfolio.