Surrey County Council has acquired the freehold interest in the Dakota building in Weybridge from The RO for circa €18m (£15.9m). The asset comprises around 36,000ft² of grade-A office space and will be used as another base for staff moving away from Country Hall in Kingston. The council will occupy the first and second floors, totalling around 22,000ft². The third floor is already let to Robert Half International and the ground floor to flexible office provider Yoooserv.
Tim Oliver, leader of Surrey County Council, said: “We are seeing through our commitment to move our staff back into the county of Surrey after more than 50 years in Kingston. The move will not only save us money and reduce our carbon footprint as an organisation, but it brings our staff closer to the residents we serve. I’m delighted that once we come out of COVID restrictions, staff will now be able to work flexibly across the county including from these fantastic new premises in Reigate and Weybridge.”
David Kershaw, Group Property Director at RO Group, commented: “We are delighted with our sale of Dakota to Surrey County Council. The capital generated by this sale will enable us to look at attractive new opportunities, as well as continuing to invest in our existing assets. In the last two years, we have modernised many of our buildings, including Dakota, as well as locations in Sevenoaks, Southampton and Watford. Covid-19 has accelerated a change in working practices and businesses are now more focused than ever on finding quality office space that satisfies employee wellbeing and enhances creativity and collaboration in decentralised locations. Dakota was always a very special project for us; being the first multi-tenanted building in Europe to achieve Fitwel certification and we wish Surrey County Council and its employees much success and enjoyment in their new building.”
