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Overall a strange 24 months for Croydon. The disappointment of the stalled Croydon Partnership retail wonderland now seems to be an accepted reality. However, Croydon’s pragmatic benefits, namely a superb transport network and an enormous employment catchment will continue to be strong drivers over the next few years.

Take up for the last 24 months looked fairly robust at first glance. This was largely accounted for by HMRCs expansion, and the welcome addition of London South Bank University at Electric House. The University will bring higher education to Croydon for the first time and thereby, prospects for graduate retention in the town. Within the private sector, occupiers are suffering from a lack of choice. There remains very limited genuine ‘Grade A’ product - a major factor in sluggish activity. Around 730,000 sq ft of new pipeline product over the next five years will undoubtedly seek to set new benchmark rents. A striking new scheme from Mayfair Capital and V7 (’28 Dingwall’), located opposite East Croydon Station in a 100% prime pitch, is targeting an early £40.00’s psf rent for the first time.

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