Vodafone confirms sale of Newbury headquarters site

Vodafone has sold its Newbury headquarters campus.

The telecoms giant confirmed the completion of the sale of The Connection, which was built in 2002, to Oval Real Estate and IQON on Tuesday.

The company has also agreed long-term leases on four of the seven buildings at the campus, as part of the sale-leaseback transaction, which it said demonstrated “its ongoing commitment to the town”.

A Vodafone UK spokesperson said: “We are delighted to confirm our continued commitment to Newbury, sharing the incredible campus we’ve called home for over 20 years.

“We are excited to see Oval Real Estate and IQON Capital develop their future vision for the campus.”

James Craig, founder of Oval Real Estate – whose portfolio also includes the R+ building in Reading – said: “We will be doing a grade A refurbishment of the buildings that Vodafone is not leasing with the aim of encouraging life sciences, research and development and technology companies into the campus.”

He said Oval Real Estate hoped to make The Connection “one of the best parks on the M4” and forge links with places such as Harwell and Milton Park, science and technology centres in Oxfordshire.

The refurbishment plans are to turn the buildings into newly re-designed and highly sustainable workplaces.

Vodafone has agreed 10-year leases on three of the buildings and a five-year lease on the fourth.

The telecoms company announced its plans for the sale in March last year and said the move was a result of a "blended working" trial, following the coronavirus pandemic.

The new working strategy sees its 10,000 UK employees operating in a combination of home, site and field-based working.

At the time, it said that all proceeds from the sale will “be invested back into the business, and Vodafone remains fully committed to a long term presence as a major employer in the town”.