All eyes on Slough - Crossrail’s next property hotspot.
What makes a good buy to let investment isn’t just property in hot and expensive locations but rather finding those in areas that have great potential for growth. Historically, and especially in the London property market, it is always about identifying transport links and infrastructure expansions which play a key part in property price growth.
For instance, since the extension of London Underground’s Jubilee line in the late 1990s, the land value along the tube line has increased by approximately £9 billion. As a result, since the implementation of the Crossrail project, more and more investors, first-time buyers and ambitious property hunters are looking for opportunities to buy properties along the Crossrail commuters’ belt.
Slough, the Silicon Valley of the UK
Slough has been attracting new businesses at a faster rate than anywhere else in the UK. It is growing its corporate presence and contributing £8bn to the national economy, double the UK average. Named by the Observer as Britain’s Boomtown, Slough has the highest concentration of European headquarters in the UK, around 4,600 organisations. Some of the biggest market players such as O2, BlackBerry, Amazon, McAfee, Honda, Ferrari Research in Motion and GlaxoSmithKline are based in Slough.
Slough is home to Europe’s largest trading estate in single ownership. This means that SEGRO (previously called Slough Estates until 2007) can literally bypass any planning regulations if they want to develop a new building. It covers an area of 486 acres, and with over 600 buildings, has a working population of around 20,00 people.
In 1932, when Slough was only a hub for manufacturing, Mars moved in and, with just 4 employees, began producing Mars bars from a small kitchen. “Now, 85 years later, the firm produces an astonishing 2.5 million Mars in its factory each day”.
One of the most significant changes for Thames Valley in recent years has been the growth of the digital economy. Affectionately called “the Silicon Valley of the UK”, the Thames Valley is also the second largest home of data centres in the world. “Slough is one of the main fibre trunk routes out of London, which makes it an ideal place to put data centres”, says David Watkins, director at the data centre provider, Virtus.
Earlier this year, SEGRO was promoted to the FTSE 100.
Property investment in Slough
CBRE, a property consultant, has predicted that by 2018 property prices in Slough will increase an additional 13% on top of the natural property price growth. This boost in property prices is expected to happen due to the completion of the new Crossrail project which will connect Slough directly to London. In fact, since the Crossrail conception in 2008, the value of homes skirting the train’s route has already grown by 20% more than the general capital appreciation displayed across the South East.
Statistics by JLL, a major professional services company, indicate that Slough will see an increase of 45% by 2021, when the Western Rail Access, a new high-speed service to Heathrow will connect Slough to the airport in a record six minutes; the current times can take up to 40 minutes.
With an average home price of around £315,000, it was estimated that after the introduction of the Crossrail, property prices would rise by approximately £149,000 to £464,000.
Not without a reason, Slough has gained a reputation as one of the leading hotspots outside London.
In the UK Buy-to-Let hotspots report, Slough received the largest monthly rent revenues along with other areas such as Reading and Southampton. It is the country’s third most in-demand rental location.
Private landlords own almost a quarter of homes in Slough with an average monthly rental price of £795 and a gross yield of 5.9%.
If you would like some guidance on Crossrail best property hotspots, contact Vista Invest to talk about the regeneration potential of Crossrail areas. #¢
Transport links between Slough and London
It is estimated that the Crossrail will bring a staggering number of 1.5 million people within a 45-minute commute to London while Slough’s population is expected to increase by 18,000 in the next 3 years.
With the introduction of the Crossrail, Slough will be only 11 stops away from central London’s Bond Street (32 minutes) and 14 stops from Liverpool Street (39 minutes). Canary Wharf will only be 46 minutes away from Slough!
The introduction of the Crossrail will also make many companies choose Slough as the location for their businesses because of its accessibility and excellent transport connectivity to London.
With many Londoners still struggling to get on the housing ladder, towns like Slough are quickly becoming property hotspots (see infographics)
Vista Invest currently has access to a newly built development that consists of 124 units over 7 floors in a fantastic location, 2 minutes from the Crossrail station.
We have a mixture of studios, 1 and 2 beds priced as follows:
Studios from £269,950
1 beds from £289,950
2 beds from £389,950
Article originally published 30 October 2017










