PRUIPIM has let 7,624 sq.ft at Apex Plaza to HSBC on a new 10 year lease. The landmark town centre complex has become a professional services and financial hub for Reading, with tenants including Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Ernst & Young, Hanson, Morgan Cole, Olswang, Osborne Clarke and Shoosmiths.

Keith Wise, partner at Campbell Gordon (joint agent with Colliers CRE), said 'Apex Plaza has had an astonishing couple of years. We have let 93,000 sq.ft in the building since summer 2005. Rents have increased by £3 per sq.ft and rent-free incentives have reduced by one third. There is simply a lack of supply of grade A space in the town centre. This fact coupled with the increase in demand means, I believe, town centre rents could reach £28 sq.ft. Perhaps we will even break through the £30 sq.ft barrier in the next couple of years.'