Slough Estates Ltd - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

SEGRO plc (formerly known as Slough Estates) is a property investment and development company. It develops and invests in property located in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Continental Europe

Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

and the USA focusing on edge of town flexible business space. The firm switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index

FTSE 250 Index

The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...

. It is the largest industrial property company in Europe and is the owner of The Slough Trading Estate. The largest trading estate under single ownership in Europe.

History

The Company was founded by Sir Percival Perry

Percival Perry, 1st Baron Perry

Percival Lea Dewhurst Perry, 1st Baron Perry KBE , English motor vehicle manufacturer, was chairman of Ford Motor Company Limited for 20 years from its incorporation in 1928 completing almost a lifetime's work with Henry Ford...

and Noel Mobbs

Noel Mobbs

Sir Arthur Noel Mobbs KCVO, OBE was the founder of Slough Estates, one of the United Kingdom's largest property businesses.-Career:...

in 1921 as The Slough Trading Company Ltd with the objective of acquiring and developing the site now occupied by the Slough Trading Estate

Slough Trading Estate

The Slough Trading Estate founded in Slough, Berkshire in 1920, was an early business park in the United Kingdom. According to the estate's owners and operators, SEGRO , Slough Trading Estate consists of of commercial property in Slough and provides of accommodation to 500 businesses and has...

in Slough

Slough

Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...

.

In the 1926 the Company changed its name to Slough Estates Ltd and in 1931 it expanded north acquiring a site in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

.

In the 1980's it expanded rapidly buying Allnatt Properties and Guildhall Properties in 1984, Helmlace in 1985 and Bredero Properties in 1986. In 1999 it acquired Percy Bilton.

In 2004 it sold a number of retail properties to Land Securities in exchange for some industrial properties.

It converted to Real estate investment trust

Real estate investment trust

A real estate investment trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporate entity investing in real estate. The purpose of this designation is to reduce or eliminate corporate tax. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income into the hands of investors...

status and changed its name to SEGRO in 2007. In 2009 it acquired Brixton plc

Brixton plc

Brixton plc is a British-based property business headquartered in London. It is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The firm switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007.-History:...

Operations

SEGRO owns commercial and industrial properties in the UK

United Kingdom

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

and the USA. The Company's original investment, Slough Trading Estate

Slough Trading Estate

(operated by Slough Trading Estate Ltd, a subsidiary of SEGRO) is the largest trading estate in Europe under single ownership. Among sites recently acquired in the UK

United Kingdom

are ones in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

and Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

. The Company also begun one of the biggest developments in its history at the former Royal Aircraft Establishment

Royal Aircraft Establishment

The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...

'factory' site at Farnborough, Hampshire

Farnborough, Hampshire

-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...

.

Unlike many other property companies, which have chosen to contract out the management of their assets, SEGRO have always managed their properties directly.

The Company's portfolio was valued at £4.5bn at 31 December 2010.

History

Operations

Further reading