SUMMARY
• Opportunity to acquire an office building with planning for the conversion and extension of the building under permitted development to provide 28 apartments.
LOCATION
• The building is located on Hillfield Road in the centre of Hemel Hempstead opposite the entrance to Hemel Hempstead hospital. The building is approximately a 31-minute walk to Hemel Hempstead train station which, providing frequent direct services to London Euston in approximately 26-minutes (five trains per hour) and to Milton Keynes in around 34 minutes (two trains per hour).
• The town is also conveniently positioned 11 miles south of London Luton Airport and approximately 23 miles north of Heathrow Airport.
• High Trees occupies a prominent town centre position on Hillfield Road, a key east–west thoroughfare linking directly to The Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead’s principal retail destination, located within a short walk of the property.
• The property benefits from straightforward access to Junction 8 of the M1 and Junctions 20 and 21 of the M25 via Leighton Buzzard Road and The Marlowes, leading south to the Magic Roundabout where the A414 provides convenient onward connections.
• High Trees is further enhanced by its immediate proximity to a multi-storey car park and national retailers including Asda and Iceland, providing strong footfall and excellent local amenities.
EXISTING
• The site extends to approximately 0.85 acres.
• The property comprises a purpose-built office building arranged over ground and four upper floors, positioned above a supermarket at ground level.
• The property has the following existing floor areas (excluding the supermarket).
High Trees – NIA Square Metres Square Feet
Ground 14 153
1 232.6 2,504
2 396.3 4,266
3 388.6 4,183
4 313.6 3,376
Total 1,345 14,482
• At ground floor, the building provides a surface and under croft car park offering 36 parking spaces, reflecting an excellent ratio of approximately 1 space per 400 SqFt.
• High Trees benefits from the following specification:
Air conditioning throughout
Two passenger lifts
Raised access floors
Suspended ceilings
Predominantly open plan floor plates
• The property has been removed from the rating list and, as such, no business rates are currently payable.
• The supermarket unit has been sold off on a long leasehold interest of 150 years from 23rd November 2013 at a Ground Rent of £150 pa.
PLANNING
• Planning permission has been secured for the vertical extension of the building to facilitate residential development. Consent provides for the removal of the existing fourth floor and its replacement, together with the construction of a new fifth floor, enabling the delivery of 12 self-contained apartments. Granted on the 7th July 2025 for the ‘Construction of additional storeys under Class AA’ (Planning Ref: 24/02031/UPAC).
• The proposed replacement of the 4th floor and extension to add a 5th floor would provide 12 apartments (6 x 1 Bed, 6 x 2 Bed) across two storeys extending to approximately 7,618 SqFt (NIA).
• Prior approval was granted on 17th March 2026 for the change of use from Offices (Use Class E) to Residential (Use Class C3), to provide 16 self-contained apartments at first, second and third floor levels (Planning Ref. 26/00122/RPB).
• The 28 apartments (12 x 1 Bed, 16 x 2 Bed) arranged across 1st – 5th will extend to approximately 17,880 SqFt (NIA).
• There is potential for an incoming purchaser to in-fill the under croft to achieve further units, subject to planning.
TERMS
• The property is elected for VAT.
• The property is available freehold.
• Offers in excess of £3,000,000 (representing a low capital value of £167/SqFt on the NSA of the proposed scheme.)
