Work is underway on a £13.9 million redevelopment of a seven-storey office building in Reading.

Boultbee Brooks Real Estate's (BBRE) has appointed Graham Construction to deliver 93,000 sq ft net internal area (NIA) of Grade A office space at the former King's House building.

A key feature of the project involves the removal of the T-shaped building's central core to create larger, open floorplates of 13,300 sq ft NIA, a total of 23,000 sq ft NIA of extra space overall.

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New stair cores, lifts and facilities will be added to the rear of the building, plant will be moved onto the roof and new cladding will contribute to improved energy efficiency.

Rob Joyce, Graham Construction's London Office Director, said: "The Thames Valley office market is thriving, with Reading in particular seeing low vacancy rates and increasing occupier demand for Grade A space.

"For BBRE, the project's success centres on creating the large, open floorplates that occupiers require of new space. We were able to provide a temporary works solution that will maintain the building's structural integrity while the 13m long, six tonne precast concrete planks that will form the new floorplates are lowered in through the narrow space where the core used to sit."

(LM)