Garden city blooming as businesses choose Letchworth

September 23, 2025

The world’s first Garden City is bucking the wider regional trend as its commercial property market blooms, fuelled by a growing demand for office space.

Our lease advisory and commercial agency teams have been helping to drive interest in office space across Letchworth Garden City in North Hertfordshire, with companies keen to remain or relocate to the area.

Over the past year, our lease advisory team has advised on over 25 key lease renewals and rent reviews across Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation’s office portfolio, and our agency team has completed several key lettings to businesses, bringing new jobs and investment, with both teams working in partnership with the Foundation after being instructed to act on its office and industrial portfolio.

Every office lease renewal and rent review due in 2025 has now been successfully actioned, with new rents and agreements secured. The transactions covered a wide range of office sizes – from 567 sq ft to 7,300 sq ft – demonstrating robust demand across the Letchworth market.

Alongside the lease advisory work, Kirkby Diamond’s commercial agency team has completed several notable lettings, including deals at the landmark Spirella, Nexus buildings and One Garden City. These results highlight Letchworth’s resilience, in contrast with many nearby towns that are currently experiencing weaker demand.

Hannah Niven, head of North Hertfordshire agency, said: “The recent letting at Spirella to Dormakaba - an international provider of smart, secure access solutions - underlines Letchworth’s appeal as a location for offices. Coupled with several other lettings over the past 12 months across the portfolio, this bucks the trend of rising vacancy rates in neighbouring towns.

“The Spirella and Nexus buildings, close to the train station and A1, are prime assets that continue to attract strong occupier interest.”

Kimberley Gould, lease advisory surveyor, said: “We have worked closely with the Heritage Foundation to maintain strong occupancy levels across the town. Letchworth offers a diverse portfolio, making it an attractive location for businesses – a fact reinforced by the high renewal rate we’ve achieved.”

Rex Dunn, assistant surveyor, said: “It has been a pleasure working alongside the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation’s property team. As a place-based landlord, they are committed to making Letchworth a better place to live and work. By providing quality office space, they ensure businesses continue to thrive here – creating jobs for the local community.”

As the world’s first Garden City, founded by Ebenezer Howard, Letchworth combines green space, modern amenities, and excellent connectivity. Located in North Hertfordshire, it offers direct transport links to London and easy access to the A1(M), making it a convenient and appealing choice for businesses of all sizes.

Joseph Vallelly, Head of Commercial Property at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, said: “We are extremely pleased with the strong performance of our office portfolio over the past year. Working closely with Kirkby Diamond, we’ve seen continued demand from businesses who value what Letchworth has to offer. Our focus remains on supporting local employment, attracting inward investment, and ensuring that our commercial spaces contribute positively to the wider community.”

Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation is a unique place-based foundation which aims to make the world’s first garden city a great place for everyone to live, work and visit. It manages its assets and investments to generate income which enables it to care for the garden city estate and support the local community, providing access to green spaces and a range of culture, heritage, learning and leisure facilities.