The standout, brutalist buildings which used to serve as the offices of Berkshire County Council in Shinfield could be demolished.
Shire Hall was built as the offices of the County Council with the building being completed in 1981.
After the County Council was dissolved in 1998, Shire Hall was occupied by the Foster Wheeler global engineering conglomerate, which then merged into the Wood Group in 2017.
The building served as the headquarters of the group until very recently.
Now, the building itself could be demolished and replaced with six logistics units, as the site has been bought in an ‘off the market’ deal.
Shire Hall has been acquired by the Fiera Real Estate investment management company and Wrenbridge property developers.
The companies plan to replace Shire Hall with six logistics units ranging from 20,000 to 88,000 sq ft, with a projected value of £75 million.
Chris Button, head of investment management at Fiera Real Estate, said: “This project will showcase the power of combining institutional capital prepared to undertake speculative development, with the entrepreneurial flair and technical know-how of Wrenbridge.”
As developers, Wrenbridge is focused on commercial properties.
The purchasers have touted Shire Hall as an ideal location to the south of Reading, a mile from Junction 11 of the M4 and a 30-minute journey to Junction 15 of the M25 for Heathrow.
Ben Coles, chief executive of Wrenbridge, said: “We are delighted to have completed another prime logistics acquisition backed by Fiera.
“It’s another brilliant location that we believe will attract occupiers out of London to pay some sensible rents.
“It’s another piece of the jigsaw puzzle for prime sites we are purchasing that wrap around North, East and West London outside the M25.
“We are keen for more opportunities.”
No plans for the chances have been submitted to Wokingham Borough Council.
Shire Hall was purpose-built as the Berkshire County Council offices after county councils received more powers from the Local Goverment Act of 1972.
The complex cost £27.5 million, and is known as an example of ‘Brutalist’ concrete architecture.
