IN Brief:
- The completed development provides 15 industrial and logistics units on the former Croydon Gas Works site.
- The approximately 93,400 sq ft scheme includes solar panels, EV charging and 76 secure bicycle spaces.
- Completion reporting cites BREEAM Excellent and EPC A+, while the public BREEAM record shows an interim assessment.
Chancerygate and CBRE Investment Management have completed The Works, a multi-unit industrial and logistics development on the site of the former Croydon Gas Works in south London. The project provides 15 industrial units on remediated brownfield land at Factory Lane, replacing former gas infrastructure with space designed for small and medium-sized occupiers. The development is described as approximately 93,400 sq ft, with the buildings arranged to provide both individual premises and opportunities to combine adjoining units.
The site formerly contained gas holders associated with Croydon’s industrial history, with demolition beginning in 2022 before the subsequent remediation and redevelopment programme. The completed scheme occupies land that had been out of productive use, within a district already containing distribution and industrial operations. The partners have not published a detailed remediation schedule, volumes of material treated or a summary of particular ground contaminants in the completion announcement. It is therefore appropriate to identify the previous gasworks use and completed brownfield transformation without attributing specific ground-treatment techniques or remediation outcomes beyond those reported.
Construction began in March 2025, supported by an £18m senior loan arranged by Investec for the Chancerygate and CBRE Investment Management joint venture. The financing announcement described three buildings providing approximately 93,000 sq ft, divided into 15 units, and identified the option to combine adjacent premises. The completed scheme is a separate delivery milestone, following demolition and construction rather than a new funding agreement. Local reporting describes a development value of around £25m; that is not the same measure as the £18m financing facility.
Units are marketed individually or in combined configurations, with accommodation measured on a gross external area basis. The live scheme website lists the smallest individual unit at 2,411 sq ft and a maximum advertised combination of 41,645 sq ft, rather than the slightly different ranges used in earlier project descriptions. That flexibility allows businesses to select a footprint closer to their operational requirements while retaining access to the site’s shared location and infrastructure. Availability will depend on the units let and the configurations agreed with occupiers.
The Works includes fitted first-floor offices, loading doors and yards suited to industrial and logistics activity. Marketing specifications indicate clear internal heights that vary by unit, and individual spaces have different loading and parking arrangements. The importance of that variation is practical rather than promotional: occupiers must match clear height, floor loading, access and yard depth to the plant, goods and vehicle movements they intend to accommodate. A single nominal floorspace figure cannot establish whether a building will suit a particular process or storage layout, and potential tenants will still need to review the unit schedules.
Rooftop photovoltaic systems, electric vehicle charging and 76 secure cycle parking spaces form part of the completed development’s sustainability features. Its specification also includes insulated cladding and roof materials, LED lighting, air source heat pumps, low air permeability design and roof lights intended to improve natural illumination. Landscaped areas include semi-mature trees and provision for wildlife, with communal outdoor space for occupiers. Actual energy bills and emissions will depend on the uses of individual units, the systems operated inside them and how much of the on-site solar output is consumed.
Completion reporting states that the units have EPC A+ ratings and describes the development as BREEAM Excellent. The project’s own marketing material continues to use target language for the ratings, however, and a publicly located BREEAM project record records Excellent at interim assessment stage. Until the final post-construction certificate is verified, the interim award and the reported completion-stage performance should not be described as independently confirmed final BREEAM certification. EPC ratings also describe assessed building performance rather than measured energy consumption by future occupiers.
The Factory Lane site is close to the A23 and A232, with connections towards the M25 and an established concentration of industrial and distribution businesses. The location can support urban occupiers making relatively frequent movements within south London, provided their vehicle and servicing needs match the individual units’ yards and loading arrangements. Chancerygate describes The Works as Croydon’s first new multi-unit urban logistics scheme to complete in about a decade; that is the developer’s characterisation of the local supply position. No complete schedule of completed lettings was provided with the announcement.
An artwork produced with local collective A Collective has been installed at the Factory Lane entrance, acknowledging the site’s former gasworks use. Trees, wildlife features and shared outdoor space now occupy part of land previously associated with industrial gas infrastructure. The completed buildings provide new lettable industrial accommodation, but any contribution to employment will depend on the firms taking units and their eventual staffing. Signed leases, actual operating energy performance and confirmation of final environmental certification will provide subsequent measures of the development’s occupation and performance.
