According to a new report from Cluttons, Kent County Council and Locate in Kent, Kent's three business parks--Crossways at Dartford, King's Hill at Maidstone and Chatham Maritime--accounted for 80% of all office take-up in the past year. Significant deals include Jupiter International taking a 35,000 sf build-to-suit building at King's Hill and Regus taking 50,00 sf at Crossways.

But, according to Cluttons Partner Mark Linington, there are signs of a move back into the town centres. With the BBC paying over £20 per sf ($28.20) per sf in Tunbridge Wells and Berkeley Homes paying the same--albeit for a sale & leaseback--in Sevenoaks, Linington said rents are now approaching levels where new development is viable. Maidstone town centre is seeing its first speculative building in a decade.

In the industrial sector, sites close to the M2, M20 and M25 motorways in West kent are attracting interest from distribution operators. For example, the retailer John Lewis paid £7.15 ($10) per sf for a 60,000 sf building at Crossways, Dartford. 'It is the logistics sector that is driving rental increases,' says Linington.