A leading West Yorkshire commercial property consultancy has completed a raft of new deals, underlining a return of confidence in the region’s property market.
Richard Heslop, director of the Ilkley-based consultancy DE Commercial, has brokered five new transactions during the past few weeks.
These transactions are spread across the investment, office, industrial and retail sectors in West Yorkshire.
Mr Heslop commented: “There is no doubt that the Coronavirus pandemic has created huge challenges for the commercial property market across the UK this year. It would be foolish to suggest otherwise.
“However, I believe that there are definite signs that confidence is returning to the region’s property market and momentum is picking up as the lockdown eases. There is clearly a way to go before everything returns to normal, but the paralysis that some predicted is not happening.
“More specifically, we have seen a definite upturn in enquiries for warehouse/industrial land and property, with confidence from developers to acquire sites stemming from low levels of interest rates.
“The surge in on-line shopping during the pandemic has stimulated the demand for distribution warehouses, especially those close to Yorkshire’s excellent motorway network, and we expect this to continue.
“Inevitably, this is having a knock-on effect on high street retailers, but recent deals we have brokered in both Ilkley and Otley suggest that there is an appetite for quality independent shops in Yorkshire’s popular and distinctive market towns,” said Mr Heslop.
The latest deals concluded by DE Commercial include:
The Leeds Road garage and MOT station in Otley, comprising 10,000 sq ft of buildings on a 0.25 acre site in a prominent location on east side of Otley. This was let on behalf of private clients for 15 years at an initial rent of £35000 p.a.
74 Main Street Addingham, near Ilkley. This was a freehold sale on behalf of private clients to a pension fund for £69,500. It was a retail property in a prime location in the middle of this much sought-after village.
A self-contained, two-storey hybrid unit, totalling 1,930 sq ft, in Golden Butts Road in Ilkley.
This was let on behalf of private clients to a hand-gel manufacturer for three years at an initial rent of 15,000 p.a.
Mr Heslop continued: “On top of these deals, we have also let a retail unit in Otley and offices in Ilkley. It’s been a busy time for us and we remain optimistic that the commercial property market in Yorkshire will remain resilient in the face of the challenges posed by the global pandemic.”
