A commercial property expert in Coventry is forecasting improving fortunes for the city.
David Penn, managing director of Shortland Penn + Moore, said it was the ‘most exciting time in the city for decades’ but believes there is much work to be done to ensure that potential is achieved.
He said: “There is a real sense of an opportunity for growth and prosperity and to see the city flourish. Now it is very much a case of grasping that opportunity and turning it into long-term sustained success.
“With developments such as Friargate starting to become a reality, it’s important that we build on that with schemes including Gateway that, if given the go ahead as I believe it should, will bring many thousands of jobs to the region.
“That means forging ahead with a new housing strategy because if we create the jobs but not the homes, it will simply mean even more people earning money here but spending it elsewhere.”
Penn said that the market had begun to pick-up midway through last year, resulting in a record month in December for Shortland Penn + Moore, which is part of the Coventry and Warwickshire delegation to MIPIM.
And he believes the company is on course for a record financial year when its year end figures are completed at the end of March.
“The pick-up was right across the board,” he said. “Industrial is still performing strongly but we have also seen more retail and office deals going through. Land transactions are improving and, for example, we have recently completed sales of over 120 acres of potential development land.
“We billed 30 per cent more in December last year than we had in our previous December, so it shows the direction the market is heading.
“On top of the deals done, we have also seen a rise in our valuation work too. There is a real sense that there is great potential going forward and it’s important we maintain that as a city and a region.”