Worcestershire industrial and distribution property remains highly sought after with strong, consistent enquiry levels and good take-up across the county, according to one of the county’s leading commercial property agents.
More than 180,000 sq ft of property was let or sold in the first quarter of 2018, following a take-up of 1.19 million square feet in 2017, according to John Dillon, Managing Director at Worcestershire commercial property consultancy and Chartered Surveyors GJS Dillon.
“Q1 2018 was slightly quieter than Q4 2017, but this is the case in the first quarter of every year, and 2018 remains on track to emulate the 2017 figures. Enquiry levels in the first five months of the year are consistent with those of 2017,” says Mr Dillon.
“The Worcestershire industrial market remains strong with firms keen to grow in the county and to relocate here because of its excellent communications, flexible workforce, sought after lifestyle, and help on offer from the LEP and Worcestershire County Council.
“However, there is a continuing shortage of suitable premises, especially of smaller units, and we continue to look to developers to help rectify that situation.”
According to Mr Dillon, developers have reacted to the shortage of industrial property by starting to build new developments in the county. He says: “Availability of industrial property is better than it has been, and has recovered from a five year low in 2017, to just under two years of available stock of industrial units now in the county.
“Developments such as Worcester Six are clearly helping at the top end of the market which is looking for large units, while Hortons’ Vale Park in Evesham, Chase Commercial’s Ratio Park in Kidderminster and Crescent Trade Park in Redditch will provide some much needed smaller units. However, occupiers can still not always find the size of property in the location they want, especially if they want to buy their premises, so they must remain flexible if they want to continue to grow their business.”
Leasehold deals continued to outweigh freehold purchases considerably in the first quarter of 2018, both in terms of space and number of deals.
Mr Dillon continues: “Continuing low interest rates and the willingness of the banks to lend to acquire property means that the few freehold units which come to market are particularly highly sought after, with business owners and company directors seeking to purchase buildings for their businesses through pension schemes. This desire for freeholds is likely to continue throughout the rest of the year.
“The on-going shortage of properties means that there has never been a better time to market an industrial property in Worcestershire, with many going to best and final offers, and we would welcome the opportunity to advise more landlords. But this situation also means that businesses looking for new premises are having to spend more time and money searching, and if they do identify a suitable building they often miss out.
“Businesses cannot just look on-line, as by the time a property appears, it could already be too late. We encourage anybody looking for industrial or office premises in Worcestershire to register their needs with us, then they will be at the front of the queue when we put a new building on the market.
“Businesses looking for industrial units or warehouse space of over 10,000 sq ft, and offices of more than 5,000 sq ft or more, can also use our specialist Business Relocation Service which will identify a business’s needs, space requirements and budgetary constraints and then search on and off the market for a property, as well as, if required, disposing of the old premises.”