Sheffield has an exciting future in commercial property and development sector according to global property consultancy, Knight Frank.
For the year ending 31 March, Knight Frank saw group turnover rise by 10% to £525.9m “in the face of volatile markets and political conditions around the world.” Group pre-tax profits also increased by 14% to £166.7m.
Alistair Elliott, senior partner and group chairman, said: “We believe that this is a reflection of the success of our concentration on organic and strategic investment in people over the past five years and is a tribute to the quality of our teams across the globe.
“If we reflect on our progress over the ten years since the financial crisis, there is good reason to feel confident. Since 2008, we have substantially increased the scale, breadth and scope of our business and, recognising the cyclical nature of our markets, we have retained profits in order to build a strong balance sheet that has no net debt. We think that this is particularly important in the current environment.
He added: “Our investment in technology continues apace as we continue to put our people and clients at the heart of what we do. Through our technology board, we investigate and adopt technologies that will improve client service and are right for our business without impeding on the personal relationships, on which we remain firmly focused.”
Elliot also noted that the UK had delivered “very encouraging results” in the face of uncertainty surrounding Brexit. He said: “All our service lines performed strongly with a record result from our UK commercial business backed by another outstanding year across our UK regional offices.”
Peter Whiteley, head of Knight Frank’s Sheffield office, added: “Sheffield’s regional office is performing extremely well and is delighted to be supporting the overall success of the group. Knight Frank’s decision to locate an office in the city 30 years ago has helped to shape every part of Sheffield through property development and commercial investment.
“This year, we were involved in the 24 million GBP sale of 3 St Paul’s Place to M&G, the 15 million GBP sale of The Balance to Kames Capital and have worked with ARBA Group to make Meadowhall Business Park into one of the city’s highest performing business parks, securing key occupiers such as Tuffnells Parcels Express, Preventx, Cap Gemini and the GMB Union in recent months
“These deals show Sheffield’s new dynamic, underpinned by other key projects including the Heart of The City Phase II, which will see anchor tenant HSBC occupying approximately 140,000 sq ft of brand new office space on the former “Grosvenor Hotel Site” in the eagerly awaited development.
“In the city core, prime offices including 3 St Pauls Place at the Peace Gardens, Acero at Sheffield Digital Campus and Steel City House on West Street have been well received by the market, attracting quality occupiers and all now have very limited availability remaining”
“We are continuing to see a shortage of quality central office stock due to the levels of demand, partly driven by Sheffield’s location and value, but also the city’s ongoing levels of central development, its broader transport infrastructure, investment in the city’s two leading universities and its potential for future generations.
“It is reasonable to say that the best is yet to come for Sheffield’s commercial property market – and with longer term infrastructure developments, such as HS2 bringing new levels of connectivity to the capital, the city’s strategic potential is yet to be fully realised.”
