A shortage of office and industrial units in Worcestershire, coupled with high demand for space, will push up commercial property prices across the county in the next 12 months according to a new report by Worcestershire’s largest independent commercial property agency GJS Dillon.
‘The growth of Worcestershire’s office market is being stifled by the lack of new developments for the SME sector’ says Andrew Lewis, GJS Dillon’s Associate Director, who has authored GJS Dillon’s Worcestershire Commercial Property Market Report 2020.
Take-up of office space in 2019 was down on the previous year with transactions totalling 155,472 sq ft compared with 182,782 sq ft during 2018. However, as illustrated by the low vacancy rates shown in the report, this is due to lack of supply rather than demand. In contrast, demand for industrial property rose by 11% from 1,220,767 sq ft in 2018 to 1,366,902 in 2019.
Mr Lewis continues ‘Popularity within the county’s industrial market is due to Worcestershire’s great location and the strong performance of the manufacturing sector. This has seen success at well-known landmark developments such as Worcester Six and also the introduction of smaller industrial schemes across the county.’
Worcestershire’s central location continues to attract occupiers and it is Mr Lewis’s view that stability in 2020 will provide a springboard for business growth. However, he added that the county’s infrastructure plays a key role in business growth ‘The land around junctions 4 to 8 of the M5 and junctions 1 and 3 of the M42 provides a ready-made infrastructure network around which to base industrial and business parks.’
The figures in the report are based on figures and analysis from CoStar, which it uses to advise vendors, purchasers, developers, landlords and tenants. The report looks in detail at the county’s six sub-markets for both office and industrial property.
