A new study indicates a positive shift in confidence in the provincial industrial property markets of the South East.
The study, commissioned by Brierley & Coe, reveals an improvement in the demand situation over the 12-month period up to 1st September 2014.
The study into the availability and take-up of industrial and warehouse space focuses on the seaside town of Worthing and its nine principle trading areas where the majority of the town’s industrial/warehousing floor space is located.
The study reveals:
• Vacancy of floor space at an historic low, falling significantly since December 2013
• Availability of industrial/warehouse accommodation down by more than two thirds, and
• Take up of available floor space across a wide range of unit sizes from 750 sq.ft to more than 80,000 sq.ft.
Detailed analysis of industrial space
The study shows that a handful of transactions claimed the lion’s share of lettings/sales over the 12 month period — all for floor space in excess of 10,000 sq. ft. By contrast, it also reveals far fewer transactions and take-up of smaller size units of under 2,500 sq.ft.
The full study explains why there is lower take-up of smaller units and it examines in detail the contrasting availability of different sizes of industrial/warehouse floor space in the Worthing area, by providing a breakdown of small, medium and large industrial/warehouse accommodation.
Where to find quality industrial space
The quality of available units in Worthing’s nine trading areas largely reflects the fact that the majority of stock was constructed between 1970 and 1988, with the exception of one business park, built in the 1990s, that offers larger-sized accommodation and another opened in 2004 which provides a range of small and medium-sized units.
Overall, the study’s findings reveal a marked improvement in confidence amongst those seeking and offering industrial property in Worthing — and this is believed to reflect a similar level of confidence across the South East of England.
In fact, this study provides real evidence that previous confidence on the real estate markets within major cities and prime locations is now manifesting itself in provincial markets across the UK.
