The acute shortage of industrial units in a Northamptonshire town has triggered a race-for-space, one of the county’s leading commercial property specialists has reported.
The severe shortage is also speeding up transaction times as occupiers compete for what little accommodation Wellingborough has to offer, says Samantha Jones, an associate director at commercial consultancy Prop-Search.
“Typically, property transactions have taken around three months to complete,” she says, “but with quality industrial accommodation at a premium, occupiers are agreeing terms and finalising deals in half that time in order to secure properties.”
And Jones cites the recent letting of a unit (pictured) within the Rotherhill-developed Harrowden Court industrial complex at Park Farm as an example of occupier demand. “This unit, of a little under 10,000 sq ft, secured an offer just two working days after being placed on the market — with solicitors instructed a mere three days after that,” she adds.
Clenaware Systems, which has been designing and manufacturing dishwashers, glasswashers and glass dryers for more than half-a-century, already occupied around 2,000 sq ft of industrial space within the six-acre scheme. It also had administration offices in a nearby village and was keen to consolidate its operations.
Finding suitably large industrial premises in Wellingborough with good yard areas and internal offices presented a challenge, so when the Park Farm unit came on the market at the end of last year, Clenaware moved swiftly to secure a deal.
“This larger unit on Harrowden Court ticked all our boxes,” explained managing director, Richard Harris. “At just shy of 10,000 sq ft, it gives us room for further expansion and has a large yard area for parking and deliveries. It was close to our existing premises so was also very good from a staff retention point of view.
“We realised there would be other interested parties looking at the property, as we had experienced this during our property search, so we knew we would have to act decisively if we wanted it,” Harris added.
“Being prepared and submitting a well thought out offer, with funding in place, ensured we were successful in securing the property.”
Clenaware Systems has taken its new premises, one of 12 on the Harrowden Court site, on a 10-year lease. Prop-Search — which has offices in Wellingborough, Northampton and Milton Keynes — acted for the landlord, Salcey Properties.
“Competition between occupiers is increasing, putting property owners in a strong position when it comes to negotiating terms,” concludes Jones. “In today’s highly competitive market, it is not just the terms offered, but also the speed in which the transaction can be completed which is influencing landlords’ decisions.”
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