A national property firm with offices in the North-East, which has concluded more than 65 industrial sales and lettings in the past year, has identified eight of the region’s hottest commercial locations.
Sanderson Weatherall — named “Property Adviser of the Year: Yorkshire and The North East” for nine consecutive years by Estates Gazette — claims its Stockton-based team has signed deals for over 1.2m square feet of space in the 12 months to April.
This record number of transactions has allowed the agency to compile a list of the region’s most sought after sites, says partner Jonathan Simpson.
“There are a number of hot spots across the area,” he explains, “largely in the Tees Valley, but also in County Durham, all of which reflect the region’s heritage as the industrial heart of Britain.”
The eight hot spots highlighted by the firm are:
“In each of these areas we have concluded important landmark deals or have significant interest in sites which, when sold or let, will bring serious employment opportunities to the neighbourhood,” he added.
Simpson also praised the work of the Government-backed Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for playing its part in the area’s revival.
“There is no doubt that the work of Tees Valley Unlimited in promoting areas such as Kirkleatham Business Park, within the area’s enterprise zone, has made a very big difference,” Simpson said. “This was demonstrated earlier this year with Allied Fittings moving into Redcar.”
The global pipe fittings company, part of the Allied International Group, acquired a 15,620sq ft on the Kirkleatham park as part of an LEP incentive deal which effectively allowed it to occupy the site free from business rates for five years. “The savings offered by the Kirkleatham Enterprise Zone made the case for moving to Redcar very compelling,” admitted Peter Duncan, managing director of Allied International UK.
There are other sites within the hot spot zone, adds Simpson, which are attracting investment on merit alone. “Areas such as Aycliffe Business Park are thriving on their own with employers such as the dehumidifier maker Ebac expanding into a new 150,000sq ft facility and taking on more staff,” he concludes.
Previous Post
Economic Slowdown hits Indian Commercial Property Prices