If you’re looking for residential property in Leicester, you may wonder if you should be interested in the latest commercial property news.
The answer is yes, as it can give you an exciting indication of the prosperity in the area and highlight Leicester’s potential as a great place to live and work.
New figures were released at a recent briefing at the College Court of the University of Leicester, highlighting a boom in the Leicester property industry. Based on knowledge gained from over a decade of studying the region’s property market, this year’s Innes England Market Insite study shows that the county of Leicestershire saw the busiest period ever last year in terms of office premises deals. Lettings for spaces below 10,000 sq ft accounted for more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of the activity.
Amongst the deals highlighted were the commitment of Mattioli Woods to a pre-let of 60,000 sq ft on the former site of the offices of Leicester City Council at Welford Place, Hastings Direct’s taking on of St George’s Tower space, totalling 50,000 sq ft, and IBM’s current project to fit out space measuring 30,000 sq ft in New Walk. Office space transactions last year involved 458,000 sq ft, and the level of deals was up 25 per cent over the decade’s average last year.
The annual report also revealed that industrial activity totalled more than two million sq ft, in comparison to 1.2 million sq ft before 2011, whilst supply saw a 100 per cent increase, reaching the 2.4 million sq ft level, largely as a result of a rise in availability created at Braunstone’s Magna Park.
One of the largest lets reported surrounded internet giant Amazon, which was involved in a 257,000 sq ft deal at Bardon’s Interlink Park to create a distribution hub in the area around the M1’s junction 22. This will be boosted further by a minimum of two more distribution warehouses being completed shortly.
The leisure and retail sector, meanwhile, continued to show strength, with Highcross being highlighted for attracting around 18 million visitors a year and having no empty space in the prime upper mall.
New additions in Leicester in 2015 included TGI Fridays, Five Guys, Marco’s New York Italian in the Mercure Grand Hotel and Bill’s. Primark is also set to open a store in the Fosse Shopping Park during 2016.
A £150 million Fosse Park extension will also make room for a big Next store, along with a further 26 restaurants and shops. A planning decision on the proposed extension is expected soon.
Are you considering a move to Leicester? Why not give Keywest a call today on 01162 544 555 and speak to one of our property experts.
