The North West is England’s commercial property hotspot
The North West of England boasts the greatest abundance of commercial property for sale, according to industry analysis by debt advisory specialists, Sirius Property Finance.
The data found that in the commercial market, there are roughly 9,000 units for sale across in England. The highest proportion are found in the North West at 16.6 per cent; 15.7 per cent in the South West and 11 per cent in the West Midlands.
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“Despite the problems facing much of England’s commercial sector, there remain plenty of opportunities in the current market,” said Kimberley Gates, head of corporate partnerships at Sirius Property Finance.
“Depending on what type of investment you want to make will influence where you need to look, but the North West looks like a really good investment location with every base, from shopfronts to warehouses, covered.”
Sirius Property Finance looked at the current stock availability across all sectors of commercial property – office, retail, leisure, and industrial – and across all regions of England to see where the current commercial hotspots are found.
For office space, London has most available offices at 21.1 per cent, followed by the West Midlands and Birmingham at 12.7 per cent.
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When it comes to retail space, the North West holds 17.4 per cent and London has 13.4 per cent.
In the leisure and hospitality sector, the South West (22.4 per cent) has the most stock, and the North West (18.5 per cent) ranks second.
As for industrial and warehouse space, the North West (15.4 per cent) is the nation’s hotspot, followed by the East Midlands (14.2 per cent).
“Why is the North West so hot right now? It’s because cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, and Salford are syphoning an awful lot of organisations and businesses away from their traditional London bases due to having more affordable markets,” Gates said.
“As a result, there is an increasing sense that the capital city no longer has exclusive rights to the beating heart of British media and industry and this is helping drive the commercial market in other regions of the nation.”
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