North West Commercial Property Market Outperforms UK Economy

Until the law firm Halliwells collapsed, the Manchester office market was on course for a general improvement. Momentarily, perhaps, the arrival of 17,007 sq.metres (183,000 sq.ft.) of Grade A space on the market has brought some caution. The continued success of Media City and planning permission for the massive Wirral Waters scheme has provided underlying comfort to the market, particularly as there are a number of large deals in the offing.

The rapid improvement in London will also spread to the North West, which does have its own broadly based market that is benefiting from the better economy. This is illustrated in a survey by Markit which said that while private sector output and new business at the start of the third quarter had slowed, “the region continues to outperform the wider UK economy.” In fact the improvement has been proceeding for 16 months. Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the North West Development Agency (NWDA) said: “It’s very pleasing to see the region continuing to outperform the UK economy.” Mike Hawkins of WHR points to the success of MediaCity “where more than 50% of the space is pre let to a broad range of occupiers, some of which are not in the media business. This is a big chunk of space that is as much as the whole of Salford Quays and Spinningfields and represents a long-term vision for the region.”

Another important influence on the market in Manchester is provided by the new Co-operative Group’s £100 million, 30,193 sq.metres (325,000 sq.ft.) headquarters where construction by BAM has now started. It illustrates the presence of large national groups and will act as a landmark for the city. The Co-op and Manchester City Council now plan a competition to find a design team for the public realm element of the master plan for the 20 acre site around Corporation Street and Miller Street.Lynda Shillaw of the Co-op said: “We want the area to enjoy an international reputation for having raised the bar for environmentally sustainable commercial development.”

The North West Commercial Property Register

The North West Commercial Property Register is a leading UK business property publication from Martin Austen Publishing. The aim of the publication is to offer a simple and effective means of finding Offices Space in the North West, Serviced Offices in the North West and commercial property in North West. You can also find the latest commercial property news for the North West.