Speculative returns to Yorkshire markets

The Yorkshire Industrial and Office markets will see a boom in speculative development this year to meet increasing occupier demand, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

The firm anticipates that 2019 will see the return of much needed speculative development in the logistics and industrial market within both the big-box and mid-box markets, with the sector continuing to be the ‘shining star’ of asset classes in the region.

The findings were presented at Cushman & Wakefield’s annual Property Outlook event for the Commercial Property Market for 2019 and beyond held at the Everyman Cinema in Leeds yesterday.

Jacques Esterhuizen, associate at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “The industrial and logistics market witnessed a strong year in 2018 driven by the online retail sector and this looks set to continue this year, most recently demonstrated by the 731,000 sq ft pre-let at iPort in Doncaster to an on-line retailer.”

He added: “In addition, there is currently 930,000 sq ft of speculative big box development recently completed or under construction in the region.”

In the offices market, Adam Cockroft, partner and head of office agency at Cushman & Wakefield, identified Leeds as a leading occupier hot spot which has resulted in grade A availability reaching its lowest point since 2016.

Meanwhile, in the Investment market, Yorkshire witnessed a bumper year with transaction volumes up 35 per cent on the previous year to £1.9bn, driven by ‘exceptional’ years in the office and industrial sectors.