SHROPSHIRE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY MARKET 2004

Pooks Commercial Property Consultants of Shrewsbury  report a busy year for the sale and letting of factory and warehouse premises in Shropshire and Mid Wales, writes Steven Evans.

The trend of recent years has continued with demand for space coming from storage and distribution or trade counter operations rather than manufacturing. For smaller companies the tax advantages and historically low finance costs have encouraged purchase in favour of  leasing

At Atcham Industrial Estate, (pictured above) near Shrewsbury, Pooks have arranged six lettings this year on behalf of Hereford Storage Limited.  New tenants are the Environment Agency, W R Refrigeration, Haynes Tigges, Cogence UK, AAD Logistics and KDS Solutions.  The deals have a combined total floor area of about 6,100 sq m (65,000 sq ft) and has added about £235,000 to the annual rent roll. We estimate that about 40 jobs have been created here. New occupiers  have been attracted by the high quality, modern buildings and the pleasant working environment offered on the 18 acre Estate, together with  24 hour on-site security. The site is geographically well located, with excellent access to the M54, A5 and A49 road networks.  The attractive rents and the landlord’s flexible leasing policy have also influenced tenants wishing to relocate or start up new businesses.  There are currently only three units available, with sizes from 614 sq m (6,600 sq ft) to 1,860 sq m (20,000 sq ft) and rents from £10,000 per annum  to £68,000 pa.  Our client has just completed a new 1,209 sq m (13,000 sq ft) unit with 7m eaves height and the asking rent is £52,000 pa.

Wem Business Park, in the centre of the town, continues to prove a successful local business location, with all units occupied, save for a small office of about 17 sq m (184 sq ft), which is available to let at £1,250 pa.  Joining existing tenants such as the Royal Mail and North Shropshire District Council, lettings have been concluded this year to Community Transport for Shropshire (Unit 7), NRG Direct Mail (Units 3 & 17), Smart Training (Unit 26) and Davies Engineering (Unit 29).

Also in Wem, at The Old Creamery in Aston Road, Shrewsbury retailers Twinkle Twinkle have taken a  lease of one of the newly converted units, which has an area of about 130 sq m (1,369 sq ft).  The asking rent for the store/workshop was £5,000 pa.  With the successful completion of this letting, The Old Creamery is now fully occupied.

At another former creamery at Four Crosses, (Powys), (pictured above) beside the A483 trunk road between Welshpool and Oswestry, Pooks have let Unit 9 & 10 on behalf of site owners Lloyds Animal Feeds to Ascott Smallholding Supplies.  The units, which were let as a whole, have been taken on a new three year lease and the asking rent was £22,000 pa. Four Crosses continues to prove a popular business location by providing value for money industrial space on flexible lease terms.  The complex was fully occupied until recently, but  Unit 11 which  is a small workshop unit of about 74 sq m (800 sq ft), has become available to let  at £2,500 pa.

On behalf of Lancroft Developments, Pooks, together with joint agents Samuel Wood and Company, have sold Unit 5, 14 Yeomanry Road, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury, to Fast Track Limited.  The industrial unit of about 240 sq m (2,583 sq ft) was sold at around the asking price of £150,000.  With freehold industrial space still in demand, on behalf of the same developers, the joint agents are offering Plot 9a, Knights Way, Battlefield Enterprise Park, a new development of factory/warehouse units.  Sizes from 186 sq m (2,000 sq ft) to 1,858 sq m (20,000 sq ft) can be accommodated on the site.  Lancroft are already speculatively building a new unit on Plot 9a totalling about 673 sq m (7,250 sq ft), which is available for sale as a whole at £430,000 or split into three smaller units of about 224 sq m (2,410 sq ft) each.

In Telford, Pooks have a range of retained clients requirements. At the time of writing a unit of c 9,500 sq m (102,000 sq ft) has been secured subject to contract for  a national company concentrating its operations to Telford as part of a group reorganisation. Developer clients are keen to acquire land to construct units for sale on a speculative basis, but hitherto English Partnerships, the dominant landowner in the town , have not been able to release suitable sites. It is to be hoped that this policy will change in 2005, otherwise there is a danger that zoned employment land will be reallocated for residential development in line with current Central Government thinking.

New developments to come forward in 2005 include small units for sale at Marlowe Court Whitchurch Business Park at prices of around £115,000 for space of c 140 sq m (1,500 sq ft). (pictured above)

At Burnside Business Park Market Drayton , acting jointly with Towler Shaw Roberts warehouse/trade counter units will be available to buy or lease. Located next to the A53 trunk road, and the new Smithfield Market complex it is well placed as a small distribution centre for North Shropshire/ The Potteries.

In Craven Arms a new small unit scheme will also be available, taking advantage of the large amount of investment in the town by Advantage West Midlands and others , to provide business space for purchase by local companies.

Returning to Shrewsbury, further land releases at Battlefield Enterprise Park by Shropshire County Council are anticipated. They are promoting, with Advantage West Midlands the concept of a 'Food Park' , which will be a base for manufacturing companies so that , for example potatoes, milk, etc are processed in the county rather than being ''exported'' raw. The food sector is perhaps the exception in the manufacturing sector as the trend for a whole range of goods to be made abroad in  (especially) the Far East continues. This is likely to increase as capacity in the New EU countries is also released. UK companies have themselves built factories in China, for example and where they retain premises locally have converted them from manufacturing to warehousing and distribution.

We see demand for space continuing in 2005 , with perhaps a trend back towards leasing if terms are flexible. Increased construction costs -especially for skilled labour and steel -may however restrict new development.

For further information contact Steven Evans at Pooks
01743 276633 or sre@pooks.co.uk