Worcestershire needs to start building the commercial property the county needs, says GJS

Dillon

Worcestershire is showing a resilience to economic uncertainty and businesses are benefiting from its location and the support that’s on offer, according to commercial property consultancy GJS Dillon.

"Quality accommodation that is in the right location is able to withstand the wider economic uncertainty that has become the norm. This is the case for all sectors and types of accommodation," said Andrew Lewis, GJS Dillon’s Commercial Agency Director, who authored GJS Dillon’s Worcestershire Commercial Property Market Report 2023.

While the take up of office space increased for the third year in 2022, industrial take up was down as demand far outstripped supply.

Take-up of office space in 2022 was up on the previous year with transactions totalling 167,353 sq ft compared with 161,853 sq ft during 2021. In contrast, industrial property transactions dropped by 38 per cent from 1,734,834 sq ft in 2021 to 1,095,182 sq ft in 2022.

John Dillon, GJS Dillon’s Managing Director, added: "We’ve seen really good take up this year for office and industrial property to let however it is really difficult to buy commercial property in our County.

"Income generated from our commercial property is often going out of the County. We need to start building what we as a county need rather than simply leaving it to chance and market forces.”

Phoebe Dawson, Director of Business Engagement at the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership said: "This report give us an insight into the individual sub-markets so if we are going to bid for Government development grants or have discussions with local councils we are able to make informed decisions."

The figures in the report are based on figures and analysis from CoStar, which it uses to advise vendors, purchasers, developers, landlords and tenants. The report looks in detail at the county’s six sub-markets for both office and industrial property.

Worcestershire needs offices and logistics space

Worcestershire urgently needs a strategic plan to ensure that the right kind of office and logistics space is available for businesses.

John Dillon said: “No new speculative SME office space has been built in the county for the last 13 years. Yet the majority of businesses in Worcestershire employ 1-9 people who have nowhere to go if their business expands. They’re moving away from Worcestershire and I’m really keen to avoid that happening.’

John believes it is up to the LEP and Worcestershire County Council to take control of the situation:

“We need a strategic plan for the next 1020 years that says ‘offices over here, more industrial space there. Mid-size industrial space here, larger warehouse space there.

“At the moment we are simply hoping that the market will deliver the new commercial space that the county needs. But the market will only deliver what is profitable to build. Bringing forward office space and business units for SME businesses is just not cost-effective currently.

“There are now more than 31,000 businesses in Worcestershire, representing an increase of 40 per cent since 2010,” John added. “If I could say to business owners ‘Don’t worry, I know you can’t move now but according to the plan in 2-3 years’ time you will’ that would be great.

“It’s vital to avoid a situation where Worcestershire continues to be a lovely space to live but people go elsewhere to run their businesses.”

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