Offices in demand as Warrington reflects on almost £100m investment
Transactions in the borough’s office, industrial, and retail sectors, led to a £97m total disclosed spend in 2023, according to a recently published report.
The figure is detailed in the Warrington Annual Property Review, authored by BE Group and now in its 26th year.
It is a document that looks at the economic activity of the borough’s property and development sector over the previous year and potential for future growth.
According to the report two HQ buildings were sold on Birchwood’s Olympic Park, creating one of the biggest investments with the spend exceeding £45m. Both buildings are occupied by the National Crime Agency.
The £97m investment figure exceeds the 25-year average for Warrington of £89.2m.
Offices
Among the highlights is confirmation that office deals in Warrington are at a five-year high. More than 231,000 sq ft of floorspace was transacted across 36 deals over the course of the year.
This is an increase on the previous year when a total of 162,330 sq ft floorspace was transacted across 30 deals.
The year’s biggest deal also demanded saw an unnamed occupier agreed to a 10-year lease on the 35,185 sq ft 602 Aston Avenue at Birchwood Park.
Prime rent remained in line with the previous three years at £21/sq ft and the average lease length was eight years.
Industrial
Across 41 deals, 850,000 sq ft of industrial space changed hands. This represented a 44% reduction in take-up on the previous year, explained partly by the reduction in the supply available at the Omega logistics site. But this was still a 150,000 sq ft increase on the level achieved pre-Covid in 2019.
Retail
Redevelopment of Cockhedge Shopping Centre is progressing to create leisure, food, and retail space, along with housing.
Junction NINE Retail Park on Winwick Road is continuing to expand, along with boutique retail centre The Hive, WA1.
Housing
Bellway Homes had plans approved to develop phase seven of Omega South, totaling more than 200 homes on land formerly occupied by the RAF Burtonwood airbase.
A joint venture between Countryside Partnerships and Torus Developments acquired the 170-acre Peel Hall site from Satnam Investments for more than £100m, with permission for 1,200 homes granted to the previous owner.
Warrington Council also approved plans to build 140 homes off Loushers Lane in Latchford.
The future
John Laverick managing director of Warrington & Co, the council’s regeneration arm, says there will be a focus on attracting SME’s to the town going forward, to trigger investment and predicted growth in universities, finance, and IT business support services.
He said: “The access to a more distributed, campus approach to providing accommodation for staff becomes more attractive for businesses.
“We are continuing to see demand for modern, flexible, and well-located offices.”
You can read the 2024 Warrington Annual Property Review in here – Annual Property Review 2024.
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