29/03/2011
Vail Williams LLP, leading real estate advisers, has welcomed the measures in the 2011 Budget Report which they believe will give significant encouragement for inward investment into the Black Country.
With signs that 2011 has got off to a relatively encouraging start for offices in The Black Country, Vail Williams believes that creating a new Enterprise Zone in the area, with up to 100% discount on business rates, will give a further significant boost.
Ross Bendall, Partner with responsibility for business space in Vail Williams’ Birmingham office commented: “We are pleased that enquiry levels for the first quarter of this year are up from last year, and we have seen increased activity from occupiers looking to acquire space. Coupled with the creation of a new Enterprise Zone and the associated help for businesses, we are very positive about the future opportunities for the area. With offices to let spread across The Black Country from Stourbridge through Brierley Hill, Dudley and over to Halesowen, the demand is coming principally from local businesses who have weathered the storm of the last couple of years caused by the credit crunch and financial meltdown, and now see clearer skies ahead.”
In Stourbridge, just a couple of suites remain available in Medusa House on the ring road – an 80% occupancy level, with King Edward’s College being one of the major tenants in the building. Rents of £8.00 per sq ft per annum exclusive are being quoted and achieved, with flexible lease packages on offer.
At Brierley Hill, Vail Williams are letting agents for Westfield on their offices at The Waterfront. Following on the successful letting of Unit 3 Waterfront Business Park to Black Country law firm Higgs & Sons – there is a further 24,000 sq ft available in Custom House, where strong interest is being shown on this space on a floor-by-floor basis – each floor being very roughly 8,000 sq ft. Elsewhere on The Waterfront, terms have been recently agreed on a couple of smaller units of some 1,500 sq ft – the studio units on Waterfront East offering occupiers their own front door and self-contained unit at competitive rents. On Waterfront West, Vail Williams have also recently been appointed joint letting agents with Bulleys on W1-3, Harbour Buildings where some 25,000 sq ft of space is being vacated by the Court Service.
With the level of demand being shown and overall confidence in the location, Westfield are pressing ahead with refurbishment proposals for Custom House with a view to offering the high specification offices sought by those occupiers out there.
“The creation of an Enterprise Zone in the Black Country could mean a potential saving of over £100,000 based on a 5,000 sq ft office and commensurately more for major occupiers,” continued Ross Bendall. “I was involved with The Waterfront during the 1990s, when Richardsons developed Merry Hill on the site of the former Round Oak steelworks, before then moving on to the further office phases on both Waterfront East and West. All of this was done under an Enterprise Zone designation. The Zone worked then and in the current climate, any inducement or incentive to occupiers seeking to reduce their overall costs is to be welcomed, as it will bring further interest and inward investment into The Black Country area, creating a win-win for both existing occupiers and newcomers”.
In Dudley itself, offices in Kings House and Trafalgar House in Kings Street are attracting enquiries. A range of suite sizes is available across the two buildings which adjoin one another; from the ground floor in Kings House of some 1,800 sq ft and entire 2nd floor in Trafalgar House of 6,000 sq ft. Quoting rents on both buildings are £8.95 per sq ft per annum exclusive with the additional benefit of on-site car parking.
In addition, the eponymous Black Country House in Oldbury has seen one of the largest lettings so far this year with the acquisition by Crowe Clark Whitehill of some 10,500 sq ft comprising the entire first floor of this fully refurbished building recently completed by Goold Estates.
“The range and quality of the available office accommodation makes The Black Country a very cost-effective location in which to operate, with a hard-working and loyal workforce immediately available in the surrounding urban areas,” concluded Ross Bendall. “Given the general levels of activity and returning levels of confidence, coupled with the Enterprise Zone status and up to 100% rates-free discount, The Black Country is well set to offer a really credible value-for-money proposition compared to more costly areas of the wider Birmingham conurbation.”
References/Sources (from HM Treasury Budget Report 2011)
