News

The industrial market might remain king in Redditch and Bromsgrove, but the office market is now the queen, according to John Dillon, managing director of Bromsgrove-based property consultancy JP Dillon Commercial Property Consultants.

“Manufacturing continues to bounce back with an increasing number of industrial units coming onto the market and being snapped up, while the office market is showing strong signs of improving with increasing numbers of enquiries and deals on the horizon,” says Mr Dillon.

“We have just acquired an 8,000 sq ft industrial unit for a local charity at 1 Sherwood Road, Bromsgrove on a new 10 year lease, while letting, after only six weeks marketing, a 6,000 sq ft industrial unit on Aston Fields Industrial Estate to a local engineering company on a new six year lease”.

“Many businesses want to be in Bromsgrove and Redditch initially for their excellent communications, with both the M42 and M5 providing access to the national motorway network, but also for their proximity to Birmingham. The city centre is only half an hour drive away for a meeting, but being based in Bromsgrove or Redditch removes the headache of battling traffic congestion on a daily basis, and from a property point of view is much more affordable”.

“This is true for the service sector, as well as manufacturers, as we have had an encouraging and growing number of enquiries over the summer months for office space in both Bromsgrove and Redditch. These have come from local firms, as well as those looking to relocate.”

More high quality office space has come onto the market in the two towns to help meet the growing numbers of enquiries. JP Dillon has taken on joint instructions to market Topaz, Maximus’s landmark office development at Junction 1 of M42, where up to 27,000 sq ft is available for sale or lease in units from 2,785 sq ft upwards. The property consultancy has also secured joint instructions for 15,300 sq ft of prime office space at St Stephens House in the centre of Redditch and 6,975 sq ft in the landmark Avon House on the outskirts of Bromsgrove.

“We are already close to being under offer on Avon House, and it is certainly the case that having such large flexible spaces to offer to occupiers added to the stock of smaller, more traditional offices, will help us to market the locational benefits of the two towns.”

According to Mr Dillon, the pro-active nature of the local borough councils in providing a business friendly environment is also helping to attract companies and jobs to the towns.

He says: “Being on the spot in Bromsgrove and Redditch, as a dedicated local agent, we work closely with the local authorities to provide key information, such as employment figures, skills levels, available grant aid, and areas where key staff can live, which, in addition to our comprehensive knowledge of property which is available both on and off market, is vital for any business looking to re-locate to the towns,” says Mr Dillon.

In Bromsgrove, the local authority, along with other local public bodies, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and its members have played an active role in developing Bromsgrove’s Draft Area Action Plan, one of the first in the country in the new era of localism.

Mr Dillon says: “The Draft Area Action Plan has already started to bring benefits to the town, as we have agreed a sale to Aspen Retirement Living, at a figure which exceeded all aspirations, for the 2.31 acre site on corner of Recreation Road and Market Street in the centre of Bromsgrove, which is presently made up largely of vacant and derelict commercial buildings, to be transformed into a high density residential scheme suitable for retirement living.”