News

Bromsgrove is facing a record shortage of business premises. There is only three months’ supply of manufacturing, warehousing and distribution space available, hindering organisations which require industrial business property from expanding, or from moving into the town, according to one of Bromsgrove’s leading commercial property agents.

John Dillon, Managing Director at commercial property consultancy and Chartered Surveyors GJS Dillon Limited, which has offices in Bromsgrove’s New Road, says that only 25,000 sq ft of industrial business space is currently on the market to rent in Bromsgrove, with less than 5,000 sq ft for sale.

Mr Dillon says: “Bromsgrove is a victim of its own success. It is such a sought after business location that it cannot keep up with the very high demand for industrial property, but the town badly needs more space bringing to the market, either new build or second hand.

“With the average take up of industrial space over the past three years of 112,000 sq ft per annum, there is only around 13 weeks supply remaining in Bromsgrove, leaving many businesses facing disappointment and being forced to look elsewhere in the county, or beyond, for industrial premises. However, the shortage of industrial property, although not as acute, is being experienced across the whole of Worcestershire.”

According to Mr Dillon, freehold units are particularly highly sought after with company directors seeking to purchase buildings for their businesses through a Self-Administered Pension Scheme SIPP.

He says: “Business owners are taking advantage of the continuing record low interest rates and the increasing willingness of the banks to lend, to acquire property. This has also led to a shortage of freehold office space in the town, but it is not quite as bad as in the industrial market.”

GJS Dillon’s comprehensive research into the Bromsgrove commercial property market, using its own knowledge and figures from Co-Star, has also revealed that there is only a 15 months’ supply of available office space in the town.

Mr Dillon says: “The average annual Bromsgrove area office take up over the last three years has been some 46,000 sq ft. This month (January 2017) total availability stands at 57,000 sq ft, of which just under 22,000 sq ft is freehold.

“We are working with Bromsgrove District Council, landowners, developers and business and property owners to try to address the shortage of available commercial property, as it could otherwise start to damage the future economic growth prospects of the town. Already it has pushed up prices to record levels.”

Earlier this month (January 2017), GJS Dillon sold the freehold of an 8,800 sq ft industrial unit in Bromsgrove to the current tenant, a German-owned precision engineering company, while it has a further five industrial units under offer.

“There has never been a better time to market an industrial property in Bromsgrove and we would welcome the opportunity to advise more landlords,” says Mr Dillon, whose firm has disposed of more than 80,000 sq ft of industrial property across the region in the last three months.

According to Mr Dillon, the on-going shortage of industrial property also means that businesses looking for new premises are having to spend more time and money searching, and if they do identify a suitable building they often miss out.

Mr Dillon says: “Businesses cannot just look on-line, as by the time a property appears, it could already be too late. We encourage anybody looking for industrial or office premises in Worcestershire to register their needs with us, then they will be at the front of the queue when we put a new building on the market.

“Businesses looking for industrial units or warehouse space of 10,000 sq ft or more, or office accommodation of more than 5,000 sq ft can also use our specialist Business Relocation Service which will identify a business’s needs, space requirements and budgetary constraints and then search on and off the market for a property, as well as, if required, disposing of the old premises.”