Retail drives city’s commercial property market says report

A report compiled by Innes England found that shops and retail dominated Derby’s commercial property market last year.

Its latest Market Insite 2024 report, published earlier this month, found that retail accounted for almost two thirds of all activity in the city last year.

The commercial property agency said that total completed transactions in Derbyshire last year stood at £128.8 million.

Ben Robinson, Innes England’s director and head of investment, said: “In a reversal from previous years, it was the retail sector which dominated market activity, surpassing industrial for the first time since 2019, accounting for almost two thirds of the market share.

“Compared to the year before, total retail investment was up by 420%, sitting at a comfortable £80.3 million, only 1% below the five-year average.

“This is likely the result of attractive pricing levels catching the eye of cash-ready investors.”

Innes England said among the standout deals in Derbyshire last year were those at St. Modwen Park Derby – a new business park being created by St. Modwen Logistics – which has welcomed Vaillant, Getinge and Kia.

Nick Hosking, director and head of Innes England’s Derby office, said: “In Derby’s industrial market, we’ve seen an uptick in sustainability and environmental considerations leading to occupiers being dissuaded from taking poorer quality space.

“Nevertheless, Derby had a great year with a multitude of transactions pushing the overall take-up to 1 million sq ft.

“Likewise, availability has also risen to its highest level in four years, helped in part by the next phase of Grade A new build stock coming forward at St Modwen Park.

“This is a welcome development seeing as Derby has been held back by a lack of quality supply.”

Matt Hannah, managing director of Innes England, said: “The industrial market has continued to deliver strong results with good occupier demand and rising rents across the region generating confidence for investors and developers to support new supply.

“Looking at the bigger picture, all property investment volumes reflected a lack of activity in the market and investor confidence needs to improve to drive more activity across the region.

“As always, our team has done an incredible job of collating the data. We are looking forward to 2024 and what that brings as we continue to expand our team in both the East and West Midlands.”

To read the full Market Insite 2024 report visit https://www.innes-england.com/assets/downloads/Market_Insite_Brochure_2024.pdf.