Figures were boosted by Warrington Council’s acquisition of Birchwood Park – which was in itself a record with the mixed-use business park selling for £205m. Tony McDonough reports

Warrington saw record property investment levels in 2017 with almost 2.5m sq ft of commercial space changing hands in 33 deals worth a total of £279m.

The figures were boosted by Warrington Council’s acquisition of Birchwood Park – which was in itself a record with the mixed-use business park selling for £205m.

Warrington’s economic development organisation, Warrington & Co, revealed the data in the in the town’s 20th Annual Property Review to 160 business and property professionals at the Village Hotel, Centre Park.

The statistics and reports have been independently commissioned, compiled and collated by Warrington based commercial property agents The BE Group for the last 20 years.

Largest deals

The year’s largest office deal saw Cavendish Nuclear take the whole of 106 Dalton Avenue at Birchwood Park, totalling 47,000 sq ft. The deal completed at a rental of £204.54 per sq m, the year’s second-highest, and the specialist nuclear supplier took the building on a 15 year lease.

There were 31 office deals above 2,000 sq ft were completed in 2017, comprising 168,000 sq ft. The average transaction size was set at 5,400 sq ft with a clear focus on five-year lease terms.

Prime rents

Birchwood once again accounted for the year’s prime office rent with three deals at Bridgewater Place achieving £215.30 per sq m. In total, four leasehold deals achieved in excess of £200 per sq m. The largest freehold figure was achieved at Sedgefield House, Trident Business Park, in a deal worth £1,453.28 per sq m.

Fifty Four industrial deals above 2,000 sq ft were reported in 2017, comprising more than 550,000. 15 of these deals involved a floorspace in excess of 10,000, accounting for 71% of the total recorded figure.

The year’s largest industrial transaction saw the acquisition of Penketh Business Park from Langtree for just over £2m. The multi-let site comprises 21 units totalling more than 136,000 sq ft and the deal represented a Net Initial Yield of 9.5%.

All-time high

Steve Park, managing director of Warrington & Co. said: “Looking back at the first review published in 1999, it proclaimed that ‘Warrington has maintained its position as a premier magnet for investment in the North West’, and it is telling that in 2017 Warrington’s position has continued to strengthen with investment deals rising to an all-time high.

“Indeed Warrington’s continued appeal across 20 years has been evident in all market sectors.”