September and October were record leasing months for Sandyford with 26 lettings and nine lease renewals. These deals generated an uplift of more than 45% in the previous passing rents, with an average rate of around £9/sq ft. While the rates partly reflect the mix of lettings – which for September and October were weighted towards smaller units let to local occupiers – they also accord with the nationwide market view that, while real estate transactional markets are subdued, occupational demand and take-up remain strong.
The lettings that we completed in the last two months in Staffordshire and Cheshire reflect the depth and breadth of the multi-let industrial market in which we operate, qualities that make the sector so robust. They have come across a range of sectors from warehousing and distribution, to retail and leisure.
Five of our tenants relocated to other units in our portfolio, because they were either expanding or downsizing. Being part of the Sandyford portfolio with its breadth and depth of property within defined geographical areas provides our occupiers with this flexibility that, in the vast majority of cases, they simply wouldn’t get elsewhere.
At Fenton Industrial Estate in Stoke, we let three units to companies involved in the building trade on five-year leases. Two of the companies, JTR Interiors and Morgan & Bond swapped units, as one wanted more space and the other less.
At the Brymau 4 estate near Chester, we recognised that there was a gap in the market for smaller units, so we refurbished a vacant 5,613 sq ft into four smaller units. Three of these units were let in October on five-year leases. Tenants include an electric vehicle charging company, a storage firm and a martial arts gym.
And, finally, a unit at the nearby Brymau 3 estate was let to Griffin Star for a reptile zoo, housing species of reptiles, amphibians and arachnids from around the world. We have certainly been viperactive.
