Ward Hadaway – Real Estate Team North East Commercial Property Outlook 2020
27 Feb 2020
Ward Hadaway are a Top 100 Law Firm headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne with offices in Leeds and Manchester. They have one of the largest Real Estate teams in the North East representing clients regionally and nationally. As a firm which has its roots in the North East, it is committed to playing its part in contributing to the success of business and the wider community in which its people live and work . Real Estate Partners from the Built Environment Team Simon Errington [pictured left], Alex Wright [pictured middle], Alex Cox [pictured right] give an insight into commercial real estate market activity in the North.
“The Real Estate team has had a strong year despite regional, national and sector challenges and has seen growth in terms of both the number and value of transactions. This indicates that the market is holding up and we are definitely still seeing opportunities in certain sectors” commented Alex Wright.
“The industrial sector remains strong in the North East where in the last year the firm acted on a number of significant industrial warehousing and logistics developments. They include a £20 million flagship development for a Nissan supply chain client at the International Advanced Manufacturing Park which is adjacent to the main Nissan plant in Tyne and Wear. Clients in this sector have confidence in the region due to the relative availability of land together with its skilled manufacturing workforce.
Alex Cox adds “An important factor for international investment is the excellent transport infrastructure serving the region including our world class international airport, which played a part in businesses such as Arriva, Nissan, Komatsu and Sage investing and thriving in the North East. Newcastle International Airport continues to grow and innovate and we have advised on the current development of a high class business park within the airport estate, to which Bellway Homes plc will be relocating their headquarters. These sorts of new developments are really important as they create space for regional cornerstone businesses like Bellway. We are very well served in the North East by the various Ports, giving access to international trade. The leisure sector also continues to offer opportunities in the region. Leisure expert Simon Errington expands “Newcastle in particular has long had a reputation as being a fantastic tourist destination, but this also applies to the wider Northern Region. As a consequence the demand for hotels continues to outstrip supply. We have recently acted for the developers of both the Melia Hotels and the Travelodge developments on Newcastle’s Quayside and Inn Collection for their hotel development on the Blyth Quayside, Northumberland. We’re anticipating that demand will continue to grow and look forward to supporting our leisure clients as they continue to find new developments in and around the region in the coming years.
The team have seen a glut of recent transactions following the election result and clarity in terms of Brexit. We are confident that there will be opportunities for clients to take in the short, medium and long term. Our aim is to support clients to seize those opportunities.