By Tom Drake
Partner
Drake Commercial
DESPITE the ongoing Brexit uncertainty, industrial developers are backing Daventry to continue to succeed. There are a number of not just proposed new schemes, but some are actually under way and being speculatively built.
Canmoor are currently on site at Mustang Park, which is located next to the Ford site on the edge of Royal Oak. Three brand new units are being erected that will fall into the mid to large box range, comprising circa 48,000 square feet, 109,000 square feet and 171,000 square feet.
Prologis at Heartlands, are exploring the feasibility of either a three-unit or four-unit scheme to replace the former Gardman unit. This would offer a total of circa 330,000 square feet.
Barberry have recently purchased the former Focus site, located just off Sopwith Way. Planning is still to be finalised but a new warehouse comprising approximately 72,000 square feet is likely.
The confidence of these developers shows the positivity they have in both the sector and the location, which will have been enhanced by the recent successful lettings by the likes of Graftongate, with their 196,000 square foot letting of Alchemi, Crick and Gazeley’s 297,000 square foot letting of Daventry Distribution Centre.
The fundamentals of Daventry as an industrial location are strong. There is a skilled workforce in the area, particularly for motorsport and engineering uses. On top of this the new A45 link road has opened, meaning J16 of the M1 can now be reached in approximately 10 minutes.
Whilst this is all excellent news and a strong story for the town, we are also crying out for new stock to serve the small to mid-box sized market. The most recent smaller developments in the town itself are either Egerton Close, which offered 2,500-15,000 square foot units, or Everdon Park on Heartlands, which comprised a terraced scheme of 2,500-5,000 square foot units. It will come as no surprise that both of these estates are currently fully let.
As a result of this lack of good quality smaller stock in the town itself, smaller developments in surrounding locations have grown rapidly. Hereford Storage at Manor Business Park, Woodford Halse, has had major success over the last couple of years on brand new units of 2,000-20,000 square feet and despite regularly building out new plots, is almost fully let again. Further afield, Stepnell are speculatively building a new scheme on the southern side of Rugby, with availability from 4,500-26,000 square feet and we are already getting a number of enquiries in this scheme from occupiers currently located in Daventry.
At the time of writing this report, there are currently only three units that we are aware of in Daventry itself between 3,000 and 50,000 square feet, that can be occupied straight away on the open market. This tells a story in itself. Further details of these can be found in the Drake Commercial advert or contact us on 01604 620616 to discuss further.
There is definitely a positive story in Daventry at the moment, with national developers and investors targeting the town. But we do need more sites to be freed up to satisfy those requirements of longstanding local and regional businesses, that have supported the town for so long.