SITUATED on the Leicestershire /Northamptonshire border with excellent road links and mainline rail station to London St Pancras International, a thriving town centre and strong sense of community, Market Harborough continues to prove a popular town with businesses both looking to expand and relocate.
Chartered Surveyors Budworth Hardcastle continue to experience strong demand for commercial property in the town across all sectors including office, industrial and retail and have completed a number of transactions in the last 12 months.
At The Point Business Park, Rockingham Road the sale of a 2,000 square foot office has just completed to an investor who simultaneously agreed terms for a new lease to a company relocating from elsewhere in the county. The office became available when the previous tenants, Quantum 4 agreed terms to purchase the adjacent building which, being 4,000 square feet gave them the opportunity for continued growth and expansion.
Budworth Hardcastle are now instructed to market Unit 36 The Point which comprises a two storey office of 2,175 square feet with 10 car parking spaces, which is immediately available to let on a new lease.
At Compass Point Business Park on Northampton Road a 2,600 square foot office was placed under offer within seven days of receiving instructions to a local firm of architects, YMD Boon, who took the opportunity to move to more modern offices within the town as they continue to expand.
Developers Boden Properties also have a detailed planning consent for the erection of two further offices of 5,496 square feet and 11,074 square feet and Budworth Hardcastle would be pleased to hear from potential occupiers particularly seeking freehold offices in this size range or larger.
Also at Compass Point, Harborough District Council have just submitted planning for a 25,000 square foot office which will provide ‘grow-on space’ for companies looking to grow and expand typically from serviced offices before making the next step into a stand alone location. This project follows on from the success of the Harborough Innovation Centre which opened in 2011 and it is hoped the building will be ready for occupation during 2019.
At Welland Business Park Budworth Hardcastle are marketing a high-quality, detached 5,300 square foot office building which is available either by way of a sub-lease or assignment and the agents are already in discussions with several parties who have expressed an interest.
On Rockingham Road at Peaker Park Prime Life Developments have recently obtained outline planning consent for a 16,000 square foot office on the last remaining plot. This prestigious three-storey building with ample dedicated car parking will sit on the gateway site at the entrance to the business park and is designed to be let either to a single occupier or on a floor-by-floor basis. Peaker Park is already home to one of the town’s largest employers, TGW, who occupy approximately 20,000 square feet over two buildings, while JS Law and Optimax Imaging Inspection and Measurement are also situated on the business park. Onsite facilities such as Tesco Express and The Roebuck Pub and Restaurant together with the close proximity to the train station make this an ideal office location.
Industrial/warehouse premises are in demand with a 1,000 square foot light industrial starter unit at Bath Street being re-let without even coming onto the market to Brampton Valley Cycles.
At St Marys Business Park, Albany Road, two adjacent warehouses of around 8,000 square feet came vacant when the previous occupiers went into administration, the units were quickly snapped up by local retailer Furniture Loft, who were seeking additional storage and distribution space to support their retail store on Riverside Industrial Estate. Budworth Hardcastle are now instructed to market a 4,000 square foot warehouse on Albany Road which is available to let on a new lease at a rental of £22,000 per annum.
At the Airfield Business Park, office fit out specialists Thorpe Joinery have recently moved their main manufacturing base from Great Glen to a new purpose-built, 40,000 square foot unit. Small units on the business park continue to prove popular with Budworth Hardcastle having most recently let a 2,900 square foot unit to online retailer Mariposa 7. The business park’s new owners, Leicestershire County Council, have recently unveiled a £7m plan to expand the business park to offer a further 80,000 square feet of units creating 80 jobs and plan to expand the site even further in the future with outline planning being in place.
Budworth Hardcastle are pleased to have advised Market Harborough based Bramble Foods on the acquisition of a 55,000 square foot warehouse and offices last year. Amanda Lawrence of Budworth Hardcastle said: “The common message I hear when speaking with local companies seeking to expand is a strong desire to remain in the town to be able to retain their loyal staff base and maintain a quality working environment for employees.
“Bramble Foods were no exception to this. Sadly, the current stock configuration and limited lack of development opportunities particularly for industrial/warehouse occupiers has forced some long-established businesses to either move out or consider out of town opportunities. We were, therefore, delighted to be able to assist in securing Bramble Foods expansion in the town.”
Following on from the acquisition, Budworth Hardcastle were instructed to market Bramble Foods’ former building at The Shires Business Park on Rockingham Road which comprised a modern industrial/warehouse unit of 34,000 square feet. After a short period of marketing, the unit was let to Turkish owned Frimpeks who have expanded with two sites in the UK with Market Harborough offering a bespoke slitting and finishing facility supplying custom slit rolls for label printers and converters across Western Europe.
To discuss any commercial property requirements contact Budworth Hardcastle on 01536 483400 or email .
All available properties can be found on www.budworthhardcastle.com