New figures from Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) have revealed that the value of commercial property transactions that took place in the north-west of England in the first three months had fallen by 25 per cent, compared to the final quarter of 2012.
Whilst transaction values had stood at £283 million in the last three months of 2012, this figure had fallen to £211.4 million in the consecutive quarter. Not only does this mark a worrying quarterly drop, but also signifies a 13 per cent decline when comparing to this time last year. Furthermore, these figures are merely inflated due to the huge 51 per cent share buyout of the Co-operative Group's new headquarters at One Angel Square by RREEF for £142 million.
Abid Jaffry, northern head of capital markets at LSH, said: “While One Angel Square dominates the figures, it is indicative of a growing interest in regional offices with purchasers seeking value further north, as it becomes increasingly difficult to acquire and justify central London pricing. Paradoxically, a lack of new opportunities in the north-west is also creating a growing pressure on pricing and we are seeing healthy signs of investor interest in the marketplace.”
Dissecting the data further, office transactions represented 68 per cent, or £143.3 million, of all deals in the three months. Again, the huge Co-op deal played a big part in this. This meant that the leisure and retail market, which had represented 77 per cent of the market in the last quarter of 2012, fell dramatically to just 20 per cent, or £42.2 million. Finally, the industrial sector remained flat at 12 per cent in the quarter.
Other major deals that took place was LaSalle Investment Management’s gaining of Parcelnet's Warrington unit for £17.2 million and InfraRed Capital Partners’ acquisition of Clayton Square in Liverpool for £14 million.