FEATURE
Positive outlook – Parker Barras director John Taylor says business is booming for his Middlesbrough-based property firm .
PICTURE : CHRIS BOOTH
Why there ’ s no doom and gloom for Parker Barras – despite national economic uncertainty
BUCKING
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON
Historic – Parker Barras was involved in selling the old William Lane Foundry .
THE TREND
Commercial property agent Parker Barras says several recent eye-catching sales prove that business is still booming for the Middlesbrough-based firm .
In the summer edition of Tees Business , director John Taylor told of pent-up demand for commercial properties and new business ventures , despite high interest rates and the high cost-of-living .
Three months on and his observations look spot on , with a flurry of notable sales achieved .
John , who formed the firm in 2007 , said : “ We ’ ve completed a number of transactions where we ’ ve sold things above market value because there ’ s such a shortage of stock in the area .
“ I know a few people in residential sales who say the market ’ s slowing down but in commercial , we haven ’ t seen any slowdown yet – in fact , quite the opposite . It can sometimes go a bit quiet in the summer but we ’ ve never stopped – we seem to be getting more , and bigger , jobs .”
To illustrate the point , John reflected on some notable recent commercial property successes – all completed within a month and which , he says , show how attractive Teesside is becoming to buyers near and far .
A Jet petrol station in Norton , for example , was sold within just two weeks of Parker Barras becoming involved . John said : “ The owner , who was out of the area , contacted us after seeing our reviews and bits and pieces online .
“ One of our USPs , as well as charging no upfront fees , is that we advertise on more web platforms than any other agent in the UK . With that massive exposure , we were inundated with people to acquire the petrol station and within two weeks , it ended up selling for £ 100,000 over the asking price , which is phenomenal .
“ We are seeing a lot of buyers from down south , which helps drive the price of things up . That , coupled with what ’ s going on around here with schemes like Teesworks , means we ’ re an attractive place to come to – the secret ’ s out ! But it ’ s great that the region ’ s getting talked about positively at last .”
Another big recent sale involved an industrial unit on Skippers Lane . John said : “ We went up against three other agents to market the property and ended up a good £ 150,000 above the nearest agent ’ s price . Within 12 days we had two offers and the owners accepted the asking price . He couldn ’ t thank us enough - he thought it was incredible .”
Perhaps the quirkiest sale , however , involved the William Lane Foundry , based in Forty Foot Road , Middlesbrough – the heart of the town ’ s old iron district – since 1895 .
John explained : “ We went up against three other agents and again , because of our expertise and local market knowledge , we put that on the market . Within the first two days , we ’ d conducted 15 viewings – that ’ s incredible .”
Parker Barras was also instructed by a client from outside the area to sell a site in Grangetown , near the “ big Tesco ” and the Sandstone Nab pub , for two drive-through units . From initial instruction , terms were agreed and the units sold within just four days .
But how come Parker Barras – and many Teesside firms in general – are bucking the economic trend when some others , nationally and internationally , are struggling ?
John said : “ There ’ s lots of opportunity here , and great returns on your money from an investor ’ s point of view . Within six weeks , we ’ ve had a record number of new instructions – and only yesterday we were instructed on a £ 10.5m portfolio .
“ As a company , we continue to grow and lead the commercial property market on Teesside . We ’ ve just launched a new website and we ’ ve got a new associate director , Becky Metcalfe , starting , so the future is looking very bright and positive . We ’ ve also invested heavily in IT and infrastructure within the office in the last year .
“ There ’ s no doom or gloom – exactly the opposite , in fact . We ’ ve had a record number of inquiries and new instructions – long may it continue !”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 127