The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 2: Winter 2016/17 | Page 28

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Bath commercial property review 2016 by Philip Marshall Partner, Head of Commercial Agency, Carter Jonas, Bath In recent years Bath, has undergone a dramatic evolution from the recent past. The city has developed a positive and constructive attitude, rendering it an increasingly attractive location for businesses. As a result, 2016 has been a hugely successful year for the commercial property market in Bath. A notable highlight is the unusually high volume of investment transactions we’ve seen, partly fuelled by Brexit with investors looking for safe places for their money, and partly due to portfolio rationalisation. We have acquired and sold a significantly higher volume than we would normally experience year on year during the past 12 months. Looking to 2017, we anticipate that the markets will be more settled and we will see this volume decrease. This will be down to a reduction in the number of willing sellers, rather than subsiding demand. The retail and leisure market in Bath has been as buoyant as ever in 2016. We’ve seen a number of new occupiers move into the city including Bobbi Brown, Charles Tyrwhitt and Joy. Russell and Bromley also renewed their lease on their Bond Street store. This strong activity will no doubt continue into 2017 as new hotels come on line, further extending the city capacity. The office market has been less active due to a severe lack of available stock, but as expected we have seen a substantial shift in rental levels. The combination of a lack of supply and strong demand has inevitably brought about new rental levels – we’ve seen a transactions between £25 and £30 per sq ft and one at a new record-breaking level of £31 per sq ft. Although we expect this trend to continue in 2017, we do have an increased pipeline of office accommodation coming available next year, taking the pressure off some businesses that have been forced to look elsewhere. Some of these will be new build developments while others, like a recent instruction of ours at Northgate House, are refurbishments. This is a huge priority for the Bath market, as the lack of available supply has, in the recent past, forced businesses to relocate elsewhere. We see Bath continuing to develop as a city where successful businesses wish to locate, thrive and grow and we hope that the successes of 2016 continue in the coming years to take us even closer to this vision. Providing exceptional heating and boiler services to businesses, landlords, letting agencies and people’s homes for over 12 years. www.jwheating.co.uk 01249 709024 Expert Commercial Property Lawyers in Bath HOW CAN WE HELP Y OU TODAY? THE LEGAL EXPERTS IN BATH 28 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2016 01225 485700 [email protected]