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BARNSLEY I BRADFORD I CALDERDALE I CRAVEN I HARROGATE I KIRKLEES I LEEDS I SELBY I WAKEFIELD I YORK

INVESTMENT GUIDEAN

4 LEEDS IN 2015International and institutional funds are looking to Yorkshire for better returns as regeneration and connectivity takes shape

7 OFFICESLeeds dominates the headlines, but the wider region is picking up the slack as demand rises amid limited supply

14 VITAL STATISTICSWhat the ten constituent regions within the Leeds city region have to offer prospective occupiers and investors

17 INDUSTRIALWe round up the biggest deals and best opportunities for speculative development in the industrial property market

23 RETAIL AND LEISUREThe city region is a tempting place for consumers with more shopping centres and new tenants gracing the high street

27 SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGEA healthy knowledge economy and provision of skilled workers offer scope for businesses looking to expand

30 A CONNECTED CITYAs the rollout progresses, Leeds city region is on track to hit its target for 98 per cent fast broadband coverage by 2018

A forward thinking forewordLeeds City Region has seen a significant change over

the past two years, with the region’s skyline now awash

with cranes and a growing and robust economy; it’s now

the largest City Region economy at £60.5bn.

Confidence in the City Region

is at an all-time high. We are the

recipients of the country’s largest

growth deal, working towards a

devolution agreement granting

the City Region further decision-

making powers to shape its own

future, and seeing the largest

amount of inward investment since

the turn of the century. It would be easy to pat ourselves

on the back, but there is more to do and more to gain in

realising our potential and driving extraordinary growth.

Throughout this publication you’ll read about the

latest investments in infrastructure and buildings that are

underway, the £5bn of development on site and in the

pipeline, view the latest figures around business sectors

and strengths, and read business leaders’ insights on

today’s economy and the exciting future that lies ahead.

On a personal level, I am immensely proud of the

progress we’ve made over the past two years, but I am

even more excited about the potential of the future.

Looking ahead to the launch of The Broadway in Bradford

in November, the opening of both Kirkstall Forge and

Apperley Bridge stations this autumn and the arrival

of John Lewis, not just with a store at Hammerson’s Roger Marsh, OBEChair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership

Foreword

Contents

Victoria Gate scheme but also with a logistics hub at our

enterprise zone, it is clear we as a City Region are moving

forward.

As you read this, senior representatives from across

the region are preparing to attend MIPIM UK and I’m

delighted that we will be joined by so many members

of the private sector, who have once again given their

commitment to our delegation and to promoting the

City Region. During MIPIM 2015, I was lucky enough to,

alongside chief executives from the City Region’s local

authorities, unveil Leeds City Region’s ‘big six’ investment

opportunities and I’m delighted that following MIPIM

one of them, the M62/M1 Corridor in Wakefield, saw a

significant uplift in demand for additional warehousing

and distribution facilities, with further projects from Kier

(in partnership with Maple Grove Developments, and

Yorvale), Mountpark Logistics and Stoford in the pipeline.

It’s also fantastic to see developments both on the South

Bank, such as Tower Works phase two and HDOne at

Huddersfield, progressing and creating opportunities and

spaces within our cities.

Finally, the one thing I want you to take away from this

publication is that both the public and private sector are

confident that through our connected ambition, we can

deliver on the economic potential of Leeds City Region.

JLLLeeds: 0113 244 6440

Email: Je [email protected]

DTZ0113 246 1161

Email: [email protected]

BNP Paribas Real Estate0113 242 0044

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Stakeholders are witnessing a new trend of international and institutional funds looking to Yorkshire for better returns on investment, as the South East continues to overheat

With more than 109,000 companies generating £60.5bn of economic output every year – 5 per cent of England’s total – the Leeds city region is an emerging global economic powerhouse. In fact, its economy alone is bigger than nine European countries.

As the UK’s largest city region outside London, it’s an independently successful economic centre and unique in its own right, especially in the £13bn financial and professional services industry and £7bn manufacturing industry – both core growth sectors.

The economy is set for a far more prosperous future over the next five years. GDP growth is expected to average 2.4 per cent a year until 2019. Value for money is central to the investment offer. Operating costs are nearly a third lower than in the South East, and up to 4.5 per cent lower than in other UK regions. Prime office, industrial and retail sectors in Leeds are all at least five

Location: Leeds City Region 5

Backers move money north

per cent below market value.Investment in commercial property

across Yorkshire has risen by more than 50 per cent in the second quarter of 2015. The number of deals has risen by 40 per cent and the average deal size is also up 10 per cent.

Much of the inward investment has come from international and institutional funds. Overseas backers are behind high-end residential schemes in Leeds city centre. Singaporean consortium Heeton Holdings has purchased a site off Bridge Street in Leeds for four residential towers of up to 40 storeys in height. While Bahrain-based Apache Capital has formed a partnership with Moda Living and has a gross development value of £1bn, with plans to build private rented sector accommodation on sites at City One and Quarry Hill.

In partnership with other northern cities, the Leeds city region is at the heart of transforming transport connectivity and unleashing the north’s economic potential. The £33m Wakefield Eastern Relief Road

was essential, not only to relieve congestion, but to enable more than 2,500 homes on the City Fields site. While the East Leeds Orbital Road is critical in the development of 7,000 homes in the area.

The vision for the East Leeds Extension received a shot in the arm when Legal & General Capital announced that it had acquired a 50 per cent stake in Thorpe Park in a £160m deal with Scarborough Group. The 200-acre business development site is the first project to be delivered under L&G’s Regeneration Investment Organisation partnership.

Long-term projects such as HS2 will bring investment to the region, while the opening of the south entrance to Leeds station will unlock access to the South Bank, where there are big development plans. It is hoped the South Bank, with more than 36 hectares of brownfield land potentially available for development, will bring 35,000 jobs and 4,000 homes.

It’s also hoped that it will enhance Leeds’ reputation as a digital and technology centre. BT, Cable and Wireless, Orange and O2 all have bases here, alongside the highest concentration of internet service and telecommunications providers in the UK.

Leeds also founded the UK’s first mutual internet exchange (IXleeds) and pioneered a vision for low-cost, fast and ubiquitous connectivity for businesses anywhere in the city region. This summer, Sky announced that it was opening a technology hub and creating more than 400 jobs at Allied London’s Leeds Dock. The announcement follows Google’s confirmation that it will set up one of the country’s few Digital Garage advice facilities for smaller businesses SMEs.

The South Bank is one of the ‘big six’ investment opportunities earmarked by the Leeds city region local enterprise partnership. The others are Bradford City Centre Growth Zone, Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone, Huddersfield’s HD One, the M62/M1 Corridor around Wakefield and the York Central site.

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Significant office developments and deals continue to centre on Leeds, but the wider region is picking up the slack while new developments come online

Some substantial pre-lets were recorded over the past 12 months, predominantly by professional services firms which already had a base in the city.

At prevailing take-up rates, Leeds has enough grade A office space left for the next five months, though it will benefit from completions of new space in 2016. Some companies have stated a need for bases as large as 250,000 sq ft and various tenants’ leases will expire in the next three years. But if Leeds does not fill the gap, there are opportunities in the outlying towns.

At the half way point in 2015, city centre office take-up was 300,815 sq ft, compared with 243,987 sq ft in the first half 2014, reflecting a stronger economy.

Second quarter take-up was recorded at 213,126 sq ft – the the third highest on record. This compares with 103,729 sq ft in the same period in 2014, according to Leeds Office Agents’ Forum (LOAF). Of the 43 deals completed in the second quarter, PwC’s commitment to 49,650 sq ft at Central Square,


Towns step up office supply to stem Leeds shortage

and law firm Addleshaw Goddard’s deal for 51,531 sq ft at 3 Sovereign Square were among the most eye-catching.

Squire Patton Boggs has signed up for 32,000 sq ft over two floors at No 6 Wellington Place, which will be finished in January 2016. And business information specialist Equifax is relocating 200 staff from Bradford to a 20,000 sq ft office at the development, meaning the scheme is nearly 50 per cent let. Work is also underway at 5 Wellington Place.

The largest letting of existing office space in Leeds city centre was at 8 Park Row, where Perform Media Services took 7,664 sq ft.

According to LOAF, office rents, as expected, are edging up with established quoting rents of £27 to £28 per sq ft for new space.

Interestingly, Knight Frank’s H1 update reports that building new grade A offices is almost as cost effective as a good-quality refurbishment, once overall occupational costs are considered. A good example is 9 Bond Court,

where a rent of £25 per sq ft has been achieved.

Prime office yields stood at 5.25 per cent in June, down from 5.75 per cent in December 2014. Typically, offices in Leeds offer a premium of 25 to 50 bps over the top tier regional cities of Birmingham and Manchester. Going forward, yield compression is expected to slow. However, keener yields may be achievable on new “absolute prime” buildings.

Sky gave yet more credibility to the Leeds Dock area this summer when it announced it was opening a technology hub and creating more than 400 jobs, taking its commitment at the site to more than 300,000 sq ft in a phased occupation over two years.

The announcement follows Google’s confirmation that it will set up a Digital Garage, helping smaller businesses at the dock too.

Duncan Senior partner at WSB, acting agent for Leeds Dock, says: “The lettings at the dock have been superb. We were always confident in the ability to attract occupiers, though this has happened quicker than we expected.

“The Sky deal has established the southern part of the city as a digital hub and the effort in bringing Leeds Dock forward has been vindicated. Although we are not openly marketing, there is still space available and we can accommodate companies of all sizes.”

Reflecting on the market, office agent Eamon Fox, partner at Knight Frank in Leeds, says: “If you want

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more than 10,000 sq ft of office space in Leeds before the end of the year, then you can count on one hand the number options. But from January to December 2016 there will be upwards of 750,000 sq ft built. That’s a lot of supply.

“Occupier sentiment is as good as it has been since before the recession. The toll road operator Sanef brought 200 jobs here, and Sky is going to Leeds Dock. Leeds has gone from a city that wasn’t doing well to one that is attracting new occupiers. I agree a lot of it has been the same firms moving around, which is good for agents, but it was not improving the net absorption of stock. The headline rent is £26 but we think we’ll be at £28 by the end of the year, and our target is £30.”

The announcement of Legal & General’s acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in the Thorpe Park regeneration scheme in east Leeds is a huge vote of confidence in the city, says Fox. The scheme will provide 7,000 homes and one million sq ft of office space.

New buildings are back in demand, with clients saying that poor quality buildings are prohibitive to the recruitment of staff. Fox has also seen interest from professional firms in ‘Shoreditch-style’ buildings with bare insulation and brick walls, which might once have only interested media companies.

In Bradford, there’s been significant investment in the City Centre Growth Zone and more than £30m of public realm works have been completed, including the hugely successful City Park, the opening of three hotels and the £45m Southgate development,

which includes the 117,000 sq ft headquarters for Provident Financial and a 200-bed Jurys Inn. Incentives have brought more than 1,500 jobs into the city centre.

The zone provides financial and professional support to businesses via schemes such as Priority Streets and the Business Growth Rate Rebate Scheme, which offers up to £16,000 per job created. Additional rebates may be available where redundant or disused space is brought back into permanent commercial use.

Bradford Council plans to redevelop its site at the old Tyrls police station to accommodate a 95,000 sq ft office development. Plus, there’s a top class commercial development opportunity within the zone, overlooking City Park, and only five minutes from two train stations.

Yorkshire Water, through Keyland Developments, is looking to build on the site of its former depot at the junction of Leeds Road and Shipley Airedale Road in a £100m project that would suit occupiers looking for a head office.

The council hopes to develop its Exchange Court site for mixed and residential use. Adjacent to Bradford

Leeds city region has a population of three million people, with seven million people within a

one hour drive. It also boasts the fastest-growing working age

population in the north(ONS’s mid-year population estimates 2013)

ABOVECITY PARK, BRADFORD

Interchange rail and bus station, and neighboured by the Great Victoria Hotel, the site provides natural public realm between City Hall and the Little Germany Conservation Area. It’s currently being used as a car park.

The city’s Jacob’s Well offices will also be demolished and replaced with a modern 200,000 sq ft building for 3,500 staff. The ‘public service hub’ will cater for civil servants, council authority workers, police officers and NHS staff.

By the end of the year, York Council, in partnership with Network Rail, hopes to engage with developers about the 40-hectare Central development site, behind York train station. Although York has had residential planning issues in the past, hopes are high that this site will soon have up to 1,000 homes and 800,000 sq ft for a new central business district with office, leisure and retail uses.

Andrew Sharp, head of business at the council’s Make It York investment team, says: “In terms of location for development of its type, you could not get better. It is adjacent to the rail station and less than two hours to London and Edinburgh the other way. It is a fantastic business location.”

Work has also started on the mixed-use development of the former Terry’s Chocolate factory in the popular South Bank area of the city. The eventual scheme is projected to create more than 2,700 jobs in offices, hotels, shops and restaurants, as well as more than 250 homes.

Lloyds insurer Hiscox gave the city a great boost with the

announcement that it will build a £19m office development with room for an additional 400 staff in York. It will house insurance experts, underwriters, IT, HR, claims and legal advisers in the group’s biggest office outside London.

And the continuing success of York Science Park and funding for York’s BioVale project as an innovation clusters that will support the region’s bio-based economy is expected to lead to the creation and safeguarding of 45,000 jobs by 2025, and contribute more than £2bn a year to the economy.

Also in North Yorkshire, office space is available at the Pannal Business Park. The site, conveniently situated on Station Road, just off the main A61 Leeds Road and near Pannal station, has units starting at 500 sq ft on flexible lease terms.

The Waterfront Quarter in Huddersfield, alongside the Kirklees College building, has planning permission for four building plots, arranged around the canal and a proposed public square, which

10 Location: Leeds City Region

OFFICES

20,000 additional

people will access Leeds South Bank

daily once the Leeds Station southern

entrance opens

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BELOWHOLBECK URBAN VILLAGE

will provide up to 194,000 sq ft of grade A office space. It is one of the largest projects of its kind underway in the north of England and has the potential to provide up to 1,000 jobs. The council will also consider applications for a hotel, multi-storey car park and ancillary leisure facilities.

Hartley Property Group has started work on 170,000 sq ft of business space in the Globe Mills in Colne Valley’s Slaithwaite. The £30m project will include retail units, office space and an innovation centre.

Kirklees council is open to talks about the 2.5-hectare site on which the former Huddersfield Technical College sat, alongside the town’s ring road. It has scope for leisure, hotel, residential and office use. Kirklees is also in talks with parties interested in taking on Dewsbury town centre’s listed 44,000 sq ft Premier House, where there is scope for a change of use.

Some of the most impressive construction in the area has been at Huddersfield University, where an ambitious £100m building programme has been completed. A new £200m investment phase is underway.

Anne-Marie Parker, regeneration manager at Kirklees Council, says: “The amount of money that has been invested in the campus is phenomenal. The university really does us proud in Huddersfield. It’s developing a fabulous gateway for the town with quality buildings.”

There’s been a boom too in construction work in Wakefield and there is now a diverse range of

office space throughout the district. The £100m Wakefield Waterfront has transformed a historic part of the city with an imaginative mix of high-quality offices and residential buildings, as well as the Hepworth Wakefield art gallery, plus space for cafes, bars and restaurants on a ten-acre site.

An impressive urban development is taking shape at one of the city’s principal gateways, Merchant Gate. Phase one and two of the multimillion-pound development are complete and include 66 apartments, 35,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, 48,000 sq ft of grade A office space, a new Civic Office building for Wakefield Council and a 1,500 space car park.

Space is available at one and two Burgage Square. One is a three-storey building offering 17,300 sq ft of modern, efficient and flexible office accommodation, while two has 5,657sq ft of flexible grade A offices, where at least 10 per cent of its energy requirement comes from renewable sources.

Out of town, the Paragon Business Village, which has been developed by Yorkcourt Properties, is a 130-acre mixed-use scheme off junction 41 of the M1. It offers a range of high-spec, flexible office accommodation in landscaped, spacious surroundings, with provision for extensive parking.

In Calderdale, a prime location site will be freed up following the rationalisation of council buildings. A site including Northgate House

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MARKET VIEW: Jeff Pearey, lead director for Yorkshire & North East, JLL:In terms of inward investment and competing against other cities, the key for cities is having good-quality office opportunities.

We have seen a lot of big deals in grade A stock, with the likes of Addleshaw Goddard going to Sovereign Square, PwC at Central Square and Squires Patton Boggs and Equifax going to 6 Wellington Place, where there are only two floors available.

We have gone through a period of no new stock being built. Clearly the situation is changing. Leeds had got into a position where there was no grade A stock and then we came to a point where several developments started at the same time.

The market feels like it is in a reasonably confident place, with some good quality kit. While people may be concerned at the lack of supply, that is being responded to. Offices are being let during the construction phase. And one or two refurbishments are planned. You might question what is left after these in terms of new builds.

Commentators are asking where the next phases of development are to take us into 2017. Then there is the scenario of what buildings these quality occupiers leave behind. They have an attraction, but are not new builds, of course.

We are seeing a lot of rental growth, headline rents are up. But we are still £3 or so a sq ft behind a few other cities, which is important for our region to have a cost draw.

A couple of years ago we didn’t

ABOVEJEFF PEAREY

BELOWCENTRAL SQUARE, LEEDS

and the Central Library and Archive will be demolished with the help of funding from the Leeds city region local enterprise partnership, meaning land will be available on a ‘cleared site’ basis, providing an attractive opportunity for retail developers.

In the private sector, Dean Clough pulled off one of the deals of the year to entice French insurance group Covéa to locate its expanding regional workforce in Halifax. Covea is carrying out a multimillion-pound redevelopment of the historic grade II-listed A & B Mills.

These are the final two of Dean Clough’s ‘Great Mills’ yet to be renovated and mark the last phase of the Dean Clough regeneration. The restoration work is well advanced and should be finished in 2016. The premises will provide 75,000 sq ft of newly renovated

really have a building industry. And then the first buildings after the recession were built with attractive incentives and were driven by grants. So unless we get into another situation where there is a government that wants to drive incentives then people will have to develop on their own.

Leeds has been good at keeping occupiers in the past, and we are starting to see a gravitational pull here. Outside Leeds, I think York Central could be an alluring location and offers a better train service to London. Markets like York have an upward pressure on rents.

Generally, office development here will be selective in the future. The entrenched developers will turn to refurbishments in outlying towns such as Halifax and Huddersfield.

contemporary offices, with a great heritage and the capacity to accommodate up to 825 people.

Outside the core central office market, the vast Leeds South Bank is a critical piece in the city’s jigsaw to consolidate its position as one of Europe’s leading cities. Fully developed, it has the potential to create 35,000 jobs.

Rail improvements, including the new south entrance at Leeds Station and the proposed HS2 and HS3 routes, can make this a gateway to the city. The South Bank has a burgeoning tech sector and e-governance reputation, and is home to a range of UK headquarters.

The Leeds College of Building, Ruth Gorse Academy Free School, University Technical College (UTC) and Leeds City College’s Printworks

Campus are establishing the area as an educational hub too.

The Holbeck Portfolio in the South Bank was acquired by Commercial Estates Group for £9.6m in August. The portfolio comprises seven separate plots, including the Holbeck Urban Village area, of cleared land, income producing and vacant industrial premises.

BELOWDEAN CLOUGH, HALIFAX

CRAVENPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £10Retail £60 (Skipton)Industrial £6.50House price £176,952

BRADFORDPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £12.50Retail £60Industrial £5.75House price £93,887

KIRKLEESPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £15Retail £95 (Huddersfi eld)Industrial £5.75House Price £112,882

BARNSLEYPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £12.50Retail £80Industrial £5.50House Price £88,511

CALDERDALEPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £12.50Retail £80 (Halifax)Industrial £6House price £98,353

HOW LEEDS CITY REGION ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPCAN HELP YOULeeds city region local enterprise partnership (LEP) offers a comprehensive service to help investors identify, secure and fund the perfect solution to their business growth. It can provide all the necessary data and insight as well as connecting them to business networks that will support their growth.

The LEP has access to extensive networks of property developers and agents making it easier to fi nd potential sites. It also offers free commercial property searches for offi ce, industrial and retail premises. Once opportunities have been identifi ed, the team will help evaluate them with a site assessment and selection service based on factors such as connectivity, value and skills.

One feature businesses fi nd most useful is the lease-free offi ce space included in a soft-landing package. Offi ces are being offered with free desk offers.

Financial incentive packages are available to many businesses and investors coming to the region.

Bradford’s city centre growth zone is a unique initiative that supports business growth through business


LEEDS CITY REGION PRIME RENTS

Locate Leeds city regionThe ten constituent regions off er occupiers competitive rents, which make the Leeds city region a great place to do business. Insider teamed up with leading agency JLL to produce vital statistics

rate rebates and capital grants. The zone covers 170 hectares of prime commercial space in Bradford city centre.

While the Leeds city region enterprise zone, two miles east of Leeds city centre, benefi ts from Assisted Areas status, where smaller and larger companies can access greater levels of public support.

Leeds City Council is also awarding inward investment relief to businesses in target growth sectors that are seeking to relocate or invest in new operations, which would have a signifi cant impact on employment in Leeds.

Contact Jennie Frost for moreinformation by emailing [email protected] or calling 0113 378 1555 to discuss opportunities in the Leeds city region.

YORK

CRAVEN

BRADFORD LEEDSSELBY

WAKEFIELD

BARNSLEY

KIRKLEES

HARROGATE

CALDERDALE

WAKEFIELDPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £16Retail £85Industrial £6.25House Price £106,864

LEEDSPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £26.50Retail £220 Industrial £6.75House price £129,620

SELBYPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £12.50Retail £40 Industrial £5.50House price £176,952

YORKPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £16.50Retail £180Industrial £6.75House price £201,041

HARROGATEPrime rental values (£ per sq ft)Offi ce £15Retail £150 Industrial £6.50House price £176,952

LEEDS CITY REGION PRIME RENTS


Sources: Prime rental values courtesy of JLL. House prices information taken from

Land Registry House Price Index (June 2015)

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A significant undersupply of industrial space continues to mark the logistics and industrial property market across the area.

But speculative building is truly gaining traction and this summer some of the biggest deals have been unveiled. This reflects a national pattern that speculative ‘shed’ development is at its highest total since before the economic crash.

Vast swathes of brownfield sites are ready for development across the Leeds city region, many coming with enterprise zone incentives like reduced business rates, simplified planning and bespoke packages of recruitment and business support.

The Leeds city region enterprise zone is located minutes from Leeds city centre with direct access to the motorway network. It is expected to be a catalyst for the regeneration of the wider Aire Valley Leeds.

More than 142 hectares of development land will be developed into 4.2 million sq ft of floor space. Work is underway at all four sites within the zone – Newmarket Lane, Thornes Farm, Logic Leeds and Temple Green.

Wilton Developments has just leased a speculative 50,000 sq ft unit at its Connex 45 scheme at Thornes Farm to FedEx. The ten-year lease was agreed without breaks at £5.75 per sq ft with a three-month rent-free period.

Meanwhile, retailer John Lewis has also confirmed a 20-year lease for a 50,000 sq ft distribution warehouse on the Logic site.


In August, Legal & General Capital acquired a 50 per cent stake in the 200-acre mixed-use development site Thorpe Park in East Leeds in a joint venture with Scarborough Group. It will work on phase two of Thorpe Park, which has consent for a 1.35 million sq ft mixed-use scheme. Thorpe Park Leeds is set to create a further 13,000 local jobs while potentially unlocking the construction of 7,000 homes in the East Leeds area with construction of the first section of the East Leeds Orbital Road.

A deal may be in the offing for what has been dubbed ‘Britain’s Biggest Shed’ between Leeds and Selby. The 550,000 sq ft Sherburn 550 was created by joining together two smaller units that had been purposely designed on a common grid and now provides a single open span warehouse.

In Barnsley, international retailers ASOS and Aldi have chosen the borough for their distribution hubs. Barnsley is ranked ninth nationally for the growth in the number of private sector jobs over the past ten

years. Its council is promoting a fund to drive development with particular focus on two sites off the M1.

At junction 36, the council is working with Harworth Estates to build three units at the R-evolution @ Gateway 36, on the site of the former Rockingham mining site. Some 65,000 sq ft of space will be available for lease by the end of the year. Gladman, Ashroyd and Shortwood Business Parks have enterprise zone status and the local authority is applying for funds under the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF).

The 2015 JLL Commercial

Construction Activity Index (Q1, 2015)

indicates that the city region’s

construction sector is outperforming the

rest of the UK

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BELOWSHERBURN 550, DUBBED BRITAIN’S BIGGEST SHED

Speculative builds get market moving againDevelopers are increasingly considering speculative development as demand outstrips supply across the region. Here we round up the some of the biggest deals and best opportunities in the industrial property market

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The 37-acre strategic gateway plot Capitol Park, off junction 37, also has availability for bespoke design-and-build units.

Shaun Higginbottom, business investment manager at Barnsley Council, says property values are increasing on a limited stock. “We are confident we can get rents of £5.50,” he adds. “We are promoting the enterprise zone and trying to get new products off the ground. Then we will achieve rents that allow the private sector to build.”

The borough of Wakefield particularly benefits from the roads network and has reported significant deals this year. Plans have been approved for Caddick Construction to build two warehouses at Trinity Farm, Knottingley, supporting up to 2,700 jobs. TK Maxx is likely to take one of them for a distribution centre which, including mezzanines, will have a maximum floorspace of 1.37 million sq ft.


Meanwhile, Poundworld’s decision to take a 520,000 distribution warehouse at Normanton was one of the biggest pre-lets, not only in Yorkshire but Britain, this year.

Work on a 133,000 sq ft logistics unit at Wakefield Europort, where Mountpark Logistics acquired a six-acre plot, will be completed in the autumn.

Link 62 at Normanton is a strategically located distribution park of 108 acres, with consent to provide a range of units to 600,000 sq ft. Its location at junction 31 of the M62 is a natural successor to the successful Wakefield Europort.

Wakefield Council last year signed an Memorandum of Understanding with ABP Ports in Goole to make it even easier for Wakefield businesses to export across Europe.

In Calderdale, Copley Valley Business Park is a new development by Genr8 Developments and Commercial Development Partnerships, in partnership with Calderdale Council, as part of a major mixed-use development. The employment land scheme will provide new high-spec industrial and warehouse units, car parking and secure fenced and gated service yards. Units will be available in 2016 from 10,000 to 43,000 sq ft.

Assessing the overall regional picture, Mike Baugh, senior director for Yorkshire and the North East, says: “There is plenty of money knocking around, just not enough product. The issue is definitely supply. The spec built product at the enterprise zone has gone very well.

“Speculative building has started. And when the Caddick development at Knottingley gets signed that will be great for the region. We find that the majority of units need assistance from local authorities to facilitate development, but as rents move up they will start to go on their own.

“But there is an argument that developers should be stacking. The owner-occupiers only have design and build, which has implications in terms of cost. When market conditions improve significantly, there will be a new confidence among developers. Yields are looking quite keen. The John Lewis distribution centre was done at 4.8 per cent for 20 years. For the right income profile, people will be involved.”

Wakefield’s M62/M1 corridor is one of the LEP’s ‘big six’ investment opportunities. It is situated at the

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ABOVECOPLEY VALLEY (LEFT) AND MOUNTPARK

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MARKET VIEW: Andrew Gent, partner at Gent Visick, LeedsDemand is very much outstripping supply in this region. The market is going through a period of reappraisal in terms of a scarcity of

supply in favour of landlords as opposed to occupiers. We have gone from massive oversupply to virtually zero available stock. There has also been a readjustment in terms of values. But we are seeing the first swallows of summer. Work is happening and speculative developments are emerging, though most are dependent on some form of public sector assistance. Rents are creeping up, but Yorkshire is still relatively cheap compared with other areas of the UK. Our property stock has been considerably

cheaper than other areas, partly because of low population densities. Yorkshire has seen less overall demand than some areas, which means we have lagged behind in terms of headline rents. Of course, that isn’t a bad thing for inward investment.

The M62 corridor has always been popular and remains so. Most of the goods go east to west. The problem is, there is a lot of money in the investment market but we have very little product. A lack of building has resulted in significant pressure on yields as values have gone up. It may get to the stage where somebody starts speculative building to get an advantage to yield and they are not having to compete on the open market. That said, we want to avoid the situation of that occurred in 2007/08 when we saw a massive building boom because of funds looking to gain an advantage. In the end weight of money will tell.

heart of the UK’s transport network with unparalleled links to the rest of the country and further afield by road, rail, air and sea. It’s set astride the M1, M62 and A1, as well as the main line to London, linking east to west and north to south. The accessibility of Wakefield and the availability of land for housing have put it in a strong position, allowing the district to benefit from investment opportunities.

Other high-value opportunities exist within Bradford. The Bronte Business Park at Thornton Road has 16 acres available for design-and-build opportunities. Units range from 2,500 to 115,000 sq ft.

The development is allocated for employment uses in the Bradford Replacement Unitary Development Plan, subsequent to which it has an outline planning permission for light industrial, general industrial and storage and distribution uses, plus ancillary offices at the front of the site and detailed planning consent for manufacturing and distribution uses at the rear of the development.

Bradford Council has brought forward a development scheme on the Baildon Technology Park to support the growth of high-value technology businesses in Airedale. The site has outline planning permission for 16,000 sq metres of B1 business space, plus a hotel and retail units.

This site provides one of the key development opportunities contributing to the Airedale Masterplan, which is designed to guide Bradford ’s 20:20 Vision for the towns of Keighley, Bingley and Shipley, creating a powerful district built on its strengths in engineering

electronics and digital industries. The Invest in Bradford agency is speaking to potential end users, with requirements from 6,000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft.

Kirklees, with its prominent towns of Huddersfield and Dewsbury, is a prime example of the Leeds city region’s aptitude for innovation and global leadership in manufacturing. With a high concentration of value-added bespoke engineering companies, manufacturing makes up a quarter of the Kirklees economy with £1.5bn of GVA, and 25,000 people employed, or 17 per cent of the workforce – the third-highest figure of any locality in England.

Eight custom-built industrial units

at The Dyeworks site in Lockwood, Huddersfield, are being developed by Towndoor and will be available from autumn. The units offer space from 2,500 to 26,000 sq ft and incorporate fibre-optic broadband connections, solar panels, LED lighting and automated security.

The development fronts onto Albert Street in a popular, well-established industrial area just off the A616 Lockwood Road, close to the town centre and the ring road. The M62 is a short drive away via junctions 24 and 25.

Meanwhile, work has started on a £1.1m roof renovation project at St George’s Warehouse, a 130-year-old listed building next to Huddersfield’s railway station. Developers hope the remedial work will kick-start a development project at the site. They will look for tenants to move in once work is completed.

ABOVE (LEFT TO RIGHT)CAPITOL PARK, BARNSLEY; VEOLIA WASTE CENTRE AT THE LEEDS CITY REGION ENTERPRISE ZONE

Where work life

meets balance

PURPOSE BUILT TRAIN STATION LINKING

D IRECTLY TO LEEDS CIT Y CENTRE IN MINUTES

RETAIL & LE ISURE FACIL IT IES

TO RIVAL THE CIT Y CENTRE

300 ,000 SQ F T OF FLEXIBLE ,

GRADE A OFFICE SPACE

AMPLE CAR PARKING AND

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THE HEART OF THE DEVELOPMENT

SURROUNDED BY STUNNING NATURAL

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RETAIL & LEISURE

WIth a multitude of shopping centres coming on stream and new names gracing the high street, the Leeds city region is awash with consumers and investors

Leeds city region has a reputation as one of the country’s premier retail destinations, catering for every taste.

That choice will grow further when Hammerson’s £150m high-end Victoria Gate scheme opens in 2016. To complement the range of stores, a quality evening scene has developed, with restaurants and bars seemingly opening every week.

JLL’s Urban Europe Report indicated that retail was Leeds’ strongest attribute, with spending forecast to increase by 2.4 per cent a year to 2019. While strong investor demand has continued to push yields down nationally, prime regional retail property markets are still attractive.

Leeds recently made it into the top three best value retail markets on DTZ’s Fair Value Index for the second quarter of 2015. With zone A rents at £220 per sq ft, it anticipates that good rental growth will help push capital values up by 3 per cent per year over the next five years.

Bradford has had brickbats slung its way over delays to the opening of the Broadway shopping centre,


but the wait should be worth it when the doors open on 5 November. There will be 570,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, with 1,300 parking spaces. More than 70 shops, restaurants and cafes have taken lets at the Westfield scheme, alongside anchor tenants Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Next.

City centre retail spend is anticipated to increase by 78 per cent to just under £1bn a year, with an increase in city footfall to more than 32 million people. Eighty per cent of space is now let, while many of the remaining units in the latter stages of negotiation.

Bradford’s Odeon cinema is still being renovated and will eventually be a 4,000 capacity multi-use venue for live music, sport, comedy and theatre. Kirklees Council and

its partners have grand plans for the HD One leisure site around the John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield too. An announcement is expected soon on the progress of funding talks for the £100m scheme, which would become one of the best leisure destinations in the north. The 51-acre site will feature 150 apartments, a 144-bed hotel, a ski slope, casino, 21 bars and restaurants, bowling alley, two nightclubs and a music venue.

Barnsley town centre is changing with a number of buildings being demolished to make way for retail and leisure facilities in a £50m development scheme. Buildings coming down include Zero Ice (the former Carpetworld building), Central Offices and the multi-storey car park.

In their place will be a refurbished metropolitan centre and indoor market hall, a leisure and retail centre around Kendray Street bridge, a purpose-built central library and a public square to accommodate an open market and town centre events.

Home, garden and leisure retailer The Range has taken 256,640 sq ft of space in Barnsley in one of Yorkshire’s largest warehouse lettings of the year. The units are located at Dearne Mills, off junction 38 of the M1, and have been taken by CDS Superstores, which trades as The Range Home and Leisure. The rest of the estate is occupied by food company Frozen Value.

Wakefield has ongoing plans to redevelop the city centre, though it is buoyed by the success of the Trinity Walk shopping centre, which opened in 2011. Craig Heppinstall, strategic account executive at Wakefield Council, says the evening offer is also improving.

“A lot of towns and cities are coming to the conclusion that they want quality over quantity. I know in the past, people have talked about the Wakefield Run, but now we want to target top-end establishments like Wagamamas and Browns. We know they will attract the right type of people. We want footfall going from

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day to night. We have plenty to offer, and with a smaller city centre than Leeds, people can cross from one end to another in munutes.”

Halifax is looking forward to the Piece Hall reopening next summer after a £19m refurbishment. The century hall will feature new shops, cafes, offices and a large square to host large events including music, theatre and an ice rink over the winter months.

York continues to have a strong and individual retail and evening economy. Premises vacancy rates are about a third of the national average and restaurants and bars are opening on a regular basis. The £90m out-of town Vangarde shopping park brought John Lewis, Next, and Marks & Spencer last year and is trading in good style.

On the evening economy, Tom Hodgson at retail and leisure consultancy Pudney Shuttleworth says: “A host of London-based operators are descending on Leeds with the likes of Be at One at the Electric Press, Bill’s on Albion Place and Iberica fitting out on East Parade. Greek Street is experiencing a huge turnaround following its momentary lapse while attentions turned to Trinity Leeds.

“Manchester-based Living Ventures’ Gusto is open for business with sister brand The Alchemist scheduled to open its second Leeds venue across the road from the new 90-bedroom Dakota Hotel in late 2016. Moving further south,

Sovereign Square – the new Bruntwood and Kier development next to Bibi’s – is going to play host to three leisure and retail operations, complete with a new green space with public realm at its heart, down the road from Revolucion De Cuba, opening early October on Call Lane.

“The future for Leeds can only be seen as bright, with 90 outstanding requirements from national and regional chains waiting to find the perfect pitch in an attractive city.”

Another blessing in such an attractive area is the house prices and living costs. According to the latest Land Registry figures, the average cost of a home in West

ABOVEVICTORIA QUARTER, LEEDS (LEFT) AND BARNSLEY TOWN CENTRE

RETAIL & LEISURE

MARKET VIEW: Tom Limbert director at Leeds agents Central RetailThings just keep improving in Leeds. The city is high on everyone’s radar and that will continue when John Lewis arrive next year.

Leeds is bringing in more retailers and is now looked at after London as a potential second site location. A few years ago Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow were ahead, but now they are on a similar par.

On the whole, Victoria Quarter is for an older shopper, and Victoria Gate will bring in a wealthier shopper. And people are travelling from further afield to shop in Leeds since Trinity opened.

In Bradford, Broadway is expected to open at 95 per cent occupancy. There has been quite a few relocations there and there are some big names that are brand new to Bradford. Superdry has signed and H&M. There is a reason for shoppers to return to Bradford now.

The good cities are on their way back. Harrogate and York are on the up. The void rate in York is low. The likes of Clinton Cards and River Island are looking to upsize. And Monk’s Cross (Vangarde) has not really hit the city centre at all. Harrogate is strong because it is massively affluent. James Street is just phenomenal.

Yorkshire is £111,000. In North Yorkshire it is £177,000.

The differences vary greatly between towns in the region, though. In Barnsley an average property will set you back £88,000, but in York, where there is a significant housing shortage and prices are rising by as much as 7 per cent a year, it will cost £201,000.

Analysis of figures from the Office of National Statistics has revealed that full-time employees are paid more than workers in any other major northern city. Leeds staff earn £30,600 on average – £2,700 more than their Sheffield counterparts and £1,700 more than in Manchester.

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SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

There has never been a greater need for an enterprising workforce and dynamic, leading-edge scientific and technological development to attract investment.

In a global market, the gap between business needs and skills training providers has had to be reduced. As businesses begin to better understand the substantial growth made possible by working with education institutions, so too have the education institutions began to realise the benefits of working closer with business.

Across the Leeds city region a concerted effort has been made to bring the two together; from young people in their formative years to programmes to commercialise PHD research. Joanne Roney, chief executive of Wakefield Council, and skills lead for the region, has been spearheading the reshaping of the programmes available for business.

“We have been working closely with industry to shape the services and we’re working with providers to ensure we have skills provision that’s bespoke to employers’ needs,” she says. “We’re not competing across the region any more. Through the local enterprise partnership (LEP), there is one point of contact which enables businesses to look at the city region and discover what is best for them.”

The ambition is evident but the region faces challenges, not least retaining graduates. Roney cites a net graduate retention rate of only 1 per cent, explaining that the scale of opportunities in the South East draws skilled, qualified people away.


A skilled workforce to drive forward a high-tech economyThe economic and social prosperity of the UK depends on a healthy knowledge economy and a skilled workforce. In the Leeds city region, a suite of streamlined options are available to businesses that are looking to expand

“The draw of the South East is a problem,” she says. “But that is an opportunity for investors as doing business here is more cost effective and we can offer programmes to attract staff. Businesses here can access skilled people who trained here and don’t go elsewhere.”

That depth of talent is evident with a strong higher and further education sector, which has a substantial economic impact. The total revenue of higher education institutions in Yorkshire and Humber is more than £2bn, with an extra £2.8bn generated from other industries throughout the UK.

York is becoming renowned as an international centre for bio-renewables and bio-based research and development; while data in healthcare is an important sector in Leeds. The Leeds Academic Health Partnership collaboration between the three universities, the NHS Trusts and the council is beginning to firm up links between academia, the NHS and business.

“Given the flux in leadership and a challenging external environment, many of the region’s universities are refreshing their strategies,” says Justine Andrew, public sector director at KPMG in Yorkshire. “Most are looking to enterprise and innovation as a channel for growth and commercial success, and partnerships with industry will no doubt be at the top of their agenda

“Crucially, Yorkshire’s universities are aligning their strategy with local economic needs. They have the insight to anticipate skills gaps, but also recognise their role as anchor

institutions in retaining talent in Yorkshire, which is an important piece of the Northern Powerhouse.This will demand a holistic view of skills across a region with a mutual understanding of what is required and who is in the best position to conduct the training.”

A host of research centres are there to help businesses improve performance. The University of Huddersfield operates its wholly-owned subsidiary 3M Buckley Innovation Centre for start-ups and smaller businesses. Working with tenants and a range of business partners, the centre offers support with areas such as finance, markets and technology.

Liz Towns-Andrews, professor of innovation, says: “The centre is 90 per cent occupied with a network of 700 associated small businesses. It works because they see it as business-facing rather than university-facing. Any university can establish a centre like this, but success depends on the way the initiatives facilitate interactions.”

Bradford University’s School of Management business school operates four centres: the Bradford Research in Innovation Technology and Entrepreneurship Lab; The Bradford Centre for International Business and Finance; the Centre for Research in Organisations and Work; and the Bradford Centre for Business in Society. The school specialises in employment relations, leadership, international business and finance, and innovation technology and entrepreneurship.

Dr Suzanne Emmett, a director from the Yorkshire Innovation Fund, says: “The collaboration between academia and the small business sector has reaped rewards far beyond increased profit and new jobs the project team were tasked with. There are countless examples of how partnerships between academic institutions and small businesses is fuelling growth, confidence and the transfer of skills which will equip Yorkshire’s businesses for the challenges of the next decade and beyond.”

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THE UTC: SUPPORTING THE FUTURE OF THE REGIONAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR Manufacturers in Yorkshire contribute £7bn in GVA and employ more than 140,000 people. It is the largest manufacturing base in the UK in employment terms and makes up 12 per cent of the region’s economy.

To support the growth of this sector, the former Braime Pressings Factory on Hunslet Road is set to become a university technical college (UTC) specialising in engineering and advanced manufacturing. UTC Leeds will provide a vocational education for up to 600 young people aged 14 to 19 from across the city region, with the curriculum focused on the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths).

UTC Leeds has the support of Siemens, Kodak and Agfa with educational input from The University of Leeds and Leeds City College, and is backed by Leeds City Council, EEF The Manufacturers Organisation, Leeds Chamber of Commerce, Grant Thornton and 25 other local businesses.

Students will follow a manufacturing-focused curriculum, including project work, work experience, vocational and academic learning, giving them an invaluable foundation based on industry needs. Leeds UTC will help to tackle the skills and recruitment issues that local employers face by creating a talented workforce that can promote and grow the manufacturing sector regionally and nationally.

THE EPICENTRE OF THE DIGITAL REVOLUTIONSky recently chose Leeds Dock for the location of a new technology

facility that will develop the next wave of digital products and services. The hub, based at Allied London’s Leeds Dock, will house up to 400 skilled workers, creating Sky’s next generation of websites and apps related to its services.

The broadcaster will also expand its technology training scheme with a second Software Engineering Academy. Building on a similar scheme in London, this will be the company’s northern hub for attracting young people to learn digital skills.

The Leeds academy will initially recruit 24 graduates and eight apprentices each year. Sky’s chief executive Jeremy Darroch said the investment in Leeds would create one of the largest digital communities in the UK: “Digital skills and innovation are at the heart of Sky, helping us give customers the best possible TV experience, whether at home or on the move.”

Sajid Javid, secretary of state for business, skills and innovation, said

the announcement was “a boost to the digital economy of the entire Northern Powerhouse”, and would undoubtedly help to cement Leeds as a leading technology cluster.

SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSA service has been launched by the Leeds city region local enterprise partnership (LEP) to provide support to smaller businesses.

The LEP skills service helps businesses identify skills needs based on their growth objectives before tailoring training solutions. Importantly, funding from £500 and £50,000 is available.

The training is employer-led and includes courses such as leadership and management, project management, supply chain management, social media marketing, risk management and customer service training. Companies looking for more information can call 0113 200 5200 or email [email protected].

ABOVE LEFTUTC LEEDS

ABOVE RIGHTALLIED LONDON’S LEEDS DOCK, HOME TO SKY

• 9 Universities

• 14 further education colleges

• Europe’s largest teaching hospital

• Leeds city region is a renewed education

centre offering direct access to an annual

talent pipeline of 41,000 graduates.

20 per cent (8,430) are in STEM subjects

(science, technology, engineering and maths)

A pipeline bursting with talentNUMBER OF STEM GRADUATES ANNUALLY

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

LEEDS CITY REGION

GREATER MANCHESTER

SHEFFIELD CITY REGION

GREATER BIRMINGHAM & SOLIHULL

8,430 7,385 4,620 4,505


A CONNECTED CITY REGION

98 per cent super-connectedBusiness depends on communication, so it needs the best opportunities and infrastructure available. Fibre broadband, efficient wi-fi access and smart mobile communications all offer new and fresh ways of connecting with customers and helping businesses grow. But can we be doing it even faster?

Fibre broadband can open doors to new opportunities. It can provide faster data transfers, better access to cloud computing services and software, and support for more flexible working.

It makes your business slicker and enables you to realise efficiencies to become more productive. Ultimately it makes an impact on that which matters most, the bottom line.

Never has the potential to harness these opportunities been better as a multimillion-pound contract between West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and BT is making superfast fibre broadband available to tens of thousands more households and businesses in the city region.

The £13m deal will ensure that areas without access to superfast broadband can benefit from speeds of up to 80Mbps. By the end of 2018, 98 per cent of homes and businesses in the region are expected to have access. Since the rollout began in January 2014, the the new technology has been made available to almost 65,000 homes and businesses, exceeding the 64,500 premises planned for the first phase. It has also completed the rollout three months early.

Digital economy minister Ed Vaizey said: “We are transforming the digital landscape of the UK and our nationwide rollout of superfast broadband has reached an additional three million UK homes and businesses. I congratulate

Superfast West Yorkshire on having reached almost 65,000 properties in West Yorkshire so far and on making incredible progress.”

Openreach engineers installing the infrastructure have laid 321km of cable and installed 393 fibre broadband street cabinets. A second phase of the project has been agreed, which will enable a further 28,000 premises to access the technology by the end of 2018.

Ian Gray, chair of the Superfast West Yorkshire project board, says: “It is great to have passed the finish line on this first phase. Delivering superfast broadband to more parts of West Yorkshire and York is essential to equip our businesses and residents with the necessary technology of everyday life.”

Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director for next generation access, adds: “Getting this

network in the ground is an achievement in itself, but the true measure of success will come when people in communities across the region place orders and reap the benefits of faster connectivity. Then we will really see how successful the West Yorkshire community can be when they fully exploit the benefits this technology can bring to home life, work life and the local economy.”

It’s not just the people and institutions providing the broadband capabilities which are confident about the advantages it brings to business. An independent survey of more than 3,000 companies in Leeds city region confirmed that confidence is on the rise with employment, investment and business growth all increasing.

More than three quarters of respondents to the survey identified the city region as a good place to do business, with good road access and high-speed broadband most frequently cited as advantages.

Roger Marsh, chairman of the local enterprise partnership, says: “This survey is crucial in helping us to identify the strengths of our business community and understand the challenges they face now and in the future.

“However, there is still much for us to do to support businesses to grow further and achieve our ambition of transformational economic growth in our region. This survey has served to sharpen our understanding of the challenges businesses face and will help us to shape our activity going forward and ensure that we are meeting the needs of businesses.”

Harnessing the power and opportunity brought about by advances in internet

capabilities has been a focus of the government for some years, most recently

with the SuperConnected Cities programme. And as part of the superfast

broadband incentives, small businesses can access a connection voucher for

up to £3,000 to help pay for access.

Incentives to invest

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Location - Leeds City Regioninvestleedscityregion.com/system/files/uploaded_files...JLL Leeds: 0113 244 6440 Email: [email protected] DTZ 0113 246 1161 Email: [email protected]

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