Avison Young in the Midlands

Avison Young has been operating in the Midlands since 2016 from its office in Coventry.  The Midlands is an area that lies between the North of England, Wales, South West England and South East England.  It was hugely important during the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries and continues to be at the heart of the U.K.’s manufacturing industries today, in particular the motoring sector including Jaguar Land Rover, JCB, Toyota and Rolls Royce.  The top 20 manufacturing companies in the area each contribute a combined figure of more than £62 million in sales to the U.K.’s economy.  The city of Coventry has been manufacturing the iconic ‘London Black Cab’ since the 1950s and the Microcab, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, unveiled in 2011.  Avison Young’s Midlands office is located in Coventry where the team predominantly focus on warehouse transactions.

Services

Avison Young U.K 's advice-led solutions deliver value across the breadth of commercial property services. 

User / Occupier

We recognise that for most occupiers, the property burden represents the second highest cost and tends to be the biggest contingent liability.  Therefore we focus on helping occupiers create property and workplace solutions that improve performance, increase competitiveness, adapt to changing markets and provide the optimum workplace environment for their staff.

Owner / Investor

Our U.K. team adds value right through the property lifecycle, from acquisitions to disposals, in a wide variety of sectors including: offices, retail, industrial and alternative sectors.   Our collaborative approach means we gain a more intimate understanding of the needs of owners and investors.  As a result, we can provide customised advice that underpins intelligent and informed decisions.

Whether you are an owner, investor, occupier or developer, the West End office offers a full suite of services: 

• Building Consultancy
• Capital Markets
• Global Client Services
• Industrial
• Lease Advisory 
• Enterprise Solutions 
• Offices
• Project Management 
• Valuation, receivership & Restructuring
• Workplace Strategy

Area Overview

Coventry is the fastest-growing city in England outside of London and the fifth fastest-growing city in all of the U.K., according to government population figures released in 2015.  The Midlands region, home to more than 9 million people, plays a key role in the U.K. economy.  Top Midlands cities include Birmingham, whose major international airport serves as a vital cargo-shipping hub; Coventry, whose automotive industry is known globally for its design and engineering capabilities, which are attracting significant domestic and international investment; Nottingham and Wolverhampton.  Thanks to its central location within England and the U.K., the Midlands region serves important transportation and export roles, which benefit the U.K., European and global economies. According to BDO International, Midlands exports have doubled in the past five years.  Leading Midlands industries include advanced manufacturing and engineering, construction, IT services, digital and creative, logistics, culture and tourism, professional and financial services and healthcare.  Major auto manufacturers with Midlands plants include Rolls Royce, Jaguar and Toyota.  The entire region’s employment is on the rise.

Markets

INDUSTRIAL

The U.K.’s warehouse logistics sector has seen extraordinary demand from internet retailers, 3pls and manufacturers, including Amazon, JLR, Hermes, Aldi, Ikea and amongst others.

The Midlands Golden Triangle (M1, M6, M42) has continued to be the dominant warehouse location for the U.K. and has seen rents increase to £6.50 psf.  

Following a record total Grade A take up of 13,265,050 sq ft, for units above 100,000 square feet in 54 buildings with an average size of 245,650 sf in 2016 some 600 plus acres need to be replaced in the planning system which is currently not meeting demand.

There is, however, a shortage of Grade A industrial and warehouse space, which will lead to further speculative development and design-and-build solutions.

INVESTMENT

The U.K. commercial property market has shown exceptional performance since the low of the market in 2009.  The strong underlying fundamentals of the property market have led to an investment market characterised by strong demand and poor supply.  This combination of weight of money seeking opportunities and lack of available product in the market has led to strong competition and inevitably sharp yield compression. £48.9bn was invested in U.K. commercial property in 2016, 10% above the 10 year average. The office sector remained the dominant sector with a 43% share of all investment. Industrial investment totalled £5.8bn, equal to a seven-year high of 12% share. London’s average office yield was 4.37% in the second half of 2016, up from 4.15% in the first half of the year.

The U.K. investment market has also been characterised in recent years by a large inflow of overseas money, with a mixture of sovereign wealth, institutions, private equity, high net worth individuals and local authorities; in fact 2016 saw local authorities spend £1.5bn, more than the last six years combined.  The U.K. commercial property market is continuing to deliver good performance driven by strong investor demand and is backed up by a growing economy and an occupational market which is showing some signs of improvement.  The outlook for the next year remains positive as we see no reason for the international inflow of capital into the U.K. market to slow.  There is the potential for further downward yield compression as 10 year gilt yields remain close to historic lows, although performance will be increasingly driven by rental growth fundamentals moving forward.

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