DORSET BUSINESS FOCUS / NEWS
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commercial property with Vail Williams
Dorset industrial market strong, but supply needed Since the start of the pandemic the industrial market has consistently outperformed other commercial property sectors, both in Dorset and throughout the UK, buoyed by the effects of Brexit on UK supply chains and the pandemic on online retail. Certain sectors experienced record sales during the pandemic which has increased their industrial requirements to meet consumer demand – from online retailers to household improvement companies. We have seen this translate into a flurry of industrial property deals in recent months. Since the merger with Cowling & West six months ago, Vail Williams has acted on over 165,000 sq ft of industrial property transactions across the Dorset region, including the recent letting of a 40,000 sq ft industrial unit in Poole to cosmetics retailer Lush. Interest from owner occupiers and investors in smaller freehold industrial properties has also gone up significantly across the region, as we’ve seen with the recent sale of seven brand new industrial units at Hoburne Enterprise Park, Ringwood, where we acted for Hoburne Development. Indeed, such is the level of industrial property demand, that the price to acquire premises and their associated rental yields, have increased in the past 12 months. This was the case recently, when we sold a 3,820 sq ft industrial investment on the Ferndown Industrial Estate for full quoting price, at just under half a million pounds, in an off-market deal. With the delivery of over 200,000 sq ft of much-needed industrial supply in the pipeline, the developers of Bedrock Park, Ferndown Industrial Estate, Westcroft Business Park and Three Legged Cross, are responding to occupier demand, bringing crucial, high-quality industrial space to the market in the six to nine months. To discuss your industrial needs as an occupier or for help with delivery of an industrial scheme, contact commercial property experts, Vail Williams. Bryony Solan, Associate, specialist in industrial property. T: 01202 558 262 E: bsolan@vailwilliams.com www.vailwilliams.com
28
Sept 2021 | Dorset Business Focus
Lucy and Sophie Maidman at Store & Secure
High streets are moving Retailers deserting high streets can increasingly be found in storage units, with hundreds taking space in Store & Secure’s premises over the last five years. Since Covid struck, the number moving into the company’s huge sites in Bournemouth and Basingstoke has risen dramatically. The family-run firm is making it possible for the UK to once again become a ‘nation of shopkeepers’. With the lockdowns making online purchasing second nature, many retailers have moved their businesses online only. Almost a third of all retail sales are now made over the internet and it is a figure that is predicted to grow. Businesses taking space in a storage unit can increase revenues because there are so few overheads compared with having a high street presence. Start-ups that have grown out of ‘dining rooms and spare bedrooms’ are also moving into Store & Secure’s premises. Lucy and Sophie Maidman run the multi award-winning business that opened its first branch in Yeomans Way, Bournemouth, in 2010. Lucy said: “The growth in this part of the business has been dramatic and we will be able to help lots more online retailers and start-ups when we open new facilities. “It makes complete sense for retailers to go online only and base themselves in our units because it is so much cheaper than having a shop. “There are no rates or utility bills to pay, no parking or access issues and of course it is completely secure with seven-day-a-week access. “We’ve got former shopkeepers and market stall holders who have moved into our units. /company/dorset-chamber/
“And many start-ups that have grown out of their dining rooms and spare bedrooms are taking space with us as they get bigger. “Many people will come in the mornings before their full-time jobs, pack up orders and get them sent off before doing a day’s work. “We receive deliveries for them and let them know they’ve arrived – a service that is all included in the cost. “All manner of things are sold from our sites including vinyl records, sealed sweets, furniture, baskets, phone accessories, books and clothing. “We have different size units available, and clients move in and out of them depending on stock levels and other requirements. “It is like having a high street in our facilities and each morning and evening as clients get their orders out. “Some people have built successful businesses in our units and have since moved out into their own larger premises. “An increasing number of clients are those who started online trading during lockdown. “The trading element of our business was something we didn’t really anticipate when we opened, but in the last five years it has developed. “We identified the trend early and encouraged that part of the business which has been massively accelerated by the lockdowns. “There are several hundred retailers based in our Bournemouth and Basingstoke facilities.” www.storeandsecure.co.uk
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