Commercial Market Update overview

Commercial Market Update - East of England

Recent times have been very challenging for many businesses and it is still far from certain when the first sustained signs of real recovery will appear. Commercial property value is largely determined by rent and yield. From the yield point of view, there are clear signs that a ceiling has been reached in some low risk sectors of the market and there is a degree of limited competition for such opportunities. In the more secondary and tertiary markets, with uncertain tenant covenant strength, there is still little sign of any recovery, although arguably a ceiling on yields has been reached even here.

As far as rent is concerned, the weakness of the UK and worldwide economy continues to affect many property occupiers. Most growth plans are on hold and indeed a not insignificant number of occupiers have failed, particularly in the high street. This has had a marked effect on rents in some sectors and there is still no certainty that this decline has halted. However, many occupiers are taking advantage of the difficult conditions to rationalise their property interests and there are exciting opportunities available. We are working with many of our clients to help them make the most of all the available opportunities. The well-publicised rebranding of Carter Jonas in February, followed by the merger with Dreweatt Neate has strengthened the diversity, coverage and business efficiency of the combined business. We now have an increased network of offices, giving us greater UK coverage, and a critical mass of professionals employed within different specialisms and sectors that offers our clients even greater value. Dreweatt Neate and Carter Jonas both operated industry-recognised specialist teams and the integration of these teams into the larger firm is proving to be a source of great potential: the Energy Team, Infrastructures Team and Technology Team are good examples.

One of the key synergies between Dreweatt Neate and Carter Jonas has been the similar ethos and approach to the business of property consultancy. The combined firm remains a Limited Liability Partnership and both firms have long-established backgrounds. Whilst the firm can now offer clients national coverage in many sectors, our real strength lies in the personal service of our teams, coupled with a detailed knowledge of local markets that ensures our clients get best value from their property interests. This is our very first newsletter carrying the new brand and as Head of the Commercial Division I hope that you will find it a useful and interesting read.