According to new figures, Newcastle’s commercial property market is being boosted by an increase in the popularity of office space on the city’s perimeter.
Q1 2017 findings from commercial agency Naylors, show that year-on-year, sq. ft. take-up of Newcastle’s fringe area office space is up 23 per cent, while city centre office space take-up is up 14 per cent.
In total, 177,041 sq. ft. of office space in the outskirts of Newcastle was let in Q1 of 2017. In contrast, just 33,461 sq. ft. of city centre office space was let in the same period.
The increase in popularity of city fringe office space is thought to have been fuelled by lower rents as well as a shortage of quality office space available in the city centre, with 83 per cent of all offices let in Q1 of this year located on the outskirts of the city.
Commenting on the news, city fringe office space Fenham Hall Studios owner Peter Lambert, says: “The move to avoid city congestion and benefit from lower rents has I believe encouraged more businesses to look at locations on the city fringe. This doesn’t always mean losing out on facilities either. Many peripheral developments are close to local shops and lunchtime facilities.
On-site car parking and visitor parking is also a factor many out-of-town developments provide better parking than their city centre counterparts.
“Access to the main road routes North and South and to Newcastle Airport are also a factor and office developments which offer this without getting snarled up in City Centre traffic, especially during rush hour, are increasingly attractive to businesses.”