The South West is one of only two regions which has outperformed the national trend for commercial absorption rates in each of the three sectors looked at in this Radius Data Exchange analysis of UK commercial activity.
It ranks as the third-most constrained region by this metric for retail and industrial supply with just 2.3 years and 2.5 years’ worth of stock remaining respectively, against a national average figure of 2.8 years’ worth for both sectors.
This relatively buoyant level of retail demand has seen the region drop only 25% in terms of new supply entering the market through planning permissions, against a national fall of almost 40% after a turbulent twelve months for the sector.
However, despite outperforming the country’s absorption rates in the offices and industrial sectors, the handbrake on new space is being applied by commercial landlords.
Office permissions by square footage are down 6% year-on-year, against a national average increase of 3%; while a 1% drop in permitted industrial space is set against a UK-wide bump of 3%.
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