Demand Barometer: What occupiers want – November 2024

Retail has overtaken industrial for the first time this year as the UK’s most enquired-after commercial property type, according to exclusive data from EG’s Propertylink listings site. The November Demand Barometer shows enquiry levels by percentage across the three major commercial use types, based on Propertylink searches that led users to either pick up the phone or send an email to pursue further interest. Sector overview Retail properties accounted for 43.4% of all enquiries on Propertylink, overtaking industrial, which stood at 42.1%. It marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the sectors as the year began with industrial enjoying a 2.1 percentage point lead in January, which widened to almost 8 points in March. Retail now has its highest enquiry share of the year to date, while industrial is at its lowest. The office sector accounted for 14.5% of enquiries, which is up 1.5 points on October and slightly up on its 14.3% average for the year.   Sector demand by region Greater London was the most popular location for enquiries for both office and retail properties in November, accounting for a respective 26.6% and 22.9% share of all UK regions, excluding Northern Ireland. In offices, Greater London extended its lead over the second-placed South East from 4 points in October to 5.4 points in November. In retail, Greater London overturned a 2.4 point October deficit against the South East to emerge in front by 2.9 points. The South East was the most popular location for industrial enquiries on Propertylink, although perhaps the most notable showing came from the East of England, which accounted for 18.6% of industrial enquiries and pushed Greater London into third place.   Regional cities Glasgow remains the city outside London that is most in demand on Propertylink, with a 16% share of enquiries across the UK’s biggest cities, again excluding Northern Ireland. Edinburgh saw a 2.4 point upswing against its October share to put clear daylight between it and Birmingham as the country’s second-most enquired-after city. Bristol, meanwhile, enjoyed its highest share of the year to date, accounting for 8.7% of all searches and securing it fourth place in our rankings.     Key movers Birmingham enjoyed its highest enquiry share of the year to date on Propertylink, at 9.3%, claiming back the third place position it had lost to Leicester in October. The South Coast saw a mixed performance, with Southampton up month-on month, while both Portsmouth and Brighton saw declines in share. In the North West, both Manchester and Liverpool were down on the previous month, while in the North East, Newcastle managed to more than double its October share. Yorkshire saw a 1.2 point increase for searches in Leeds, although there were drops for both Sheffield and Bradford. In the Midlands, there was a month-on-month increase for Nottingham, while Leicester and Coventry both saw a fall in their share.   EG’s demand insights are powered by activity across our industry-leading commercial property listings platform – Propertylink Main photo © Analogicus/Pixabay