LARGE TRANSACTIONS BOOST INNES ENGLAND

East Midlands commercial property agent Innes England has said a number of large transactions helped to boost its results in the last quarter of 2022.

The deals included more than 200,000 sq ft of transactions in phase one at St Modwen Park Derby.

Another notable transaction involved the letting of the final 150,000 sq ft unit at Leicester Distribution Park (LEDP), located off the A47 near Leicester city centre, to third party logistics operator XPO.

Innes England, M1 and CBRE acted on behalf of property developer Graftongate and investment manager BlackRock to complete the 45-acre scheme's final phase. 

Peter Doleman, the firm's head of agency, said: "What is particularly pleasing about this latest set of results is that all three of our East Midlands offices made significant contributions to the end-result, which incorporated both acquisition and disposal activity and demonstrated the breadth and depth of expertise offered by the Innes England team."

Derby's industrial real estate take-up continued its acceleration last year, with 1.2 million sq ft of space being acquired, up from 891,000 sq ft and the second-highest take-up on record, according to Market Insite. 

Nick Hosking, director and head of agency and development in the city, said: "Derby's industrial figures have never been better and with demand continuing to outstrip supply we see that trend continuing this year.

"The developer St Modwen has invested £50m into the local economy over the last 12 to 18 months, with the delivery of 300,000 sq ft of new build grade A warehousing accommodation.

"Following the success of phase one, it is really encouraging news that St Modwen will shortly deliver the next phase with the development of a further 350,000 sq ft, given industrial supply in Derby remains extremely thin on the ground."

Meanwhile, Leicestershire's industrial take-up of four million sq ft of space in the year was "excellent news" added Doleman.

"It can be partly explained by the county's exposure to the national distribution market and its location for a number of sites that cater for this specific massive market."

In Nottingham, Innes England director Scott Osborne facilitated a multimillion-pound transaction on behalf of Henton and Chattell, a distributor of ground care and garden machinery. 

The company acquired three income-producing buildings of almost 50,000 sq ft on Abbeyfield Road as part of its expansion plans. 

Osborne said: "Innes England experienced a bumper end of the year with almost half a million square feet transacted in the last quarter. We look forward to many more successful deals in 2023."