Birchwood acquisition sees Warrington investment hit record high

Property investment in Warrington hit an all-time high in 2017, according to Warrington & Co’s annual property review, largely buoyed by the council’s own acquisition of the £200m Birchwood Park, alongside a further 32 deals totalling £79m.

Warrington Council’s purchase of Birchwood Park, is the lion’s share of the total value at £205m. Warrington & Co said this was the highest deal in terms of value since the property review began in 1999.

In the office market, the largest deal was Cavendish Nuclear renting the whole of 106 Dalton Avenue at Birchwood Park, taking just over 47,000 sq ft on a 15-year lease.

More than 30 office deals of 2,150 sq ft or higher were completed last year, with a total of 168,000 sq ft of space being leased at an average transaction size of 5,400 sq ft and an average lease term of five years.

In the industrial sector, 54 deals above 2,150 sq ft were completed in 2017, totalling 551,000 sq ft, while 15 of these included floorspace over 107,000 sq ft. The largest deal was the acquisition of Penketh Business Park from Langtree at £2m.

The largest letting was to RJ Edwards at Warrington South in Appleton, with the distribution company taking 105,000 sq ft.

Steve Park, managing director of Warrington & Co. said: “Looking back at the first review published in 1999, it proclaimed that ‘Warrington has maintained its position as a premier magnet for investment in the North West’, and it is telling that in 2017 Warrington’s position has continued to strengthen with investment deals rising to an all-time high.

“Indeed Warrington’s continued appeal across twenty years has been evident in all market sectors. From small serviced offices to nationally significant logistics warehouses at Omega, Warrington continues to service all levels of business with office and industrial take-up exceeding 24.5m sq ft since 1998.”

The annual property review is compiled by Warrington-based commercial property agents BE Group.

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