Landlord satisfaction at 66%, says Irwin Mitchell

According to the latest survey by the law firm, the majority of businesses in the region feel that landlords offer sufficient flexibility to occupiers.

Of the 19% of respondents that said landlords still needed to deliver more, shorter leases and flexible break clauses were top of the wish list.

Location remained the most important factor for businesses when choosing premises, with 52% rating this first. This was followed by cost at 23% and then workforce accessibility at 5%.

Around 80% of businesses in the region said they intend to stay in the same premises in the next 12 months, with 9.5% planning to relocate or take on more space.

The survey asked about attitudes to online working practices with 23% considering that this will result in businesses requiring less office space in the future, while 52% thought their requirements would stay the same.

In terms of energy efficiency, although this was one of the least important factors in choosing premises, 76% of businesses said they think improving energy efficiency has benefitted or will benefit their business.

The majority of those surveyed do not just consider energy efficiency is the landlords' responsibility, with 63% saying it should be the joint responsibility of landlords and tenants.

The survey questioned companies with employee numbers ranging from 200 to over 6,000.

Paul Firth, national head of real estate at Irwin Mitchell, said: "It is interesting that the attitude to landlords seems to be changing, with businesses feeling landlords are more flexible and accommodating than in the past. Perhaps this is a function of the market in the last few years, whereby landlords have had to improve their offer to attract the best tenants in difficult markets."