The final unit in a development of seven commercial buildings within Glenborough Court, Glenfield, Leicester has been sold by specialist land development and property consultancy Mather Jamie on behalf of Lagan Homes. The units have been designed and marketed as suitable for new business start-ups in order to meet a gap in the market for small, high quality owner occupier investment opportunities. Occupation of the seven units has also created several new employment opportunities in Glenfield. The site was originally occupied by Glenborough Engineering. When this business closed, having built an adjacent business park, Cawrey Homes purchased the land and self-funded part of the build. Construction was completed in 2021 and Cawrey Homes was subsequently acquired by Lagan Homes. The seven two storey units vary in size from 1,238 sq ft to 1,560 sq ft and the businesses occupying the units include professional advisers, electricians, distributors and a wholesales trading business, whilst one of the units is being fitted out to let as an office. Adrian Regan, land director, Lagan Homes, said: “The units have been expertly marketed over the past year with strong demand from buyers who want to purchase property as an investment within their pension portfolio. Working together as a team we have achieved a great outcome on this exciting new development which complements other business start-up units we have available on Pear Tree Office Park in Ratby.” Alex Reid, head of commercial, Mather Jamie, said: “High quality units of this size and location are highly sought after and we have worked hard to create the right interest and ensure each sale has completed quickly so that our client can continue to re-invest and create other similar developments.” Other advisers on the deal included Emma Ali from Shakepeare Martineau who provided legal advice to Lagan Homes.

Nottingham developer Decorum Estates has completed a deal to buy a prime site on Tulip Lane on the Hollygate 46 industrial park in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire, which will bring forward 11 high quality light industrial units targeting the owner occupier and investor market.

The well-located site on an established trading park is perfect for a starter unit scheme.

A planning application has been submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council, with Decorum targeting a start on-site date of late Spring, with the units ready for occupation by tenants towards the end of the year.

Decorum bought the site from Wilson Bowden/Homes England, who were represented on the deal by Mark Tomlinson at FHP. NG acted for Decorum Estates.

Richard Sutton, Managing Director at NG is marketing the project and has already reported strong interest at this preliminary stage. He said: “It’s so rare that units like this are built to be sold as opposed to let. They are perfect for small businesses or SIPP investors, and the quality of this project will be ahead of anything else in the Rushcliffe area.”

Chris Carlisle, director at Decorum Estates, added: “We are delighted to have secured this opportunity to deliver a further quality scheme, addressing the on-going demand for accommodation of this nature.”

As part of its forecasts for the year ahead, JLL has highlighted that the stabilisation of inflation and interest rates will prompt more investment activity in H2 2023. Investment volumes for 2022 reached £48.6bn in 2022, a 22% decline on 2021 volumes of £62.7bn, and 8% below the 10-year average of £53.1bn according to JLL. Looking towards capital flows for the year ahead, JLL has predicted that activity will improve in the second half of the year and that the focus will gradually move from yield shifts to income resilience – in particular occupational risks and the divergent potential for rental growth. It is expected that activity will be orientated towards core assets where rental income is regarded as most secure. Regarding sources of capital targeting UK real estate, Asia-Pacific buyers, particularly those from Singapore and Hong Kong are anticipated to represent an elevated proportion of buyers in 2023 compared to recent years. German buyers will also re-emerge as opportunities arise. The huge, energy-driven flows of capital into Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Funds could mean they become major players as the year progresses. JLL cited that occupiers are set to seek partnerships with landlords in order to achieve their goals and reconcile increasing costs with their ambitions to transform and upgrade their real estate in 2023. There will also be an increasing appetite in areas such as life sciences for partnerships with investors, developers, local authorities and educational and research institutions – which will help drive forward regeneration. Leasing markets will see polarisation and pockets of rental growth according to JLL, with rents most buoyant in the ‘super-prime’ segments. Occupier demand for offices will focus on high quality space with superb sustainability and design credentials – which means investors will too. This is expected to highlight major obsolescence problem in the secondary market as rental growth continues to polarise. Whilst in industrial it will remain a landlord’s market; the imbalance of supply and demand, particularly in the mid-box and urban logistics sectors, will mean we will see relatively resilient rents. The only complication in this picture is the business rates revaluation which will bring instant benefits for the winners – mostly those in the retail sector – and a slower ratcheting of costs for subsectors that have seen recent rental growth. Jon Neale, head of UK research at JLL, said: “2023 is going be a difficult year for many businesses, but there will be some tentative evidence of green shoots in the second half, particularly in the core investment market. But if companies solely focus on survival, rather than on longer-term trends, they will struggle; the pressures that have begun to emerge during the last cycle – sustainability, urbanisation, greater occupier selectivity and more demanding requirements – will only intensify in the next one. The polarisation that has been seen over the past few years will intensify over 2023, but that may just be the start.” Stuart Smith, director, JLL in the Midlands, said: “Make no bones about it, 2023 will be challenging for the Midlands’ real estate market. But it will also present some fantastic opportunities and it is more than able to bounce back convincingly – a mix of great transport links, proximity to London and thriving business and student communities make it an attractive place for foreign direct investment, which will prove a catalyst for recovery. “A renewed focus on the Midlands across all sectors in the region’s major cities and their surrounding areas, make it ripe for a fast recovery when inflation eases and interest rates return to normal.” Stephanie Hyde, Chief Executive, JLL UK, added: “Despite the ongoing headwinds, the majority of investors and corporates alike have set clear objectives and targets for decarbonising buildings, and 2023 will be the year in which these ambitions turn into actions. Small and medium sized businesses will also start to develop and implement sustainability strategies en masse, spurred by the mounting evidence of the financial, social and environmental returns. However, given cost pressures it will become clear that increased tenant and landlord collaboration – through engagement as well as financing – is imperative to making progress possible. “Reinvention and repurposing will be a major theme of development in 2023, even if immediate activity is constrained by economic conditions. Investors have been watching the retail sector for some time, and values have now reached a point where large-scale reimagining is possible. There will be generational opportunities in this sector. “The levelling up agenda may falter given economic conditions but the underlying drivers behind it will intensify. The significant role that private sector partners play in delivering regeneration projects will be all the clearer as local councils see revenues fall and look to maximise the economic and regenerative potential of the assets that they own.”