The research covered the availability of commercial real estate across 20 of the UK’s major cities and what proportion of the total property stock listed is selling. With Brexit uncertainty leading to the migration of big business from London, it’s no surprise that the capital is not only home to the largest volume of vacant commercial properties, but demand for these properties is at just 14% based on the ratio of sold stock to total properties listed.
The only cities that are currently less appealing to buyers on the commercial market are Cardiff (13.6%), Portsmouth (12.6%), Swindon (11.2%) and Oxford (9.5%).
Southampton tops the list with 43.8% of all properties listed online sold subject to contract or under offer. Despite the slowdown in the oil industry, Aberdeen places second with 36.9% demand, followed by Cambridge with 35.7%. Brighton (27.9%) and Bristol (23.5%) complete the top five cities for highest commercial buyer demand.
Andrew Vertes, CEO of Virtual Commercial, commented: “The intention of a number of high profile companies to leave London once the Brexit process has been finalised has been well documented. In addition, the continued uncertainty hanging over our exit from the EU has resulted in a reduction in commercial property demand across the capital.
But while London currently sits on the sideline, there are a number of other areas of the UK seeing strong gains in the commercial market. We’ve seen similar movement in the residential whereby alternative regional towns are benefiting in all areas of the market, due to more affordable price tags, more realistic expectations from both buyer and seller and a consistency in the level of market activity.”
