Damburger

Yorkshire has been the venue of much development and distress over the last decade. Many new projects have come up here during this period. However, there is also a huge gap between the demand and supply of desk space to rent leading underutilisation of prime offices here.

The beginning of 2000 was an optimistic period for most developers who went all out for new projects both development and regeneration. Massive changes were wrought to the landscape here with developments such as the Bridgewater Place in Leeds, city centre in Sheffield and World Trade Centre in Hull and Humber. Bridgewater Place, especially, still stands out as a prominent landmark here. Property analysts are in no doubt that this continues to be a significant business development in Leeds and has changed the fortunes of the area for the better.

Regeneration and redevelopment projects which were underway were halted with the property market collapse after the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008. This was not expected back in 2001 when optimism prevailed and developers jumped into new projects without thought for the future. At this time, investors too were just beginning to comprehend the true benefits of the good motor links of Yorkshire. The free port access on the east coast was also viewed as a huge advantage.

When the Bridgewater Place was completed in 2007, office rents shot up to £27 per sq ft. This was just before recession set in and brought down prices and rents for commercial property across UK. DTZ Leeds chief Tim Cameron Jones stated that developers had not attempted to match demand to supply back then which is why now there is still about 7million square feet of space waiting for occupants here.