West Yorkshire property development. Is this the place to invest?

by | Feb 8, 2018 | Blog Posts

With recent reports suggesting that property development in Leeds is booming, and that Bradford is the best city in the UK for start-up businesses, it looks like things are on the up for West Yorkshire. Certainly, we at Levi Solicitors LLP have seen an increase in instructions in our new build and commercial property departments.
So, what do the reports say? And why is West Yorkshire looking like one of the best areas in the country to invest?

Leeds Crane Survey 2018

Every year, construction is monitored in Leeds, Manchester, Belfast and Birmingham, to work out how a city is developing. The Leeds Crane survey was published last week and sets out the year’s results.

Residential

Five new residential developments in Leeds City Centre were started in 2017, leading the way for commercial property development. This is the highest level of residential development since 2008 and will effectively expand the city centre. There is a focus on build to rent properties and this will continue into 2018 with many more sites in the pipeline. Lisa Wilson of our new build department said,

“2017 was an exceptionally busy year for my team, with people purchasing new build houses and apartments in Leeds and the surrounding areas. We expect a further increase in 2018, if January was anything to go by.”

Offices

2017 was a record breaking year for the development of new office space. Developers have created a total of nearly 800,000 square feet of office space, almost doubling the amount from 2016. Notable new buildings include Wellington Place, the largest commercial property letting in Leeds. We understand that HMRC has taken a lease of this prime location. The availability of these attractive, well positioned offices are set to attract many companies, with some already relocating to Leeds.

Hotels

2017 saw the completion of new hotels but no new start-ups. However, there are proposals in the pipeline for new hotels at Tetley Brewery and on Bridge Street.

Education

There were four new starts in the education sector during 2017 with new University and Arts College buildings. With this comes additional student accommodation which will no doubt attract new students to the city.

Barclays’ SME Growth Factors Index

In December 2017, the Barclays SME Growth Factors Index named Bradford as the best city in the UK in which to start a business. Bradford had the best business rate relief, road infrastructure, number of job vacancies, cost of commercial rent, and business survival rate.
Barclays also looked at the number of business start-ups over the past six years, and found that Leeds had the third biggest concentration of start-ups after the bigger cities of London and Birmingham.
Clearly, there are no signs of investment slowing down in West Yorkshire, with property development in Leeds and Bradford hoped to inspire development in smaller towns and cities such as Wakefield. Likewise, better road and rail infrastructure should help improve the economy in the cities and the surrounding areas.

How can we help you?

Our specialist commercial property solicitors can assist you whether you are an established business looking to move to a new premises, or are a new business looking to move into your first property. Contact us today on 0800 988 7756 to speak to an expert.
property development

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