Record highs for South West property market
By Sarah Wood | 4th February 2025
Towns and cities across the South West have seen record headline rents for office spaces, both in town and out-of-town.
Demand remains concentrated on Grade A spaces, which offer the best ESG credentials as occupiers' desire for lower running costs continues, according to Alder King's Market Monitor 2025.
The report found the office sector in Gloucester performed well in 2024. It highlighted the first office letting in The Forum - with Fasthosts taking a 19,000 sq ft space within 2 Cathedral Walk.

The report said: "This is a major letting for this important regeneration project. The remaining space is due to reach practical completion later in 2025 and for the first time in many years, the city centre has new build space as part of its overall offer."
Alder King found that there continues to be an overall shortage of available stock in the industrial and logistics sectors in Gloucester. Despite this and the absence of a significant level of new build stock, take-up during the year reached 500,000 sq ft.
In Bristol city centre, rising new-build costs are constraining new developments. This trend is echoed across the wider market, where high-quality existing stock is becoming the focus for occupiers and investors. These stakeholders are increasingly identifying opportunities to purchase properties at significantly lower values compared to equivalent new-build construction costs.

The industrial sector has also experienced record rents, spanning both prime and secondary stock. Across the region, there is a recognised shortage of supply, which is curtailing take-up.
Adrian Rowley, head of agency at Alder King, said: "The prospect of new speculative development currently looks slim, as high construction costs, along with softened investment yields, have impacted the delivery, making it challenging in all but a handful of locations."
The report found the retail sector has had a noticeable bounce-back in major cities such as Bristol and Bath. National retailers are re-establishing a presence on the high street, albeit with a cautious approach in the light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and increasing occupiers' costs.
Marks & Spencer's decision to return to Bristol and relocate its existing Bath store to SouthGate signals a major boost to the region's retail scene.
Across the South West, there is also a growing trend towards repurposing properties for alternative uses. Former Debenhams stores, for instance, are being transformed for residential, educational, and leisure purposes, including Gloucester's store which is being transformed into the University of Gloucestershire's new City Campus.
Oliver Stretton, head of investment at Alder King, said: "The outlook for 2025 is more optimistic. Commercial property values are now showing signs of recovery, driven largely by positive rental growth, which is evident across most occupier markets.
"A cyclical buying opportunity now exists, where the strongest returns are typically achieved on investments transacted in the early stages of recovery. We expect this to stimulate increased transactional volumes in 2025."
Alder King, which has an office in Gloucester, is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Market Monitoring publication.
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