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JUST months after building work started on the first phase of a new £8 million commercial development, the second stage is already making its mark and developers believe this is a reflection on the shortage of available commercial property in nearby areas, particularly Blaby, as well as growing traffic congestion closer to Leicester city. All 11 units in phase one of the Westleigh development at St John's Business Park, Lutterworth, have now sold out and some of those in phase 2, although not yet built, have been pre-sold. The 8,000 square feet of pre-sold office space in phase 2 has been bought by a local landlord who is to rent it out to a number of other local businesses, the largest of which is currently based in Blaby and is relocating. When complete, the total development will yield 51,000 sq ft of office space. It is being built on a former hospital site of around five acres. In addition to the offices, there will be a 40-bedroom Travel Lodge and a Pathfinder pub/restaurant, operated by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries. These have already been erected and are due to open in September. Ian McCrae, of letting agent Chadwick McCrae, said the office park had been well received and attracted interest from all over the region. Electrical and software companies, an independent financial adviser, manufacturer and engineer have all taken up units in phase 1, which range in size from 1,500 to 2,500 sq ft. The buyers of Phase 1 are from Lutterworth, Loughborough, Enderby and Daventry amongst others. "It has gone superbly and we have already sold the best part of 30,000 square foot," said Ian. "There remains only approximately 20,000 sq ft available for larger occupiers. We have been inundated with demand from local and regional companies. Quoting prices are now £165 per sq ft, exclusive of VAT. "One interesting point about Lutterworth has been the demand from Leicester-based companies who are thoroughly fed up with delays around Junction 21 of the M1. One company re-locating from Loughborough actually said they could get to Lutterworth faster than they could to the Meridian business park because of rush hour queues. The market in Lutterworth remains very good and we only wish we had more land to satisfy all the enquiries." There has been a lot of interest in the site from businesses in Blaby, according to Matt Moore, Property Manager, Westleigh Developments. He said: "Blaby has just given planning permission for an Aldi supermarket which will involve knocking down employment space to make way for the construction. This is all very well, but what Blaby actually needs is more office space, not less. There is a general shortage of industrial land in the county at the moment and St John's Business Park is in a prime position, just off junction 20 of the M1." |
