Merseyside & Cheshire extends from as far south as Crewe to Preston on the western side of the M65. Year-on-year the region consistently performs well and like much of the North West, it has benefited from developers seeking new locations with available land and an available labour supply to support new large-scale industrial schemes. This has drawn many well-known national occupiers to the region as they expand their coverage in the North West and position themselves for the prospect of increased business should Liverpool be given ‘freeport’ status.
Speculative development activity fell back from the highs of 2018 and 2019 in 2020, and the availability rate dipped to 7.6%. However, there are schemes in the pipeline such as Mountpark Warrington, Crewe Commercial Park, Ellesmere Port and land adjacent to Lancashire Business Park which could help provide occupiers with well-located high-quality accommodation. Following growth in prime rents of 8.1% in 2020,the outlook for rental growth in the region is an above average at 1.8% per year over the next 3 years. As one of the largest and most established industrial markets in the country, this region has a higher churn rate of secondhand stock than most, but we expect that occupier demand for the new product being delivered will continue to push on rents.
