East Midlands Incore - A New Industrial & Logistics Agency


After nearly 40 years combined working at large corporate practices, Ed Cole and Richard James-Moore decided to set up their own agency. Named Incore it specialises in the development and leasing sectors within the Big Box Industrial & Logistics market. We invited them to share their reasons behind making the leap.


What led you to leaving your senior roles within big brand corporate agencies and start up Incore?


We were both at the point where we had done a significant portion of our career within corporate set-ups, which had been really enjoyable and invaluable experience but both felt it was time for a change while remaining in the industry.


How have you found it transferring across to a fresh start and a new entity? What are you working on already?


We were not under any illusion that it would be easy or straightfor- ward to at the start to get it off the ground and running but we’re really enjoying the challenge and have been exceptionally grateful to those clients who have backed us straight away, which includes Prologis, Logicor, Panattoni, Pembury, LondonMetric and Barjane amongst others. We believe the success we have had over our careers is built on hands-on experience and the relationships we’ve cultivated over 40 years combined in the industry. A combination of these should stand us in good stead for the road ahead.


What do you feel that experience gives you?


It gives us credibility and, more importantly, a network that you can’t build overnight. When we take on a project for a client, we can immediately utilise our experience and contact book who know us and our work. We’re not saying a big corporate brand isn’t valued anymore, but we believe individuals and relationships are still of


In My View: Harry Ward


We spoke to Harry Ward, Director of Ward Surveyors Ltd, a chartered surveyor and com- mercial agent based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, about the prevailing market conditions in Leicestershire and the wider Midlands markets.


Harry Ward


What are the current winners and losers in the indus- trial market locally?


Enquiries seem to have increased dramatically as we enter the final months of the year. We hope this momentum continues into 2026. We have found that older industrial stock, particularly those with internal col- umns, poor access, low eaves height and minimal yardage, have suffered significantly in terms of interest levels this year. Capital values achieved have been as low as £40 per sq ft for poorer quality industrial accom- modation, such as former hosiery factories. I anticipate this lessened demand is due to the significant increase in build costs for renovation and residential conversion. This factor, coupled with stagnant residential apartment values (some residential apartment schemes in Hinckley haven’t recovered to their pre-crash values and are still transacting at less than they were sold for in 2008/2009 when newly built) is certainly hampering interest. Demand for modern (1970s onwards) steel portal frame industrial buildings with reasonable eaves height in established industrial locations remains extremely strong, with in excess of £110 per sq ft regularly being achieved for second hand industrial stock locally and many exceeding asking prices through competitive bidding.


How are High Streets changing locally?


Given the trend towards online shopping, retail has been a struggle locally as it has been for most similar sized towns nationally. Hinckley is lucky to have an extremely strong Business Improvement District and highly


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proactive local authority, Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council, which ensures that our High Street offering is as robust as it can be. We have suf- fered the loss of national multiples through insolvency, such as Bodycare, but the majority of retail units locally remain in reasonable demand and generally let well, despite some persistent voids for larger and more cum- bersome units. The quality of replacement tenants in the prime areas of Castle Street in Hinckley is poorer than the national multiples that they have replaced, however, in my opinion, any form of occupation is better than a vacant shop. More positively, national food and beverage operator Coffee #1 has recently joined Hinckley’s flagship, ‘The Crescent’, shopping centre along with an independent pool hall venture.


How is the office market faring with the prevalence of home working?


Hinckley has never been a strong office town and the majority of indus- trial lettings are exceeding the rates per sq ft achieved for similar sized office lettings locally, which given the trend towards home working comes as no surprise. We are seeing many office buildings in the town centre purchased for conversion to alternative uses, such as education, or residential redevelopment, particularly HMOs. An increase in popula- tion living directly in the town centre is positive and supports the service and leisure businesses locally. The out of town office market is limited in Hinckley but in good demand when there is availability, with lettings at the popular Tungsten Park on the fringe of the town centre achiev- ing the highest office rents locally of in excess of £14 per sq ft. Good specification offices, with ample car parking provision, in rural locations remain in demand and achieve similar rents. We are therefore seeing a strong trend towards tenants seeking better quality offices, despite coming at a premium.


For more details please visit www.wardsonline.co.uk


COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2025


We are predominantly focussed on the bigger box end of the mar- ket which has meant most of our leasing projects being across the Midlands. We have been really pleased with how its kicked off and we now have live leasing mandates at DIRFT (200k sq ft), Rugby (106k sq ft), Wellingborough (350k sq ft), Melton Mowbray (665k sq ft) as well others in the South East and more in the pipeline.


Where would you like to take Incore as a business?


We don’t have any set goals in mind at this stage but would like to grow to enable getting new like-minded people to join. The main aim currently is to continue to work closely with the key clients who are showing faith in us and deliver for them.


For more details please visit: www.incore.co.uk


great importance. Also, we are operating a Director-only agency so clients know they are getting an experienced, knowledgeable adviser working on their project from the outset until completion.


So, these relationships are a key part of your business model?


They’re the core of it. The access to deep industry knowledge and expertise allows us, we believe, to deliver successful outcomes for our clients efficiently and effectively. We also now have the huge benefit of having more time to layer on top of this to provide a more hands-on and bespoke service to the valued clients we have. Increasingly within our corporate roles time was at a real premium being dragged into internal organisational duties and people management


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