The North East Duncan Christie reports... Duncan Christie


We had the pleas- ure of speaking to Duncan Christie of Naylors Gavin Black, Associate Partner in Industrial Agency. Below are his thoughts on 2024 and looking ahead to 2025.


What are your thoughts on how the North East industrial market played out in 2024?


The market in 2024 was very ‘stop start’ which in my view was due to uncertainty surrounding the general election, poor eco- nomic growth figures and concern around the Labour governments first budget. Enquiries seemed to come in bursts throughout the year, with there being plenty of tenants requiring to relocate due to business expan- sion, entering the North East market or business contraction. Once the budget was delivered there appeared to be a greater level of enquiries in Q4, with many businesses I have spoken to stating they may not agree with its contents, but at least they now have certainty around their own budgets in 2025. Vacant Freehold industrial sites remained extremely popular, with each one we listed receiving good interest from investors, devel- opers and owner occupiers .


What notable transactions did you work on in 2024?


You may have seen in the press that we assisted Marchmont with their acquisition, subsequent refurbishment and reletting of two industrial units at North Point, Belmont Industrial Estate, Durham. This really was a team effort, working hand in hand with our building surveying team to deliver a pro- gramme of refurbishment works that would be well received by the market, ultimately re-letting the 16,000 and 20,000 sq ft units. The tenants we secured were strong cove- nants, being Boniplas and Isoler.


We also act for Citivale at Metro Riverside, Dunston, Gateshead opposite the Metrocentre. We completed two new let- tings here achieving new headline rents for the estate. Unit 1A & 1B was refurbished and subsequently re-let to Cromwell Tools who were in the market to relocate to a larger well located unit with prominence and easy access. We also marketed Unit 4 adjacent, a 29,000 sq ft unit, as the previous tenant had unfortu- nately entered administration. Interest in the unit was very high, mainly from leisure oper- ators due to its proximity to the Metrocentre. We ultimately secured Battlekart, an aug- mented reality go-karting experience, a new concept for the North East which has been successful across Europe.


Looking ahead to 2025 what will you be working on in the new year?


We continue to act for Marchmont at Benfield Business Park in Newcastle, this is another collaborative instruction with our building surveying team, with multiple refurbishment projects taking place across the estate.


We currently have two 10,000 sq ft units to let with interest in both. We hope to achieve 100% occupancy at the estate later this year.


We also act for a national builders merchant, helping them acquire new sites in the North East and plan to have two new sites secured this year to assist their expansion plans.


Recently our team have also been appointed on Sunrise Real Estate’s Connect scheme at Integra 61, County Durham. Five new high quality speculatively built units ranging from 43,000 to 298,000 sq ft. One unit is now let, another currently under offer and have good interest in the others.


There are also a number of industrial devel- opment projects we are advising on at the moment. We know there are challenges in making them viable, but we are seeing some gaps and are hopeful some may come to fru- ition in the not-too-distant future. There is certainly still good demand out there.


New North East industrial scheme set for market


David Gibbs, property director at UK Land Estates, said: “This estate is in a fantastic loca- tion, close to the main aerterial road network and port services. Promixity to workforce and high density housing makes the building an attractive poposition for both manufacturing or distribution.


Brandon Bailey and David Gibbs


“Delivering quality buildings for business on core estates remains our main focus and we have every confidence the building will be well received.


The latest upgrade to the Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate - part of a £35m annual upgrade to North East business space - is complete and ready for market.


UK Land Estates, one of the region’s largest property developers and landlords, broke ground on the vast “L7” development – a 73,000sqft of hi-spec industrial and distribu- tion space - last summer, as part of a £35m investment programme across its regional business space portfolio.


The ambitious £6.35m project is a huge spec- ulative build a short hop from Silverlink, A19 and Tyne Tunnel. Constructed to the highest


42


possible standards, L7 has secured an EPC A-rating, with a rooftop photovoltaic array, energy-efficient cladding to retain heat driv- ing down carbon emissions, and spaces for several electric vehicles.


Brandon Bailey, projects director at UK Land Estates, said: “With a shortage of vacant, high-quality industrial space across the UK, we do not see L7 as a risk. In fact, we are really looking forward to bringing it to market as we expect a great deal of interest.”


The development has delivered 72,898sq ft of flexible industrial and/or warehousing, includ- ing 5,955sq ft of office space too.


“We’re confident L7 will generate plenty of interest, but it won’t be the only large-scale project on the site and we’re progressing several options to deliver further projects of this size and larger, attracting businesses and creating employment opportunities in North Tyneside.


“The UK industry is currently suffering from a dearth of available, high-quality industrial and warehousing space, especially prevalent in the North East. As such, UK Land Estates con- tinues to progress numerous development opportunities for new industrial development across the region.”


L7 will be marketed by Knight Frank and Savills.


COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2025


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92