New EG Report Shows Most Sought After Locations and Sectors in the Commercial Real Estate Market

Beth McCandry

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE) – EG, an established provider of data, news and analysis products and services for the commercial real estate market, has published in the EG property link Occupier Sentiment Report ‘The new normal: The property. The latest trends around the commercial property search will be announced after the lockdown “landscape.”

Using data from inquiries from EG propertylink, the report examines how the location and sector priorities for commercial space have shifted this year. It compares activity in the first half of 2021 with the same period in 2020 and 2019 to show where the biggest changes have taken place and which locations and sectors are most in demand.

Key takeaways from the report include:

  • London has remained dominant in the office market, although users and investors are on the lookout for new locations. Capital continues to make up 17.3% of office inquiries. However, the number of locations with more than 100 office inquiries increased by 63% between H1 2020 and H1 2021.

  • Industrial emerged from the lockdown as the clear winner. Inquiries in the industry in the first half of 2019 were 37% higher than before the pandemic. In the past few months, however, retail has overtaken industry as the most sought-after sector.

  • Secondary locations like Peterborough have seen tremendous growth across all sectors. Retail and office inquiries rose 141% and 137%, respectively, between the first half of 2020 and the first half of 2021, while industry grew 72% and leisure grew 61%.

The report also examines how cities like Leicester and Manchester got out of their persistent local lockdowns, what lasting impact they had, and how we can expect a shift in demand in the coming months.

The focus is on the increase in even smaller locations – from Acton to Bletchley – as users and investors shift to more detailed inquiries where interest is no longer just the larger area but the specific location.

David Salisbury, EG Properties Link Group Head, said: ‘Commercial real estate is currently in a fascinating phase of change. After the lockdown, we are seeing retail rebound and become the largest sector for inquiries again. But we are also seeing new trends and the likely lasting effects of the past 18 months. From the steady rise in secondary cities to the newfound interest in remote offices and field offices, this is an exciting time for change in the UK commercial real estate landscape. ‘

Download the report to find out where the UK’s emerging hotspots are and how industry demand has changed since 2019.

About EG

EG is an established provider of data, news and analytics products and services for the commercial real estate market. EG’s products and services address the challenges and data needs of all sectors and industries in the UK commercial real estate market. We deliver industry leading events and weekly magazine content as well as market leading data products including EG Radius, the only data sharing platform for the UK commercial real estate market.

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