Page 216 - Minutes of meeting

The Commercial Challenge

Demand

The majority (61%) of commercial lease deals in
Barrow since 1990 have been in the Retail sector.
Office leases have composed 32% of total deals,
whilst Industrial leases make up the final 6%.

In terms of square footage leased since 1990, the
Retail sector asserts itself again, accounting for 79%
of total square footage leased. Conversely relative to
the number of deals, the Industrial sector accounts
for more square footage leased (12%) than the
Office sector (9%).

Lease terms vary considerably by time within and
across sectors. Retail leases consist in a wide range
of years between 1 – 30. The most frequent lease
term is between 11-20 years, accounting for 27% of
retail leases. On the other hand, Office leases are
split almost evenly (51%/49%) between 1-4 and 5-10
years. Industrial leases are the fewest of all sectors
(8 in total since 1990) – 3 of these are for less than 5
years, a further 3 are between 5 and 10 years, and 2
are for 15 years.

As stated within the ESPS, there is consistent
demand for industrial and office stock within Barrow
however, these enquiries are often for smaller, more
modern employment spaces which the current
market does not offer.

Copyright © Hatch 2018. All Rights Reserved. Map contains OS data, Crown Copyright. Data source: CoStar, 2020. NB: all lease deals included since 1990