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The acceleration of new trends in the office space market looks set to bring good news to Lancashire, as large corporates bring forward plans to relocate operations to Northern cities.
“One big trend coming out of the back of Covid, is a move to out of town car friendly workspaces. The main driving force is control – you can keep an office running even in a lockdown situation, no need to mingle with thousands of people in a City Centre”, explains Jonathan Ratcliffe of Offices.co.uk
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced most workplaces to offer home working to staff where possible, has come as many businesses were already looking into higher quality and cheaper facilities outside of London, with major cities like Manchester high on the list of potential candidates.
Burnley and Bolton offer great value office space
While the high profile relocation of large London corporates like Channel 4, the BBC, law firm Freshfields and e-commerce giant Amazon has been taking up the headlines, yet more good news can be found in the exodus of smaller firms to other parts of Lancashire.
Years of investment in out of town facilities located in office parks, converted mills and country houses throughout the county has resulted in high-quality office space becoming increasingly available in smaller towns and cities like Bolton and Burnley.
Coupled with ever greater steps towards remote working and businesses that are largely online-only, many companies are realising the attraction of locating their premises outside major cities where better value can be found in attractive office centres like Burnley’s Lodge House and Northbridge House.
Out of town business parks offer many advantages without many of the drawbacks of smaller city-centre premises, including shorter commutes with less traffic; better parking; higher-quality environmental welfare and more spacious facilities which would come at massive premiums in more central locations. As office space in central Manchester is increasingly being fought over by large corporate clients moving north from London in search of better deals on real estate, companies that derive only marginal benefits from being in a city centre location are increasingly opting for cheaper yet higher quality premises elsewhere.
The benefits for the local area
While the benefits to business are clear, local areas also benefit greatly from the exodus away from major cities. Not only are local salaries and job prospects improved by businesses setting up shop in the area, but tertiary services from accountants to taxi firms and office cleaners also find their order books filling up as the needs of these larger clients mount up.
This even extends to everything from local clubs and organisations to pubs, bars and restaurants, as higher-paid corporate workers come to the area and spend their money in local establishments, spreading the wealth further than the formerly narrow area around central Manchester and its suburbs.
“The out of town trend is definitely going to accelerate after Covid, the ability to drive straight to your workplace is a huge benefit to many, especially those not keen on busy cities or with health issues. Lancashire is in line to benefit from these changes”, concludes Jonathan Ratcliffe from Offices.co.uk
