Why we're confident city will weather Brexit storm
Will Heigham of Bidwells discusses a buoyant market
Brexit is now an everyday word in the British vocabulary and not a day goes past without some headline quoting it at us from a national newspaper. But while the country still doesn’t know what the full impact of leaving the European Union will have on its economy and businesses, it does appear that at the moment the markets in Cambridge are holding their own.
Since the result of the referendum was announced, we continue to hear that it has brought uncertainty. And whilst this is of course true, at this stage it is not deterring occupiers and investors wanting to join the ‘Cambridge Phenomenon’.
Since June alone, Bidwells has already seen more than 200,000 sq ft go under offer at major locations such as One Station Square CB1, Cambridge Science Park and also Cambridge Research Park.One Station Square is a 130,000 sq ft office building and is 60 per cent let with the balance of space under offer, ahead of practical completion, and occupiers include Carter Jonas, Deloitte and Thales.
And to give further confidence to the market our investment team recently acted for Brookgate to secure speculative development funding for the largest office scheme in Cambridge. Aviva Investors acting for Aviva Life and Pensions UK Ltd and mixed-use development specialist Brookgate announced the £87million forward funding of a new speculative office building, 50-60 Station Road at CB1, Cambridge. Totalling 163,000 sq ft, the office scheme forms a key part of the CB1 masterplan and is the largest speculative office building to be developed in Cambridge city centre.
So while we are of course aware that there could be more uncertainty to come once the country formally invokes Article 50 in order to start the process to leave the EU, agents remain confident that Cambridge will weather the storm.
Cambridge is the one of the most innovative cities in the UK and the cornerstone of the Oxford-Cambridge-London ‘golden triangle’.
One major advantage for the city is that the university plays a key role in in supplying a wealth of talent for enterprises based in Cambridge.
And as one of the UK’s fastest growing cities, the level of active construction in the city also provides clear testimony to the strength of the Cambridge development market.
So with a significant number of transactions now in negotiation for the next 12 months, it all points to exciting times for the city, which is testament to the Cambridge market in this period of economic uncertainty.