Warrington again top of the league for economic growth

WARRINGTON has once again been recognised as a top spot for economic growth.

Steve Park

Warrington Borough Council has welcomed the findings of a recent report released by U.K. property specialist JLL identifying Warrington as a top spot for expansion, growth and development.
The report, entitled “The New Geography for Office Demand – Where Next in the U.K.”, outlines JLL’s findings in terms of which locations beyond London and the Big Six (Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester) offer the greatest opportunity.
The report predicts that Warrington will have the second highest employment growth in the UK in the office sector over the next five years, largely buoyed by the strength and growth of its nuclear cluster. It goes on to position Warrington as being 5th highest in the 37 UK listed ‘cities’ in terms of economic growth and it is the only Northern ‘city’ to appear in the top 20.
Warrington was also identified in the report as being expected to have stronger than average economic performance over the next five years and was singled out as the top ‘Potential Performer’ in the office market in the North.
JLL found that Warrington’s close proximity to Manchester and Liverpool, the region’s robust employment growth and also the growth of occupiers, in particular within the nuclear research and technology sector, all contribute towards giving Warrington a strong economic future that will encourage occupiers to look to the area for office space.
The report was reflective of the previous week’s findings contained in Warrington’s Annual Property Review which reported that 2014 was a record year for investor acquisitions and had its second best year for deals and third best year for office take up.
The growth of Warrington’s nuclear cluster strength was also highlighted in the Property Review. Over 4000 people are employed by the nuclear industry in Warrington and over 20% of office space in Birchwood (pictured top) is occupied by businesses in the sector.
US based Kurion are amongst the newest additions to Warrington’s nuclear cluster. Phil Ohl, Senior Vice President of European Operations for Kurion, said: “As Kurion seeks to grow across Europe, we selected Warrington as our new European headquarters. Warrington offers easy access to other major European cities, proximity to important markets, an affordable cost of living and doing business, and access to an experienced workforce.”
Steve Park, managing director, Warrington & Co., Warrington’s partnership for growth said,
“Warrington is a very attractive proposition to occupiers due to its strategic location, strong labour pool and it’s growing, dynamic economy. With occupier demand up and the amount of Grade A space in short supply, I expect that these findings will encourage a start on the office element at Omega and also within other prime locations across the area.”