£100m. of CI commercial property sales last year
THE value of commercial property transactions in the Channel Islands in 2021 surged ahead of the previous year, new research has reported.
Last year saw about £100m. of commercial property transactions in the Channel Islands compared with £62m. in the previous 12 months.
D2 Real Estate said the size of the total was principally due to the sale of Trafalgar Court in Guernsey for £55m. to a US real estate investment trust.
In a new report, the commercial real estate advisor also noted that No 1 The Plaza at Admiral Park, Guernsey, was sold for in excess of £24m., with the buyer being a newly-formed Channel Islands fund.
Other buyers included UK property companies and local investors and developers.
In terms of total stock in Guernsey in 2021, there was 2.1m.sq. ft – of which 550,000sq. ft was classed as grade A space.
Alex Titheridge, managing director D2RE Guernsey, said take-up had been quite subdued compared to previous years, although it did not tell the full story.
‘Year on year this has been around 50,000sq. ft, however, with the only major letting totalling 16,000sq. ft, take-up for 2021 is more modest – this excludes pre-lets as these were taken into account in the previous year when agreement to lease were signed, at around 25,500sq. ft,’ he said.
‘However this belies the true level of activity. Similar to Jersey last year, most of the activity has centred around re-gears and lease extensions, such as Aztec’s re-gear at Trafalgar Court on 26,146sq. ft.’
The overall vacancy rate had also increased slightly from 9.32% of total stock in 2020 to 10.95% in 2021 – although the grade A vacancy rate was very low at 1.7%.
‘There are around 50,000sq. ft of enquiries so we expect the overall vacancy rate to diminish over the next year, albeit some of this could be absorbed by Phase 2 Admiral Park, depending on the timing of the development and lease expiries,’ added Mr Titheridge.
Looking ahead, it was noted that St James Place in St Peter Port is due to complete in the second quarter of this year while No 1 The Plaza at Admiral Park is complete, with the majority of buildings pre-let.
The second phase of Admiral Park, comprising about 60,000sq. ft, has passed planning and is awaiting a substantial pre-let so development can start.
‘We understand there is interest from a number of parties and this would complete the Admiral Park development alongside a recently constructed Premier Inn and standalone restaurant.’
