Manufacturing investment in property soaring

INVESTMENT in land and property from manufacturing companies in the North West is continuing to grow at a rapid pace, according to latest statistics.

Planning applications for factory constructions soared 44% in the region in 2014 and are on track for similar growth in 2015.

The latest report from Barbour ABI – a chosen provider of construction data for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Government – shows significant growth for factory planned floor space from January to December 2014 from the previous year.

Despite recent signs of a slowdown in manufacturing through both GDP and Markit PMI surveys, investment intentions from manufacturers in property appear to remain strong.

Planning applications for factory floor space is an indication of the longer term optimism of manufacturers, both in terms of increasing and improving factors of production.

Projects in the North West soared from 111 in 2013 to 160 in 2014, a rise of 44%.

Between the same to period floor space planning applications in the region jumped from 2.350m sq ft to 3.520m sq ft a rise of nearly 50%.

Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “With planning applications continuing to rise, businesses and investors appear to be preparing and planning long term financial commitments within the industry.

“Despite the signs of a recent slowdown, the capacity of the UK manufacturing sector is set to increase, whether this fully transfers into increased output remains to be seen but it certainly shows that an appetite for investment remains strong.”

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