Regions to be Cheerful

With an increase in market activity there has been a notable upsurge in property jobs throughout the year as clients have bolstered their departments to support their increasing workloads. Most notably there has been an increase in demand for Property Managers and Valuation Surveyors within the major consultancies, reflected in the numerous instructions Foundation Recruitment have assisted with across the regions. We have also been instructed on various Asset Manager positions on behalf of major property companies. This recruitment has typically been at Surveyor level to allow for growth and progression within the organisation. With a notable skills gap, sourcing these candidates has been a difficult process at times.

Off the back of various positive conversations with a number of highly regarded individuals within the property arena, what is echoed throughout the regional market is that the growth seen in 2014 is set to continue into the latter part of 2015. In a report by M&G Real Estate, across the office and industrial markets, improved confidence is causing increased occupier demand resulting in accelerating rental growth and lower vacancy rates. As a sign of confidence in the market a number of speculative developments are beginning to take shape. M&G are funding the first speculative office development in Leeds for 8 years; the £96m development of Central Square.

In reference to the earlier report by Knight Frank, it also states ‘with evidence of rental growth returning in the core regional markets, investor appetite is likely to focus more readily on well located, short income stock where income can be enhanced through active asset management’. This has most certainly been reflected in the recruitment requirements of various property companies across the regions. Foundation Recruitment has assisted in the appointment of a notable number of Asset Managers regionally in the last 6 months alone, at the more junior end of the market (circa 1-5years PQE). These have been predominantly working with retail or office property types.

The interest in the Private Rented Sector has been well publicised since the start of the year with developers getting to work on a number of large scale schemes, most notably in Manchester. Quality candidates with residential experience have been sought after with the continued growth in this sector set to continue throughout 2015.

With a prominent increase in surveying jobs, we find ourselves in a candidate driven market place. 2015 has seen a lot of movement with young, ambitious and talented candidates in fierce demand with increasing competition for the most desirable roles. To highlight the exceptional investment activity in the regional market last year, Knight Frank’s report states that in the third quarter of 2014, £1.3 billion of commercial office assets were transacted, the highest seen in a quarter since Q3 2007. This goes to prove that for us, as specialist property recruiters, the remainder of 2015 is set to be a busy year for Foundation Recruitment.