Average income from all commercial sources on ‘All Estates’ came under pressure for the second year in a row and represented 13% of gross income in 2012 falling from the 16% recorded in 2010.

Similarly, average income from commercial sources on ‘All Estates’ decreased -7% to £27 per acre (£67 per ha) following a peak in 2010 of just over £30 per acre (£74 per ha).

Pressure was recorded on all commercial workspace rents with the exception of retail:

• Average office rents on ‘All Estates’ decreased by -6% in 2012 to £9.20 per sq ft.

• Average rents on ‘All Estates’ for let industrial units fell by -15% in 2012 to £3.43 per sq ft.

• A -5.3% decrease was recorded in average rents (£2.44 per sq ft) for storage units on ‘All Estates’.

• The average rent for retail units increased by 27% to
£15.67 per sq ft. In 2012, average rental income from telecom masts remained stable recording a 0.8% increase to £5,989 per mast.
This follows two years of consolidation from a peak of £7,315 per mast in 2009.

As in the agricultural and residential let sectors, the average surplus for let commercial property on ’All Estates’ was maintained recording 54% in 2012 compared with 52% in 2011.

Taken from
Estate Benchmarking Survey 2012