NG CHARTERED Surveyors has almost filled a set of micro units at an industrial estate in Nottinghamshire – and says it's a sign that small businesses in the region are feeling confident despite the tough economic climate.
Seven out of nine brand new 1,000 sq ft. units – the Sycamore Pods, at Moorgreen Industrial Estate – are now let, with strong interest in the remaining two.
The units have been on the market since 2011 but interest has shot up in recent months, particularly from start-ups. The spate of new deals brings a greater diversity of businesses to the estate.
New tenants include a micro-brewery, a renewable energy firm and a book restoration company.
Henry Henson, of NG Chartered Surveyors, said: "Since the credit crunch, small businesses have been nervous about taking on a new property, choosing to put off the decision until they were feeling more confident about the future.
"But the last four or five months have been an entirely different story. We've had lots of enquiries from people who are serious about taking on new business space, so we've been able to do a series of successful deals that mean nearly all of the Sycamore Pods are now let. A lot of the new tenants are start-ups, which I think is a sign that smaller companies – which have less fixed costs and more flexibility – are in many cases doing better than medium-sized and larger companies, who have been badly hit by the economic downturn."
One of the new tenants is David Winfield, co-owner of the White Dog Brewery. He set up the business with Paul Burke and Eamon Lyons last summer. The company moved into one of the pods in November and started trading soon after.
He said: "Paul is a talented brewer and Eamon and I have experience running our own businesses. We were all itching for a new venture, so we decided to go for it.
"Now that we've moved into the new space, we're ready to drive the business forward. Last Friday, our first brew went on sale at a local pub – the Marlpool, in Heanor – and it was sold out the next afternoon. We've started to supply the Dewdrop pub, in Ilkeston, and we're now working on building contacts with pubs and showing off our products at local beer festivals.
"Our Sycamore Pod is perfect for us – it's new, smart and in a nice area. We had looked around so many other places that just weren't up to scratch."
Andy Graves, owner of Sycamore Bookbinders – a book binding and restoration specialist with clients as far afield as Japan and Dubai – moved into another of the pods in December. He set up the business after being made redundant from his previous job.
"I had built up some great contacts over the years and they all said they'd work with me if I set up on my own," said Andy. "I needed somewhere to set up a workshop and the Sycamore Pods were the perfect space and price for what I needed. The feedback from visiting clients has been brilliant.
"So far, things are going really well and I've taken on four members of staff. We're currently working on a project for the Isle of Man Heritage Museum. We've also picked up some work with private individuals who want to restore their old family books – from bibles to Victorian children's pop-up stories."
NG Chartered Surveyors has completed another deal at Moorgreen Industrial Estate, letting a larger unit at Chestnut House.
With further deals in the pipeline for the remaining unit on Birch Park and the last Ash Court unit, the firm is aiming for 100 per cent occupancy of the entire Moorgreen estate.