I have been a commercial property adviser long enough to know that when communities compete to bring new businesses to town, those businesses benefit. Such is the case with Leeds and its ambitious attempt to lure Channel 4 to the area. The city and a number of its neighbour councils recently submitted a bid that is being followed by an aggressive campaign to let Channel 4 know that Yorkshire is a good place to be.
It is important to note that local communities don’t aggressively compete over every new business looking to relocate. But it is not necessarily due to the companies themselves. Sometimes it is the fact that local communities just do not know of the relocation plans. If they did, they might be more willing to make the case that their local area is the best choice.
One of my jobs as a commercial property adviser is to help relocating businesses find the right place at that time. I work with clients to find strong communities capable of supporting the proposed move deal with property, talent, and the other resources necessary to thrive. In some cases, I have found that just dropping a hint energises a community to come together and work to secure the relocation.
Top Relocation Priorities
Officials in Leeds say they are working with Channel 4 to create a package of support initiatives that would make the relocation to Yorkshire more attractive. A big part of the package is risk reduction. City officials and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership believe the local area has the resources Channel 4 needs to do well.
Those resources include creative talent, diversity, digital technologies, and numerous locations for creating unique programmes. Original programming is already being filmed in Yorkshire, and Channel 4 could benefit from the infrastructure and environment already in place.
Channel 4 obviously has to look at the Leeds bid to see how it matches their relocation priorities. Any other business looking to find a new home would have to do the same. What should be understood is that each relocating business has its own priorities. One of my jobs as a commercial property adviser is to help clients identify those priorities. They can include things like:
favourable tax and regulatory environments
available commercial property
cost of rent, purchase, etc.
proximity to transport options
availability of local talent.
When relocation involves building from the ground up, access to construction process planning and management is also big priority. Companies need help in every step of the process.
I am a commercial property adviser specialising in company relocations. If your company is thinking of finding a new home, I’m interested in sitting down and explaining how my services can be beneficial. Like Channel 4, I can help you find the community perfectly suited to your company’s needs. If we can get community leaders interested in your business as well, we might even get them to compete for the relocation.
Sources:
Yorkshire Evening Post – https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/bringing-channel-4-to-leeds-will-spark-a-creative-revolution-young-yorkshire-stars-back-campaign-1-8807555
By John Parkinson.
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