East of England commercial property agents are celebrating a host of new deals as a healthy dose of demand continues to buoy the market.

Despite dire economic predictions as the cost-of-living crisis bites, demand for industrial/warehousing units is outstripping supply across Norfolk and Suffolk - and the effects of pent-up demand which drove the recovery of the office market post-pandemic last year is continuing to be felt, latest figures suggest.

The latest EG Radius rankings for the quarter year to the end of June show Bidwells topping the regional performance table for commercial deals done as it transacted nearly 46,000sq ft of office space and nearly 138,000sq ft of industrial space. Penn Commercial of Ipswich topped the regional table for retail deals at nearly 14,000sq ft.

Across the counties, Bidwells contracted 11 commercial property deals followed by Arnolds Keys at 10 in Norfolk during quarter two. In Suffolk, Penn Commercial and Fenn Wright tied top with 12 deals each in Suffolk. Fenn Wright topped the Essex table with 39 deals.

Will Jones, who heads up the commercial team at Bidwells' Norwich office, said it was "always pleasing" to top the league tables.

A deal in which insurance company Marsh took over what was Aviva offices at the city's Willow House at Broadland Business Park meant a mega 62,000sq ft of office space was transacted in a single deal earlier this year. So far a total of 110,000sq ft of offices had been transacted in and around Norwich - putting the year possibly on course to reach the heights of 2021 when 192,000sq ft was disposed of.

East Anglian Daily Times: William Jones on the commercial property team at Bidwells' Norwich officeWilliam Jones on the commercial property team at Bidwells' Norwich office (Image: Bidwells)

"We are back to the levels around pre-pandemic," he said. Hybrid working had given a post-pandemic boost to the market which slumped in 2020 amid lockdowns.

"The industrial market in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire over the past couple of years has performed at record levels with a lot of delivery companies and online companies all wanting space," he added. Speculative projects were hard to find, which meant big rents achieved at Diamond Point in Norwich and Cranes Business Park in Ipswich after developers sold them to new owners Northwood Investors, he said.

He predicted the commercial property market may not see rents rising amid the latest economic turmoil but added: "At the end of the day. people do need to go about their businesses."

Vanessa Penn, managing director at Penn Commercial, said: "We have been experiencing a slight resurgence in the office market – where we have also been named third in the East of England – and Q2 saw a number of retail transactions come to fruition.

East Anglian Daily Times: Vanessa Penn, centre, and her team at Penn Commercial in IpswichVanessa Penn, centre, and her team at Penn Commercial in Ipswich (Image: Penn Commercial)

"As plans surrounding Sizewell C start to gain momentum, after the government’s granting of the Development Consent Order for the scheme on 20th July, we are expecting demand in the industrial sector to increase over the coming months.

"The project will fuel activity from contractors and ancillary services seeking warehousing, hardstanding and outside storage over the term of the contract."

Michael Moody, partner at Fenn Wright, said of his firm's performance: "This is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the experience and exceptional performance of the team of professionals here at Fenn Wright. We remain focused on building upon our firms success throughout the Essex and Suffolk markets and will continue to provide an unrivalled service to our clients”