Despite the sluggish commercial market, Axis Park - a scheme marketed by Carter Jonas - has seen take-up rise by 25% since the beginning of the year.

“Of course, being in a prime location helps” admits Jane Leedham of SEGRO, the park’s landlords. “Orton Southgate is Peterborough’s premier industrial and distribution district, but not everyone here is experiencing the same success as ours. It’s a question of striking the right balance between flexibility and value for money”.

A&T Logistics, who took a lease on a 6,413 sq ft unit at a record £4 per sq ft, would agree. “The location of Axis Park, which offers fast access to the A1(M) was the main attraction for us” says managing director Keith Smith, but the low rental was the real clincher”.

As to flexibility, existing Axis Park tenants Lasercut found the landlords very accommodating when they wanted to expand their business space. To make room for a massive new steel cutting machine, SEGRO offered to solve the problem overnight by removing the dividing wall between Lasercut’s existing premises and the vacant unit adjoining it.

“I was not only impressed by the enterprising solution, but the speed with which they put it in place” says Steve Adamson of Lasercut. “The necessary building works were completed over a weekend without any disruption to production”.

National building contractors Mears plc were similarly impressed when they took 19,203 sq ft of warehousing and offices at Axis Park. “We chose the park because the landlord’s were able to offer us an entire terrace of newly refurbished business units”. “But crucially, they offered us the flexibility of a two stage deal on the acquisition, and a short turn around on the legals”.

Another less obvious element in Axis Park’s success is that having attracted new occupiers, SEGRO work hard to keep them. In a customer satisfaction survey carried out by independent consultants Kingsley Lipsey Morgan, respondents commented favourably on the park’s amenities, maintenance, refurbishment and access.

The key finding of the study however, was the general perception of good communications with the landlords. Occupiers expressed their satisfaction at having a dedicated property manager who keeps in regular contact, and the fact that SEGRO are clearly prepared to listen and respond to their needs.

For more information contact Duncan Quig, Tel 01223 346626.