Voice of the Region: Wiltshire – Retail reawakens

Retail is bouncing back with a bang in Wiltshire with vacancy rates plummeting and a slew of independent operators offering a bright glimpse of the future, according to Myddelton & Major partner in commercial Dean Speer.

Myddelton & Major, which operates mainly across south and mid-Wiltshire as well as neighbouring Hampshire and Dorset, comfortably tops the Wiltshire Radius On Demand Rankings in deals numbers, and sits a close second for transacted space in the county. Its core market is Salisbury, which last year became the UK’s first full fibre city, and Speer is optimistic about the future.

Speer says retail void rates in Salisbury, which had to overcome the effects of the Novichok poisonings before covid arrived, have fallen from 12% - 8% as independents – including a fishmonger – take space across the city and occupiers line up for vacant BHS and Debenhams units. Industrial is also a strong performer with occupiers ranging from specialist art companies to suppliers of Japanese garden products.