Jaguar Land Rover announcement helps boost West Mids industrial market

Commenting in response to Jaguar Land Rover’s announcement last week that £2bn worth of contracts will be awarded to companies based in the UK to supply the new Range Rover Evoque, Simon Lloyd, Head of Industrial & Logistics at DTZ, comments on the impact the news will have on the midlands supply chain:

“Jaguar Land Rover’s announcement that more than 40 companies across the UK will benefit from contracts for components for the new Range Rover Evoque model, helping to create up to 5,000 new jobs, is a welcome boost for the West Midlands economy.

The luxury car manufacturer has undergone a reversal of fortunes of late following the uncertainty surrounding its two midlands’ plants last year and has recently confirmed that it is retaining both of its sites at Solihull and Castle Bromwich.

Whilst the Evoque model will be assembled in Halewood, Merseyside, a number of midlands-based suppliers are set to benefit from the £2bn worth of supply contracts being awarded, including Walsall Pressings and Kautex Unipart.

The news will contribute to the growing and renewed sense of optimism in the UK manufacturing sector, which bucked the UK trend by growing 1.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2010 and 6.8 per cent up on January 2010, representing the fastest pace of growth for 16 years. Overall growth in the economy was down 0.6 per cent.

The positive sentiment is also being echoed in the commercial vehicle sector which has experienced a significant increase in orders, year-on-year, with van sales up 48.57 per cent and medium and heavy trucks up 77.85 per cent in 2010, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The automotive manufacturing sector has a long and proud history in the West Midlands and
Jaguar Land Rover’s announcement will also boost the regional industrial market as many suppliers look set to expand from current premises in order to service large orders.

DTZ in Birmingham has already received over 30 per cent more enquiries than in Q1 2010 for industrial space which has come principally from both Tier 1 and Tier 2 Automotive Suppliers looking for new facilities from which to fulfil their new orders.

We anticipate this will lead to increased demand for better quality buildings, especially those that are fitted out and have sufficient power available, enabling new occupiers to get established quickly whilst minimising capital expenditure.”

DTZ is a global real estate services firm with offices in 140 cities and 42 countries (across Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas). The firm provides advice and on-the-ground delivery to investors, developers, corporate and public sector occupiers and financial intermediaries. DTZ works with clients across the breadth of their real estate needs, spanning all real estate sectors and encompassing Investment Agency, Leasing Agency and Brokerage, Property Management, Project Management and Building Consultancy, Valuation, Investment and Asset Management, Consulting, and Research. The parent company, DTZ Holdings plc, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1987. www.dtz.com