Manchester dealmaker eyes an end to uncertainty

It is tempting to think the best thing about the country finally going to the polls this week is that we will no longer be in a general election campaign. But is that being unduly cynical? One man who thinks there could be a tangible upside – regardless of the result of the vote – is John Fletcher, founder and director of Fletcher CRE, a Bolton-based agency which is the highest placed regional player on the Radius Rankings for Greater Manchester at this point in the year. Despite those decent figures, Fletcher believes the market is still beset by caution, but feels a new government could help get things moving again. For him, the big enemy is occupier uncertainty and the fact it creates inaction, which is what he feels hampers the commercial real estate market more than anything. “When there is uncertainty or people don’t know what’s going to happen, that’s when it is going to be difficult, because people either do nothing or they will work on the basis of worst-case scenario,” says Fletcher. “If there is certainty in terms of who the next government is – whoever it is – it will give people some sort of comfort that they know what they’re dealing with.” Do something So Fletcher was looking forward to polling day for removing at least that one layer of doubt.He says: “It’s when people don’t know what they are dealing with, that’s when it makes it difficult and I think that is why we are in a difficult market, because no one knows who is going to be in charge. Once someone knows who is in charge, they will adjust and plan accordingly, and that in itself will create more certainty.” In fact, Fletcher believes, it almost does not matter which party wins because it will provoke either positive or negative action from occupiers, be it downsizing or upsizing – both of which he can work with. “They might say ‘Right, such-and-such-a-body’s got in, we are going to go for it, we are going to expand, we are going to invest, we are going to do this, we are going to do that’ and then they might go, ‘Oh crap, they are in now. We are going to put our helmets on and we are going to get rid of 10,000 sq ft and we are going to sell these assets.’” He adds: “But for me, that is better because it means we’ll be doing something. Whether you’re acquiring something or whether you’re selling something, it doesn’t matter. It could be in a bad market or a good market – it’s just not doing anything that creates the problem.” Work with it In many ways Greater Manchester is two distinct markets, split between Manchester city centre and the smaller towns that make up the rest of the county. But Fletcher believes it is vital the two do not attempt to act in opposition. “It’s a fantastic thing that we have got Manchester city centre and the international pull that has – it is only a good thing,” he says. “Bolton, Bury, Wigan, they are not going to compete with Manchester city centre, it’s not going to happen. You need to embrace what you have got. “You’re not going to offer the same sort of restaurants or the appeal that Manchester has. The international occupiers who want to be in the city centre attract all the right people. Yes, we’d love to have them in your provincial towns, but they want to be in there because it’s Manchester, so you need to work with that.” Best of both worlds Fletcher is optimistic about Greater Manchester, particularly if those outlying towns can use their natural advantages around lower rents to offer what people need in a way that is complementary to the powerhouse that is Manchester itself. He says: “Bolton has got a massive catchment. You can be in the city centre in 20 minutes. It has fantastic countryside, and it’s got some great places around it, so we can hopefully attract people to the area who might work in Manchester city centre but want to go and walk up Rivington, or enjoy some of the other areas we have got around here. People can have the best of both worlds with it.” Against a backdrop of political stability, the relationship between Manchester and its surrounding towns could well be a marriage made in heaven. Check out analytics of property data for Greater Manchester >> Photo © Mylo Kaye/Pexels