Voice of the Region: Wiltshire – Retail reawakens

<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p>