Land to Let or Buy in Leicester

Business character

Leicester is a making and moving city rather than a financial centre. Food is the biggest private sector story: the Walkers factory at Beaumont Leys is the largest crisp plant in the world, producing over 11 million bags a day, and employs about 1,120 people, Pukka Pies is based at Syston and Everards brews in the city and owns over 170 pubs across Leicestershire. Retail head offices are a Leicester speciality too: Next is headquartered at Enderby on the south-west edge of the city and Dunelm runs its store support centre from Watermead Business Park at Syston. Professional and financial services are smaller but real, with Mattioli Woods headquartered on New Walk with over 900 staff and Hastings Direct running a call centre in the city. Logistics occupiers cluster around Junction 21 and 21A, where Optimus Point at Glenfield has attracted DPD, Geodis, Sarstedt and Mattel, and Magna Park at Lutterworth, Europe's largest dedicated logistics park with over 13 million sq ft, is 15 miles down the M1. The two universities, the University of Leicester and De Montfort University, and Leicester City Council are among the largest employers in the centre, and the city's South Asian business community along Belgrave Road supports one of the strongest independent retail and food trades in the country. Other significant employers include University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Walkers / PepsiCo (Beaumont Leys) and Everards Brewery.

Transport & connectivity

• Motorway: M1 (Junction M1 J21, 4 miles)
• Nearest rail: Leicester (63 min to London)
• Airport: East Midlands (20 miles)
• Key A-roads: A6, A46, A47, A50, A426, A563 (Outer Ring Road), A5460, A607

Market context

Offices are cheaper in Leicester than in Nottingham or Birmingham, and the choice is wide. Grade A space in the centre lets at around £20 per sq ft, Grade B at about £10, and the best out-of-town space at Grove Park peaks at £18, while one 2026 market summary puts the prime city centre headline at £22 to £25. Industrial is where the pressure is. Most of the county's stock is small and mid-box space up to 100,000 sq ft, supply of good-quality units is very low, and the agents expect rents to keep drifting upwards. New-build units at Genesis Park in Wigston have been quoting £12.95 per sq ft and the council's Blackbird Industrial Park near the centre £12 to £15, with modern units near Junction 21 reported at £8.50 to £11 and older 1990s stock at Braunstone Frith and Optimus Point at £7 to £9. Retail is polarised: Zone A rents run from about £75 on the best High Street pitches to £100 to £140 inside Highcross according to 2026 broker reports, while secondary streets such as Granby Street let for far less, and the suburban parades of Clarendon Park, Queens Road and Belgrave Road trade on independent demand.