Richard Ainscough, Chairman and CEO, Network Space.

2018 proved to be another busy year for Network Space. We completed 220,000 sq ft of new industrial development, started on site with a further 235,000sq ft, sold over 1.1 million sq ft of existing property and formed a new independent management company to service our growing external client base, complemented by ongoing development and investment in SpaceMan, our property and asset management IT platform.

In many ways the 2018/19 financial year is a culmination of our 3R change programme which we began in mid-2015 (restructure, refocus, rebrand). In three short years the positive effects of this initiative have been substantial. The restructure was to formalise our three operational areas (Development, Investment and Management) and give each of them autonomy. The refocus was on the industrial property sector, our core market for over 30 years and the one we know best. The rebrand was to adopt the name Network Space, accompanied by a refreshing of our value proposition: we have determined a new vision for Network Space, articulated our values and established our mission. All this is neatly summarised in our strapline – Better places for business: as a developer we create them, as an investor we carefully select them and as a manager we proudly operate and maintain them.

Looking ahead I believe we have an excellent platform from which to can continue to make good these assertions. The success of our newly completed developments tells us that our product is meeting the demands of today’s industrial occupiers and gives us confidence to produce more. We have created a cutting-edge, scalable asset and property management IT platform called SpaceMan, with this we will continue to grow our class-leading service offering to existing and new clients alike.

What will 2019 bring? I write this as the uncertainty of Brexit looms large. Whatever the outcome of this may be, we believe that our nation’s variety of industries will still require modern commercial premises and that investors will increasingly demand the best level of service for operating them. We will continue to meet these requirements and demands.

If you are still unsure of what it is we do exactly, why not take a look at our new animation: