OCCUPIER activity in industrial parks has improved but remains “subdued”, according to a new report.

The GVA study on occupier activity in UK business parks showed an increase in activity in the first half of 2011.

A total of 1.6m sq ft of take-up was recorded in the first six months of 2011, an increase of 8% on the previous six months but 23.8% below the current five-year average.

Nationally, annual headline rental value growth turned positive for the first time since 2008, but with large regional variations.

For the second survey in a row, annual headline rental declines were steepest in the combined Yorkshire and Humber/North East region (-6.8%).

In eastern England, strong demand for space in Cambridge helped to push up the regional headline result 8.3% on an annual basis.

A fractional year-on-year increase in headline rents of 0.1% was recorded for the UK business parks market as a whole.

This marks the slow but improving trend seen in headline figures since the second half of 2009.

The amount of office space under construction in UK business parks is at its lowest in the survey’s 16-year history.

Just 694,000 sq ft was on site at year-end, a 44.9% decline on last year’s result and 76.7% below the current five-year survey average, with the majority of development now dependent on pre-letting.

A total of 16.2m sq ft of floorspace is immediately available for occupation at the midpoint of 2011, a slight 0.2% reduction on the December, 2010, figure. Availability in the North West, South East and East regions is falling, while the Midlands, Scotland and North East are seeing record highs.

GVA director Ian Steele said: “Despite the continued economic uncertainty, there have been pockets of transactional activity on some of the North West’s business parks.”