 For all dynamic businesses, having the right premises and location is an essential ingredient of success. Whether it is a high street presence or transport links, there is a wide range of factors that influence where you want your business to be located. While land and property prices in the UK continue to rise, many businesses have recognised the real potential of the North-East where there are still affordable opportunities to create your ideal premises on a development site. Development opportunities are available through private landowners and developers and also regeneration agencies such as One NorthEast, Sunderland ARC and Tees Valley Regeneration. Sites may be located in areas of new development or in established areas of business and industry that are being regenerated. Land is offered on a freehold or leasehold basis. Your solicitor and surveyor can advise you on which may be more appropriate to help develop or expand your business. The location of the site will also play an important part in attracting the right employees. A location that is too remote or has poor transport connections may be difficult for potential staff to access. It is worth considering whether the site can support the parking requirements of your current employees and also future employees if your business expands, and what facilities are available in the local area, such as shops and transport links, which may attract people to employment in that area. Careful consideration also needs to be given to the planning permission relating to the site. Is the permission sufficiently wide to accommodate the required use of the business? Are there any conditions attaching to the permission which might adversely affect the business? While development sites can prove particularly attractive because of their "blank canvas" appeal, allowing a business to tailor the premises to its needs, you should not lose sight of the possibility that the requirements of your business may change and the site should ideally be able to accommodate such changes, both physically and from the point of view of planning control. Consider whether the site will offer scope for further development if your business expands and, if not, whether it will be saleable. Premises that have been developed to meet the precise needs of a niche business may not be suitable for many companies in the general business sector, and this will be reflected in their value. This can be especially relevant if the site is leasehold. Most leases control a tenant's use of the premises and this can affect, sometimes severely, activities that a business may consider essential in order to operate effectively. If the terms of the lease are too narrow, the ability to assign or sublet the premises could be greatly impaired so that the lease becomes an unwanted liability rather than an asset. Such issues as the ability to make unrestricted non-structural alterations to the interior of the premises, so that the layout can be altered to suit the changing needs of the occupants, can make a material difference. The ongoing regeneration of the North-East continues to create new and exciting development opportunities which can offer scope for the future growth of businesses - and long term investment potential. | 
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