The Southern Downs’ low set-up costs and overheads make the region a highly cost-effective location to start or grow a business. Relative to other regions in South East Queensland, the Southern Downs regional economy has competitive strengths in agriculture, food product manufacturing and transport/logistics. The local workforce of almost 17,000 people is stable and has the highest proportion of workers in food manufacturing and road transport compared to other parts of South East Queensland.

The cost of industrial land in the Southern Downs is significantly lower than the equivalent price in any of Brisbane’s industrial precincts. Industrial land values in Brisbane are between 2.5 and over 7 times the price of land in the Southern Downs. Source: Savills (2018a); Realcommercial (2018)

Industrial lease rates in the Brisbane region are between 50% and 86% more expensive than the Southern Downs region. Source: Savills (2018a); Realcommercial (2018)

There is a stark difference in the per square metre cost of leasing a commercial property in the Southern Downs region and the Brisbane, Brisbane Fringe and Gold and Sunshine Coast regions. Source: Savills (2018); Realcommercial (2018)