Encouraging signs for Thames Valley offices
King Sturge says “the new decade has started with a glimmer of hope” as it examines the Thames Valley offices market in the first quarter of 2010.
After a disappointing end to 2009, the market for office space in the region has made a steady start to 2010 with take-up for Q1 reaching 299,500 sq ft, up 38.6% from the previous quarter, but still 25% below the five-year quarterly average of 391,000 sq ft.
Space under offer in the first quarter was at its highest since Q1 2008. The growth in available space in the region is showing signs of slowing down, King Sturge says. At the end of Q1 there was 7.7m sq ft of space available, equating to a vacancy rate of 12.8%. Supply during the quarter increased by 1.3% from Q4 2009 and was up 7.5% year-on-year.
“Despite the high levels of availability, we expect Grade A shortages in some core town centres where demand remains at reasonably strong levels (e.g. Reading and London Boroughs)”, the group says.
There are a number of “very large” requirements close to signing, it notes, which will boost take-up levels in the region, but the conversion into transactions “remains stubbornly slow”.
