Manchester occupier activity on the rise
The Manchester Office Agents Forum says occupier activity in the first quarter of this year has strengthened considerably compared with Q1 2012. There was a significant uplift in the levels of take-up of office space in Greater Manchester and in Warrington offices.
In Manchester city centre offices take-up totalled 274,800 sq ft in the first quarter, up 61% year-on-year, across 64 deals. The number of transactions is only slightly higher than last year (61) but the average deal size has increased, with six transactions of more than 10,000 sq ft in Q1 2013 compared with only three of this size a year ago.
Other regional submarkets monitored by MOAF also saw increases in office take-up. South Manchester offices take-up rose 61% year-on-year to 219,286 sq ft, while in Warrington Q1 office volumes jumped 120% to 93,129 sq ft. The Salford Quays and Old Trafford markets saw volumes rise 4% to 52,894 sq ft.
Greg Ball of Jones Lang LaSalle, spokesperson for MOAF, said there had been a good mix of inward investors as well as companies already based in the region who had sought additional space for growth. “This activity points to improving sentiment and confidence amongst occupiers during what remains a challenging market,” he added.
