Stronger regional offices activity in Q1 – Knight Frank
More evidence of increased activity in UK regional office markets during Q1 2013, this time from Knight Frank, which reports a “notable” rise in take-up and a number of markets exceeding 2012’s quarterly average. Net effective rents rose across the regions, particularly for Cardiff offices and Birmingham office space, the firm adds, reflecting a combination of lower Grade A supply and steady levels of demand.
Grade A space decreased 11% overall year-on-year, with a lack of completions resulting in double-digit falls in Grade A availability in Birmingham (-33%), Leeds (-14%), Glasgow (-13%), Manchester (-13%), Newcastle (-12%) and Liverpool (-10%), Knight Frank says.
Requirements were healthy in Q1, with “remarkable” increases of 60% for offices in Newcastle and 36% for Aberdeen office space, Knight Frank adds, although the majority of this interest is for office space up to 5,000 sq ft.
“We are now into a full pre-let market for those occupiers seeking Grade A Office space of, say, in excess of 50,000 sq ft, or less in certain regional centres,” says David Porter, head of Knight Frank’s Manchester office. He adds that the lack of good-quality accommodation is driving interest from some of the larger UK developers, “who see the more active regional markets, such as Manchester, Aberdeen and Birmingham, as an attractive offer outside of London/ South east”.
