Take up of office space in Bristol has shot up by a third over the past three months as demand continues to outstrip supply, according to figure released this week.
But the strong market is again leading to warnings over a looming dire shortage of prime space in both the city centre and out-of-town markets – with some agents fearing it will act as a brake on growth for some businesses. 
In total, the combined city centre and out-of-town office market achieved take up of 304,278 sq ft in the third quarter, according to national property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton’s (LSH) Pulse report, which measures demand, take-up and supply and takes into account all deals over 1,000 sq ft.
This is a 33% increase on the five-year average of 228,534sq ft. Total take-up of offices in the city centre was 173,022 sq ft – some 28% above on the same period last year.
The out-of-town office market was even stronger, with take-up levels of 131,256 sq ft across 23 deals – an increase of 112% on the same period last year and well above the five-year average.
LSH Bristol head of office agency Peter Musgrove, pictured, said robust demand had led to continued pressure on availability in the city centre, and that firms looking for larger office space were now facing increasingly restricted choices.
“With less than one year’s grade A supply of office stock in the pipeline and nothing new under construction, there are concerns that there will be a severe lack of supply in the next two years,” he said. “The risk is that this will deter occupiers looking to expand or relocate within Bristol.”
The third quarter total was boosted by the completion of several deals that had been in the pipeline for some time.
“Perhaps the most anticipated deal was Mewburn Ellis’ acquisition of 13,326 sq ft of first floor space at Cubex’s Aurora, the city’s only speculative development,” he said.
“Not only was this the first deal at Aurora, it also broke record rent levels with a rent in excess of £30 per sq ft. We expect to see most, if not all of the building, let before practical completion in quarter two next year.”
The completion and launch of Castleforge’s One Cathedral Square also took place during the quarter, bringing 58,000 sq ft of fully refurbished grade A space to the market. However, this was likely to be let before the end of the year, said Peter Musgrove.
Elsewhere, works at Resolution Property’s Programme are well underway, the report highlighted, with phase one due to complete later this year and phase two in 2018. The building will provide 110,000 sq ft of space to the TMT sector, which remains popular in the city centre with many new start up choosing to locate in Bristol.
