Office rents in Bristol city centre are close to busting through the £40 per sq ft mark for the first time, according property agents, as the market continues to bounce back strongly from the impact of the pandemic.
Rents on prime central office space ended last year at £35.50 per sq ft and reached £38.50 in the second quarter of this year as activity picked up. 
However, in its latest quarterly market analysis, the Bristol office of property agents Avison Young says further rental growth is predicted by the end of the year with at least one significant letting close to agreement in excess of £40 per sq ft.
The report says total take-up in both Bristol’s city centre and out-of-town markets for the year to the end of September was 478,000 sq ft – someway short of the 10-year average of 620,000 sq ft for the same period.
However, it expects a strong finish to the year with a number of large deals, including at least two over 50,000 sq ft, due to take place in the fourth quarter.
Avison Young Bristol director Paul Williams, pictured, said the demand for quality space continued and buildings under construction were receiving keen interest.
These include CEG’s 184,000 sq ft EQ development on Temple Way and the next 120,000 sq ft phase of Assembly – also on Temple Way – is due to complete in 2023.
Meanwhile 1 Portwall Square on Portwall Lane and Halo at Finzels Reach are both due to complete later this year. 
Construction work has also started at 4 Glass Wharf – the 212,000 sq ft high quality, flexible Grade A workspace in Temple Quarter, pictured.
Similar to other cities, activity in the flexible workspace sector was picking up, accounting for the two largest deals in the city centre, said Mr Williams.
Runway East took 15,089 sq ft at 101 Victoria Street and DeskLodge took 11,797 sq ft at One Castlepark, pictured below.
“In fact, nationally, a post-Covid focus on flexibility is underpinning a rise in demand from flexible workspace providers and driving the proliferation of Cat A+, plug-and-play space,” he added.
In terms of current supply, the vacancy rate for Bristol city centre has increased from a cyclical low of 3.1% pre-pandemic to 6% this quarter but remains low in historic terms and compares to a cyclical high of 12% in 2012, Avison Young’s research said.
With space coming back to the market, there was an opportunity for landlords to improve accommodation, particularly to satisfy occupiers’ ESG (environmental, social and governance) agendas, Mr Williams added.
Significant refurbishments underway in the city centre include 70,000 sq ft Tower House and the 96,000 sq ft Crescent Centre.
The largest deal of the third quarter in Bristol was in the out-of-town market, with the letting of 26,823 sq ft to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority at Key Point. There were also three 5,000 sq ft lettings, including to Guinness Partnership at 2530 Aztec West.
The developers behind the eight-storey 4 Glass Wharf, Candour and EPISO 5, a fund advised by Tristan Capital Partners, said it will offer a collection of open and reconfigurable spaces ranging between 10,000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft designed to accommodate the changing patterns of working life.
Tristan Capital Partners director Paul Pritchard said 4 Glass Wharf had been designed with flexibility and people in mind, and was centred on creating a “healthy, stimulating, and welcoming environment for all users”.
“4 Glass Wharf is set to become a new landmark in Bristol offering flexible, sustainable and collaborative workspaces that are designed to meet the needs of high-knowledge occupiers now and in the future,” he add.
“We are looking forward to working with Candour and the rest of the team to deliver this market leading scheme into a creative and exciting City like Bristol.”
