City centre office space take-up in Bristol has totalled 91,500 sq ft in what is traditionally the slowest quarter of the year, says commercial property consultant GVA. A total of 104,000 sq ft of out of town office space was also let.
“We have seen an encouraging increase in enquiries and requirements, pointing to an improvement in activity during the rest of the year,” said Ben O’Connor, GVA regional head of offices in Bristol. “There are currently some excellent deals around on Grade A stock, so for companies looking to move, 2012 may be the year to do so as the same opportunities may not be there in 2013.”
Across nine centres studied in GVA's Big Nine report, Q1 city centre take-up totalled 944,000 sq ft , some 7% below the quarterly average. There were 666,000 sq ft of deals in the out of town market – with Bristol one of just four cities to see deals activity above 100,000 sq ft.
Ben O’Connor added that with little development, grade A supply continues to tighten, while secondary property remains in plentiful supply.
“A number of cities across the UK, including Bristol, are in the position where take-up going forward may be reduced as a consequence of the lack of future supply,” he said.
“There are many significant leases, originally taken out 15 – 25 years ago, coming up for renewal over the next two years, adding to the potential availability of good quality, secondary stock, and more importantly some major occupiers looking for new space in the future.”
For further information on GVA’s latest Big Nine report visit www.gva.co.uk/research
