Member Article

Research shows huge boost for Sheffield office market

Activity in the Sheffield office market in the second quarter (Q2) of the year was more than a third higher than for the equivalent period last year, according to new research by Knight Frank.

Findings from Knight Frank’s Regional Office Market Presentation (ROMP) revealed a major boost for Sheffield with office space take-up of 53,067 sq ft between April and June.

The figure is more than a third (36 per cent) higher than for Q2 2012, taking the total for the first half of this year to 113,052 sq ft – which is in turn more than five per cent higher than for the equivalent period in 2012.

Regional office head Stephen Hodgson said: “The relatively healthy figures are a welcome boost. Q2 also saw increasing market activity in the legal sector, with a number of local solicitors looking to expand - Freeth Cartwright, Best Solicitors and Lupton Fawcett are reported to have collectively taken approximately 14,000 sq ft during this period.”

He added: “Availability of Grade A space slipped by 50,000 sq ft during the quarter to 350,000 sq ft, and, looking ahead, we expect supply levels to continue to fall, as obsolete office blocks are sold to developers for conversion to student housing.

“This isn’t just happening to our city region, though - the continuing erosion of Grade A space reflects a national trend across most regional markets prompted by the absence of new completions and/or development activity in the UK in general.

“However, looking ahead, there is positive news with the city set to benefit from the launch of the new JESSICA fund, which will provide capital loans of up to £4.3m per project for new office and industrial development in the city region – and we believe this will boost prospects for speculative development in the long term.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .