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Sheffield office market back on track after a disappointing start

The Sheffield office market is now back on track after a disappointing start to 2014, according to the latest figures.

After a quiet opening to the year, office take-up increased to 110, 372 sq ft in the second quarter of 2014, compared to just 30,299 sq ft in the first quarter. The half yearly total now stands at 140,671 sq ft, in line with the long-term average of 286,000 sq ft for a full year.

Rob Darrington, partner with Sheffield-based property consultancy Commercial Property Partners (CPP), revealed that the majority of office deals in Sheffield were concentrated in the city centre.

Rob commented: “Sheffield has seen a good level of activity this quarter, the question is whether it will be sustained until the end of the year. We are seeing a healthy level of enquiries, the issue is the lack of stock that occupiers require”

“The level of activity at the end of last year was a sure sign that confidence is returning to the Sheffield office market, especially for prime office space. I expect this confidence to be maintained this year,” said Mr Darrington.

“Significantly, 10 out the 17 deals, equating to 58%, in the last quarter were for under 5,000 sq ft, compared with last year’s average of 82%. The average deal size was 6,492 sq ft in the last quarter.

“There has also been a resurgence in the out-of-town freehold market, probably due to an increase in business confidence and a narrowing of the gap between the expectations of purchasers and vendors,”

“The news that work is starting on site at the flagship 3 St Paul’s Place development is a telling indication of returning confidence in the market, which should lead to an increase in headline rents.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .