Cost of Birmingham office space climbs
‘Bargain basement’ rents on Birmingham city centre office space could be a thing of the past, according to new research from CB Richard Ellis. The firm’s quarterly Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) Rent and Yields report shows that rents on Grade A space are beginning to harden at an average of £27.50 per sq ft.
According to Will Ventham, an associate director in the office agency team at the Birmingham office of CB Richard Ellis, the supply of Grade A accommodation is “slowly beginning to erode”. He added that, with little in the development pipeline, landlords’ position may start to improve.
He said: “When it comes to negotiating a deal, landlords are already beginning to take a harder line.
Cynics may argue that deals such as the acquisition of Calthorpe House by The Binding Site, totalling 107,000 sq ft, this year and the city council deal last year, totalling 196,000 sq ft, have distorted the numbers, but are 100,000 sq ft plus transactions in the UK’s second city so unimaginable?
“For three consecutive years Birmingham has secured one or more transactions that are in excess of 100,000 sq ft and there is no reason that this trend shouldn’t continue into 2011.”
Ventham said landlords are beginning to take a more medium to long-term view, rather than snapping up the first deal on the table.
