Office space demand to rise, says Savills
Demand for office rental in Birmingham is set to increase in 2011, according to property adviser Savills. Savills’ latest UK office market report rental growth will move “into positive territory” across the UK over the next year.
The research indicates that investment levels increased throughout the country in 2010, in particular in Birmingham and Leeds.
Nick Williams, office agency director at Savills Birmingham, said: “Like many UK cities, a restricted development pipeline in Birmingham will be the main catalyst for net effective rental growth. We are also expecting to see an increase in demand throughout 2011, which has remained stable over the last 12 months and will place downward pressure on vacancy rates.
“The public sector austerity is undoubtedly causing some uncertainty in the medium term with those towns and cities dominated by the private sector expected to see the greatest levels of upward rental pressure.”
According to Savills’ research, the UK’s office vacancy rate has fallen to 13.3 per cent from its peak of 15.8 per cent in 2009. This, said Savills, could result in a significant shortage of office space from 2011 onwards.
