Time running out for office moves – LSH
Companies that delay office moves in Birmingham risk higher rents, shorter rent-free periods and limited stock. That's according to the Birmingham office of commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton.
According to LSH, at the current rate of take-up and with little new office space being built, there will be no new grade A office space available in three to four years' time and very little second hand space.
Jon Hinton, LSH senior surveyor, said: "Companies wanting to move offices in Birmingham are looking at the four million square foot of space currently available and thinking – wrongly – that they can take their time making a decision. The opposite is true. Only 750,000 sq ft of that space is Grade A and there is very little new build in the pipeline. If the average yearly take-up of Grade A space continues at 200,000 to 250,000 sq ft, there will be a dearth of new space in the next three to four years."
He added: "If the city centre enterprise zone is confirmed, then demand for office space in the city is likely to increase further. The result of this diminishing stock will be that rents will increase, rent-free periods will reduce and those that delay will have to compromise on some of their requirements. There is some very high quality space available at the moment, such as 45 Church Street, Colmore Plaza and Two Colmore Square, but they won't be around for long."
LSH said that now is the time to take advantage of what stock is available and make a move before the advantages offered by enterprise zone status encourage an influx of companies into the city centre looking for space.
