A new report carried out by real estate advisor Knight Frank shows that Brexit is not putting people off purchasing office space in the UK.
In fact, the company’s report found that demand for office space in the UK’s leading regional cities is at a 10-year high.
More than seven million square feet worth of office space was purchased in 2017 – the highest amount for more than a decade and 24 per cent more than the 10-year average.
The report reflects on a particularly buoyant market in Leeds in 2017, where over 1 million square feet of office space was transacted – 88 per cent higher than the ten-year average.
Office take-up in Birmingham and Manchester also exceeded 1 million square feet, with take-up in each market 3 per cent and 13 per cent above the ten-year average respectively. In addition, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Cardiff all also recorded take-up at least 25 per cent above their respective ten-year average.
“Analysis of the key UK office markets tells us that business confidence is strong and Government policy to support and enable regional growth is starting to bear fruit,” said Alastair Graham-Campbell, Partner, Head of UK Cities at Knight Frank.
“Demand for office space in the regions it at its highest in a decade, supported by headcount growth, business restructuring and new market entrants,” he continued. “The volume of office space leased in 2017 underlines that the reinvention of our regional city centres is delivering the right product to attract major occupiers. The challenge is to continue to deliver the space needed to meet demand.”
Article published 16th March 2018