According to Net Stock Absorption (NSA) research carried out by Colliers International, Grade A office space within Manchester’s city centre will reach £35 per sq ft by 2018.
It is expected that by the end of this year Grade A office space will hit £33.50 per sq ft. This increase is mainly due to the ongoing shortage of available space in the city centre.
Last year availability dropped 38 per cent, as1.4 million sq ft of deals were completed. This volume was largely driven by demand for offices of 20,000 sq ft and over, where there were 10 deals compared to 2013’s three.
The research suggests that the issue of supply vs demand will continue into 2015 with the availability of Grade A space falling, resulting in a rise in headline rental levels.
Associate director of national offices at the Manchester office of Colliers international Nick Nelson, said: “Delivery of new space will be negligible during 2015, which will increase the downward pressure on Grade A vacancy.
“A situation where there is very little new Grade A supple available is now anticipated to exist by the end of 2015, persisting well into 2016/17.
“We anticipate prime rents reaching £33.50 per sq ft by the end of 2015 and peaking at £35.00 per sq ft in 2018”.
Story: Chris Grigorovsky
