As growing businesses continue to seek premises for expansion, small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing an increasing struggle to find affordable office space to facilitate growth. This has been especially noticeable in Bristol, where a new study from commercial property specialist Bruton Knowles highlights the plight of the “squeezed middle”.
Despite the fact that SMEs make up the bulk of Bristol’s office sector, businesses of this kind are increasingly battling a shortage of suitable supply in the city centre says Head of Agency Paul Williams (pictured).
He claims that a number of factors are contributing to the limited choice in mid-sized office supply, and believes that many businesses may soon have no option but to search further afield in order to continue to find suitable accommodation.
Mr Williams says; “Although to the casual observer there are still plenty of ‘To Let’ signs up in the city centre, the reality is that the ‘squeezed middle’ is finding it an increasing struggle to find the right premises in the 1,500-5,000 sq ft bracket.
“Although developers have now begun speculative office development, to date these have all been of larger floorplates above 10,000 sq ft, which although welcome, don’t address the needs of the SME sector looking to increase their office space as the recovery continues to gather pace.
“This is exactly what we predicted might happen and the problem has been exacerbated in Bristol because it is such an attractive place to both live and work – ironically, the city is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success.”
As with many cities in the UK, Bristol has recently experienced an uptick in the number of developers seeking to transform older office buildings into residential apartments or student accommodation.
The government made the decision to temporarily relax Permitted Development Rights (PDR) as a means of both boosting the economy and tackling the housing shortage, yet this is now beginning to have a detrimental impact upon commercial supply in Bristol, Bruton Knowles argues.
“An awful lot of space has gone which is now affecting the market and could stifle business growth. Other policies being pursued by the elected mayor such as Resident’s Parking Zones, while laudable in their aim, risk alienating businesses who may start to give serious thought to relocating away from the centre of Bristol as a result,” says Mr Williams.
Comparing the problems facing the office market with those facing the residential market, he continues: “The housing market is dependent upon first time buyers – if they can’t afford to move the whole system stagnates. It’s just the same with the office sector – if the ‘squeezed middle’ can’t find the accommodation they need the whole lot grinds to a halt.”
