The East Midlands office market is heading for a record breaking year — with more than 200,000 sq ft being transacted in the second quarter of 2015 alone.
Lambert Smith Hampton’s East Midlands office agency head, Jane Taylor
According to the latest Office Market Pulse from commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), between April and June this year both Leicester and Derby recorded their largest office deals for more than 15 years.
In Leicester, Hastings Direct took 65,000 sq ft at St George’s Central, by far the biggest chunk of the 127,000 sq ft of office space taken in the city during the second quarter. There were also several smaller signings, with three of the 24 deals covering 5,000 sq ft or less.
Derby also enjoyed its largest office letting to date with the 32,309 sq ft deal between the University of Derby and Lowbridge (Derby) Ltd. In total, the city saw an increase of 82 per cent, compared to the year’s first quarter, with lettings of 58,716 sq ft.
And in Nottingham, the largest deal was the 30,798 sq ft disposal of the city’s New College building, which made up around a third of the total volume for the previous three months.
Jane Taylor, head of LSH’s East Midlands office agency, claimed the increased second quarter activity reflected a “strengthening market” but stressed the region still suffered from an undersupply of high quality accommodation.
“The office market in the East Midlands is dominated by secondary stock and while we have seen an increase in activity in the second quarter of the year, the majority of these deals are under 5,000 sq ft and involve businesses relocating within the region,” she added.
“There remain some sizable requirements in the region and the conditions are favourable to attract further investment.”
Taylor said her office was actively marketing two new Grade A, three-storey office buildings at Watermead Business Park on behalf of developers Marlborough Property Group and had received significant interest from a number of companies attracted to the area as a place to grow their businesses.
“That notwithstanding, at present there is very little stock with significant floorplates that meet modern occupier requirements and only limited development in the pipeline,” she concluded.
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