Edinburgh and Manchester top UK’s regional commercial property markets

With 2015 set to be a ‘stellar year’ for regional city growth, commercial property adviser GVA has compiled key statistics on Grade A office markets for the top nine UK cities. Manchester and Edinburgh topped the charts in terms of Grade A take-up in 2014, on 401,406 sq ft and 333,351 sq ft respectively, while Newcastle was at the bottom on 64,000 sq ft, just behind Liverpool on 67,199 sq ft. Edinburgh and Glasgow led the way in terms of immediately available space and Edinburgh also saw the largest leasing transaction in 2014 with the 108,564sqft deal signed by Standard Life Investment. Manchester (614,000) and Leeds (487,650 sq ft) top the heap in terms of Grade A space under construction. Meanwhile Manchester and Birmingham top the prime rent pile at £32 and £30 per sq ft for prime Grade A space respectively.

Carl Potter, Senior Director and National Head of Offices at GVA, said: “The level of development of new offices within the UK’s regional centres has increased and this has been supported by both investor and developer sentiment; but more pragmatically is a consequence, and realisation that demand levels are clearly able to substantiate new stock. While this will assist in pushing out the tipping point for another year, across the UK Grade A supply has continued once again to diminish. Real levels of rental growth are back as a consequence and as demand improves further this increase will be accelerate. It would be fair to say that 2014 has been a year of the regional markets proving their worth, while 2015 will be the year when they truly come back into vogue.”