Southampton is facing a severe shortage of office supply, with 212,000 sq ft of existing stock lost for alternative uses since May 2013.
JLL said that 274,500 sq ft of development land with the potential for offices had also now been earmarked for other uses in Southampton and the South Coast region.
The agent also calculated in its South Coast Metropole report that 422,626 sq ft of office deals had been completed in the first three quarters of 2014 – an increase of 50% on the same period last year.
Michael Green, lead director in JLL’s Southampton office, said: “The recent rise in demand, coupled with the reduction in supply partly brought about by a change the relaxation of the planning regime, means there is an ever-greater need for speculative development in the region to complement the current round of refurbishments.”
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
