Businesses from the legal and professional & financial services sectors have been driving the demand for office space in Manchester so far this year, according to the local Office Agents Forum.
Over the three months to the end of June, 179,073 sq ft of workspace was transacted in the city centre, resulting in 390,470 sq ft leased in the first half of 2023.
Among the notable deals were Arup’s 15,218 sq ft expansion at 3 Piccadilly Place and a 15,436 sq ft transaction at Bonded Warehouse, which will be a new home for advertising and PR firm Dentsu.
Richard Lace, director at consultancy OBI Property, said: “The outlook for the city remains positive, with significant size requirements in the market from both existing Manchester businesses but also new entrants seeking to establish a presence in the city.”
Outside the city centre, the Salford Quays and Old Trafford office market saw 78,747 sq ft of transactions recorded over the three-month period, almost 18% up quarter-on-quarter. For the half-year, take-up of commercial workspace totalled 145,786 sq ft, up from 134,484 sq ft transacted for the same period last year.
The largest deal was RAC Motoring Services taking 22,750 sq ft of space at the Vic at MediaCity UK.
Elsewhere, south Manchester’s office market take-up stood at 146,806 sq ft at the end of June, outperforming the five-year rolling quarterly average of 129,105 sq ft. This took the take-up figure for the first half of 2023 to 281,862 sq ft, up from 153,645 sq ft recorded a year ago.
Notable deals in south Manchester included Seda Pharma Developments agreeing a lease on 37,130 sq ft of workspace at the Lakehouse in Cheadle.
Mark Garner, associate director at CBRE, said: “The quality of development in these areas continues to evolve and improve, which is driving demand from occupiers looking to secure easily commutable, sustainable workspace that is rich in amenity and communal facilities for their staff.
“In the past three months alone we have seen more than 500,000 sq ft of new requirements circulated from occupiers looking to secure space within these regional markets. We are expecting take-up to remain strong in the remaining quarters of the year.”
Manchester Office Agents Forum was formed in 2009, and members include Avison Young, BE Group, CBRE, Colliers, Canning O’Neill, Cushman & Wakefield, Edwards & Co, Hallams Property Consultants, JLL, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, Matthews & Goodman, OBI, Savills, Sixteen and TSG Property Consultants.
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