Office occupiers favour Bristol among big six regional cities

Bristol has enjoyed the greatest take up of city centre office space so far this year compared with the other big six regional cities, according to Savills. Combined, office markets across Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Leeds have seen a 10% year-on-year increase in take up to 1.8m sq ft over the six months to 30 June. Bristol was leading growth, with annual occupier activity accelerating by 70%, followed by Glasgow, which recorded 50% growth, Manchester at 29% and Birmingham at 12%. James Evans, head of national office agency at Savills, says: “With development viability questionable, these levels of demand will continue to place pressure on levels of supply in all markets. This is already resulting in rental growth and limiting options for those occupiers with forthcoming lease events.” The largest regional office deals so far this year saw the BBC taking 84,000 sq ft at 90 Bordesley Street in Birmingham, which completed in Q1 2024, and Cubo taking 59,000 sq ft at Spinningfields in Manchester, which completed in Q2 2024. Savills has also noted that occupiers are continuing to shift towards sustainable workspaces and higher quality environments, emphasising employee well-being and potential cost savings. The research has shown that 62% of office space taken across the six regional cities was of prime and grade-A specification. Photo © John McMahon/Unsplash