The office market in south Manchester was boosted this week by new deals, new requirements and renewed developer activity.
AMEC let 16,350 sq ft at its Cheadle Royal scheme on the A34 near Cheadle to brick manufacturer Wienerberger.
The company is paying £18.50 on a 10-year lease for the space in the Northside Two phase.
DTZ and Lambert Smith Hampton acted for AMEC and joint venture partner Britannic Asset Management. Scott Frazer advised Wienerberger.
A number of sizeable requirements are also circulating.
Intervoice and Yes Telecom are both in the market for around 40,000 sq ft, while Yell.com wants up to 25,000 sq ft.
Local agents said the market was improving after a slow start to 2005.
Take-up in the first half stood at between 175,000 sq ft and 200,000 sq ft less than half the average annual total for the past five years of 500,000 sq ft.
But Steve Carrick, associate director at CBRE, said: “There are now enough requirements to see us hit 500,000 sq ft by the end of the year.”
In response, a number of developers are considering speculative starts.
One is Arlington, which is pondering a start on a new 42,000 sq ft phase at Manchester Business Park before the end of the year.
Its advisers, Dunlop Haywards and CBRE, would not comment on the scheme.
References: EGi News 05/08/05
