Cambridge office take-up jumped by 30% in 2011, reaching 475, 000 sq ft, according to Bidwells.
The agent said that take-up of business space in Cambridge had bucked the UK trend, reaching an all-time high last year.
But nearly 40% of the total figure was accounted for in just four deals. Last year’s take up was boosted by hefty prelets at Pace Investments’ Botanic House, where law firm Mills & Reeve took 52, 000 sq ft, and Microsoft’s 77, 000 sq ft letting at CB1. The firm said with the city’s supply dwindling to 10 months worth of stock, and speculative development unlikely, the emergence of the prelet market would increase demand and boost rents in 2012.
Lab space also flourished, with take-up increasing three-fold on 2010 levels, at 159,000 sq ft.
But the industrial market suffered, registering a 20% drop and ending the year with 244, 000 sq ft signed for. Bidwells said the majority of this space was taken in the first half of the year.
nadia.elghamry@estatesgazette.com
