Cardiff office rents are forecast to reach £25 per sq ft for the first time in 2016 – a 15% increase on this year’s average rent.
Savills has predicted that the opening of new grade A office space in the city including Rightacres’ One Central Square and JR Smart’s 2 Capital Quarter, will push up rents in the city.
Gary Carver, director of business space at Savills Cardiff, said: “This rise is long overdue as Cardiff still lags behind most major cities in the UK, with Bristol now at £28.50 per sq ft and expected to top £30 per sq ft in 2016.
“Cardiff could feasibly reach £26 per sq ft within the next 18 months.”
Total take-up at the end of the third quarter stood at 299,902 sq ft and Q4 has seen significant prelets complete including a 150,000 sq ft letting at Central Square to the BBC.
This takes the expected total for the year to around 600,000 sq ft – an increase of more than 10% on 2014 and 20% up on the 10-year average.
Average prime yields have sharpened to 6% from 6.5%.
