Birmingham will run out of grade-A office space within ?18 months if no speculative development is brought forward soon, according to GVA.
Grade-A office requirements for the West Midlands city ?currently total 350,000 sq ft with a further 800,000 sq ft of requirements expected between 2014 and 2018 due to impending lease events, according to regional senior director Ian Stringer.
This comes at a time when no new office space is under construction.
Speaking at the Birmingham and Midlands Property Forum this week, he said: “This ?is dangerous and it is about time the market had a kick up ?the bum.”
He added there was now a “clear window of opportunity for developers”, with rising rents and a reduction in the need for incentives predicted in the short to medium term.
Meanwhile, law firm Wragge & Co is marketing 50,000 sq ft of its as yet unused space at Hines’ Two Snowhill office block in Birmingham.
Wragge originally signed up for 184,000 sq ft in 2008, a 50,000 sq ft expansion on its current offices at 55 Colmore Row.
But it has commissioned DTZ to market the extra 50,000 sq ft, which is now deemed surplus to requirements.
It will move to in Q3 2014.
