Cambridge has stormed ahead of Oxford in the race for office occupiers, with take-up in its core markets up 75% in the past five years, nearly double Oxford’s growth of 40%.
Cambridge’s office take-up reached nearly 700,000 sq ft last year, up from 400,000 sq ft in 2009, according to research published in this week’s Estate’s Gazette by EGi Offices Research. This compares to Oxford’s total of 530,000 sq ft, up more moderately from 380,000 sq ft five years ago.
On paper the two cities have similar sizes, but in recent years Cambridge’s growth has outstripped its old rival.
On measures such as planning applications and amount of take-up, the capital of the fens is a clear winner, but a looming supply crunch might just allow Oxford to catch up.
