Oxbridge rents have risen 11.9% in a year, compared with 2.2% growth in the UK average outside London.
Property consultants Bidwells examined rents for the first half of 2019 compared with the same period last year. Prime rents in Cambridge now stand at £45 per sq ft, with Oxford at £40 per sq ft.
Bidwells forecast Cambridge rents will reach £50 per sq ft over the next five years.
The university cities’ values are ahead of any other regional office market in the UK, and only slightly below the key London markets of Canary Wharf (£48.50 per sq ft) and Stratford (£48.00 per sq ft).
Dick Wise, head of business space agency at Bidwells, said: “The Cambridge office market is on track for its busiest year since 2014, during one of the most uncertain economic periods in living memory, and now looks set to break the once unthought-of £50 per sq ft mark within five years.
“Oxford is a global hotspot for innovation and technology transfer, with a mature eco-system plus billions of pounds of public and private investment being made into fast-growing spin out companies, national research facilities and infrastructure. The recent announcement of a partnership between Legal and General and the University of Oxford is a recent example.”
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