Take-up down more than 40% would, in usual times, be an eye-catching market movement. However, these are not usual times and for obvious reasons it was somewhat expected. But this is only part of the picture and it would not do the Manchester office market any justice to concentrate purely on the negatives.
Instead, the focus is on the positives, and there does appear to be plenty of room for optimism in the latest figures from EG’s Radius Data Exchange.
The first four months of the period (August-November) saw almost 450,000 sq ft disposed of, followed by more than 480,000 sq ft in the next four (December-March). If these figures had continued for the final four-month period, the Manchester office market could have been looking at a total closer to the 1.5m sq ft figure it has become accustomed to over the past five years.
It must also be remembered that the fall in transacted space is highlighted even further when comparing it to the record take-up from last year’s league table.
Savills claimed the top spot for the third year in a row, helped by being involved in three of the five biggest deals of the year, including two deals jointly with CBRE at M&G Real Estate and intu’s Arndale House: 41,460 sq ft to Co-op and 35,476 sq ft to Markerstudy.
Avison Young completed the most deals over the 12 months, at 38. The majority of its deals fell in the 1,000-5,000 sq ft range. One of its largest deals was 20,700 sq ft to the Doctors Company at Regents Place, Salford. It acted jointly with Lambert Smith Hampton, which is back in the top 10 after dropping out last year.
Get weekly updates on the deals being done by Radius Data Exchange contributors at www.egi.co.uk/radiusdx/contributor-rankings
