Strong demand drives up Manchester office rents

Office take-up in Manchester accelerated in the third quarter, pushing rents in the city towards a new high, according to Savills. The consultancy recorded 432,619 sq ft of take-up in the city in Q3 2024, up 23% on the same period last year. For the first nine months of this year, the figure was 943,504 sq ft, up 28% year-on-year.  The largest deal of the quarter was Bank of New York Mellon taking 197,000 sq ft at MEPC’s 4 Angel Square.  Savills expects 2024 to be a record post-Covid year, with take-up predicted to reach 1.3m sq ft, exceeding the 1.2m sq ft transacted in 2022. With limited development in the pipeline, headline rents are expected to tick up to £45 per sq ft in Q4 from £44 per sq ft at the end of Q3. Richard Lowe, director at Savills, said: “Driven by some deals, the Manchester office market has seen an increase in take-up activity this year, underlining the strong fundamentals of the city as a business destination. “As we move forwards, however, there will be challenges around the supply of new stock given the low levels of development beyond what is currently in the ground, which will likely result in occupiers turning to high-quality refurbished stock.”