Having failed to benefit from high prices in London, Wales has only a 0.07% share of the UK total of office investment.
Wales should be raking it in. But instead it’s loitering at the bottom of the UK’s investment table, according to research by Cardiff-based Stephenson Alexander. High property prices and fierce competition in London have sent many investors running for the regional hills but not to the Welsh valleys.
Peter Graham, director at the firm, sketches a picture of an office market heavily reliant on the public sector and indigenous occupier demand. “Cardiff cannot continue to sell itself as a cheaper office location,” he says. “It needs to attract headquarters operations and see genuine rental growth; a few major PLCs attracted here would encourage others.”
So while other major cities like Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester have reeled in footloose financiers, Cardiff, says Graham, is unlikely to be near the top of the list of favoured provincial cities. “While distance from London is a factor, the decision is also down to key issues like longer leases, quality tenants and quality opportunities offering rental and capital growth.”
