DJD reveal Birmingham office space rents remained static in 2011
A new report from Drivers Jonas Deloitte shows prime rents in 
Birmingham remained static in 2011.
The UK Key Cities Office Trends 2012 report also revealed a weak market resulted in a national fall in occupier demand and investment volumes last year.
The latest UK Key Cities Office Trends report from Drivers Jonas Deloitte has revealed that the majority of Birmingham office rents remained static throughout the course of 2011.
Although a large proportion of prime office rents in the city remained at around £27.50 per sq ft, some rents fell to £20-£25 per sq ft according to the report. Drivers Jonas Deloitte also revealed that total occupational take up in Birmingham hit just under 700,000 sq ft across 141 deals last year – a number remarkably close to the total for 2010.
Commenting on the findings, Philippa Pickavance from Midlands Drivers Jonas Deloitte said: “Although in Birmingham UK property companies were the predominant investor – acquiring four properties totalling £140 million – foreign investors have been venturing outside of London in search of prime office stock. Foreign investors in Birmingham included DEKA Immoblien and IVG Institutional Funds, purchasing two lots totalling £40 million, 10-15 Livery Street and 111 Edmund Street respectively.”
The Key Cities report also helped to shed light on the current status of the UK office market as a whole. It revealed that weak market conditions led to a fall in both national occupier demand and national investment volumes in 2011. And Drivers Jonas Deloitte don’t believe the outlook will be any better for the next 12 months. They expect caution to continue in both the the occupier and investment markets during the first six months of 2012.
Head of research at Drivers Jonas Deloitte Anthony Duggan commented: “Coupled with the lack of development, we expect to see a further squeeze on available Grade A space. Developers will remain tentative on new speculative starts resulting in upward pressure applied to prime rents towards the end of the year in most markets, with a few exceptions.”