Fringe area deals disappearing from Birmingham office market

The Birmingham office market continues to be dominated by transactions within the city centre’s core in the first quarter of 2018, as Edgbaston, Digbeth and Eastside almost disappeared from the Q1 take-up figures.

Edgbaston accounted for just over 2% of the 148,483 sq ft of transacted office space, with just 3,680 sq ft of lettings, while there were no transactions in Digbeth and Eastside. Only the Jewellery Quarter, with 9% of the space transacted, made a significant contribution to the Q1 figures, says Mark Robinson, Director in KWB’s Office Agency Team, writing in KWB’s Q1 2018 Birmingham Office Market Report.

The Mailbox, Birmingham city centre

Mark Robinson, Director of KWB Birmingham commercial property agents, said: “This quarter’s figures underline that Birmingham city core really is the place to be for office occupiers, particularly for those leasing space. It’s possible that some occupiers are being drawn from fringe area office space into the city centre’s serviced offices, as many companies in these areas are the target market for flexible space. 

“With yet another serviced office provider, Orega, taking a further 11,343 sq ft in the central core in Q1, added to the more than 200,000 sq ft of serviced office space transacted in 2017, it is a trend that looks set to continue.”

With the availability of high-quality office space in fringe areas of Birmingham city centre running so low, KWB encourages any occupiers considering their office space options to get in touch. KWB still has an array of space in areas such as Edgbaston and the Jewellery Quarter but with the office space drought in these locations, now is the time to act.

Each quarter, KWB publishes research into the Birmingham city centre office market, listing all the office transactions and providing its view of the current and future market. KWB’s complete Q1 research for Birmingham can be found here, and for the full list of transactions click here.

For more information on the Birmingham city centre office market, contact Mark Robinson on 0121 233 2330 or email mrobinson@kwboffice.com.