M42 and Solihull office market 2025 review

Key 2025 Solihull office market deals

With 2025 securing the most 10,000+ sq ft deals since 2021, H2 saw its largest deal, 23,427 sq ft leased at Blythe Valley Business Park’s One Central Boulevard, significantly contribute to the overall annual total.

In a common trend for the Solihull region, these larger deals were underpinned by a range of 0-10,000 sq ft deals. 38% of the annual take-up was secured in this size bracket, contributing 89,307 sq ft to the total.

Overall, 2025 has shown further market recovery, with its overall take-up 21% above the post-pandemic average (2023-2025).

H2’s largest deal continues TMT popularity

The rise of the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) sector in Solihull over the past several years has been essential to the health of the office market. H2’s biggest deal saw ‘Automotive Intelligence Platform’, Pinewood AI secure 23,427 sq ft at One Central Boulevard.

This singular deal accounted for 32% of the entire half’s take-up, showing once again the power that one lease can make to a region’s property figures.

One Central Boulevard is part of the popular Blythe Valley Business Park, which saw 4 deals achieved in 2025. One of these deals – Emixa’s 4,900 sq ft transaction at Tungsten – saw further take-up from the TMT sector on the park.

An additional three TMT deals, totalling 16,249 sq ft, were made at the Junction 6 and town centre regions, supporting these Blythe Valley transactions and adding to the sector’s continued growth in 2025.

It has been reported that space will be available to lease at Blythe Valley Business Park in 2026, which should be of great interest to occupiers looking to join a strong community, as well as the local office market as a whole.

Biggest average transaction size

For the first time, Solihull’s average transaction size has exceeded 8,000 sq ft. Across all 2025 deals, the average size was 8,036 sq ft – 30% higher than the previous year’s average of 6,170 sq ft.

This could be attributed to current, nationwide trends of occupiers seeking larger spaces for more than just offices. With flexibility, ESG benefits and employee expectations considered more important than ever, larger spaces can enable greater amenities – especially in locations that lack the footfall or features of city centres.

In 2024, Solihull saw the popularity of Homer Road’s AIR grow throughout the year. This was greatly dependent on the high-quality, on-site facilities available, such as a gymnasium, coffee lounge, rooftop terraces and more for occupiers to enjoy.

As Solihull continues to act as a viable alternative to Birmingham city centre, it would be within the region’s interests to invest in more commercial property developments that are able to satisfy these occupier requirements and modern working lifestyles.

J6 continues to dominate market share

Having agreed four more office deals in H2, 2025 saw the Junction 6 area benefit from 15 new transactions – 52% of the year’s total of 29.

In terms of total office space taken, H1’s take-up of 138,199 sq ft at J6 was an impressive 87% of the half’s total space. Meanwhile, H2’s 19,705 sq ft total for the region was 27% of the year’s second half.

The sum of these figures offers a 2025 total of 157,904 sq ft for Junction 6, which is a 68% share of Solihull’s entire annual take-up.

Junction 6’s combination of Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham Airport and the Coleshill area has proven popular and is likely to continue to. This is especially pertinent when considering that 2025’s share percentage is 8% higher than that of the overall post-pandemic era (2023-25). 48 deals were made between 2023 and 2025 for 345,654 sq ft, accounting for 60% of the overall take-up. It will be interesting to see whether this percentage rises again in 2026.

M42 / Solihull post-pandemic take-up by location 2023-25

West Midlands sees market resurgence

Both the Birmingham city centre and Solihull office markets have rebounded from uneven periods since the impact felt by the pandemic.

Solihull and Birmingham’s popularity has shown that both regions have unique benefits that can appeal to many different types of businesses and their working styles. Birmingham is a central hub with a growing infrastructure and wide business community. Meanwhile, Solihull and the M42 corridor offer more convenient travel routes by road and local networking opportunities across a diverse and innovative core.

The diversity of Solihull’s businesses is so difficult to label, in fact, that the largest sector band continues to be ‘Other’ in 2025, with office-based operations from hospitality and medical to travel agents and heating engineers. This demographic amassed 99,241 sq ft over the year – a 43% share of the annual take-up.

Another factor to consider for both regions, as well as the country’s commercial property market as a whole, is the economic uncertainty that has befallen the UK. However, given that confidence was likely raised following this year’s budget announcement, we could see further uplift in 2026.

TMT and Professional Services are key

Away from ‘Other’ and delivering more tangible insights, the TMT and Professional Services sectors have thrived in H2 and across 2025 entirely. This is especially true when looking at the 2023-2025 post-pandemic timeframe.

Between 2023 and 2025, TMT took a total of 100,921 sq ft, with 2024 and 2025 being key years, able to rectify more turbulent figures from the past. 45% of this three-year take-up was accrued in 2024 and a further 44% in 2025 – an 89% share of the sector’s post-pandemic period. This clearly infers that a forecast of excellent strength and consistency is likely for the tech-focused Solihull office market in 2026.

Meanwhile, the Professional Services sector took a total of 121,603 sq ft during the three post-pandemic years. This was supported largely by 2024’s take-up of 52,827 sq ft and 2025’s 40,571 sq ft total for 43% and 33% respectively across 2023-2025. This combines for a total share of 77% for the Professional Services sector’s entire three-year take-up.

Together, both sectors took 39% of the total take-up of all sectors between 2023-2025 with 222,524 sq ft. As both sectors continue to appear reliable, it’ll be of great interest to see how 2026 affects these post-pandemic averages.

M42 / Solihull office market transactions by business sector 2023–2025

Solihull closing in on 10-year average

With take-up numbers continuing to improve in 2025, Solihull’s figures have the region edging closer to the 251,306 10-year average.

The last time the area was able to surpass this number was in 2021, with an overall take-up of 257,583 sq ft. However, 2021’s figures did see the benefits of additional deals made due to the instability of 2020.

Prior to the pandemic, the current 10-year average was exceeded in 2019, with an impressive 363,193 sq ft total. Now, in a post-pandemic world, the market may have finally adjusted to the shift in the outlook towards office space.

Previously, businesses appeared to have grown comfortable with less traditional working styles, with many adapting to downsized office spaces, hot desking situations or other flexible workspaces. However, the rise in space taken post-pandemic does suggest more value is being given to the need for a base of operations, even if it requires a more contemporary style.

In 2025, the total take-up figures for Solihull were just 18,257 sq ft shy of the 10-year average. A further three average-sized deals would have carried the total over the threshold. It will be exciting to see if 2026 can see this milestone achieved.

Outlook for Solihull and M42 in 2026

Solihull cements itself as a key area for niche business

As many of the post-pandemic deals we’ve observed continue to become more difficult to categorise, Solihull is quickly becoming a region that gives more unique businesses clear opportunities. From niche medical providers to AI companies, Solihull has shown it has suitable office space for any unique operation, with more opportunities on the horizon.

Blythe Valley and J6 to thrive

After a series of strong years, it will be fascinating to see if the M42’s Junction 6 area will continue to offer significant take-up figures. Blythe Valley Business Park in particular, which secured 4 new deals in 2025, still has office space available in an attractive location.

Muse to redevelop Mell Square

Planning is now official for a 10-year, 1,600-home revitalisation project in the heart of Solihull’s town centre. Aside from new residential plans, the scheme – which will be called Holbeche Place and replace Mell Square – will see more than 613,000 sq ft of retail, office and civic areas developed, as well as further green space, to rejuvenate the region.

Will there be new investment to establish movement?

With Birmingham city centre benefiting from an influx of investment and its space becoming more limited, it would be positive to see similar investments transpire in the Solihull area. As new spaces are proving popular, especially those like AIR that offer high-quality ESG features, it would be an ideal time for new offices to begin development.