Birmingham recorded the largest amount of secondary office space sold for conversion to education use in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ in the last three years, according to a new report.
Between 2022 and 2024, 283,474 sq ft of secondary office space in the city was sold for repurposing.
Of that, 220,997 sq ft was earmarked for educational use, positioning Birmingham as the most active º£½ÇÊÓƵ city for office-to-education conversions over the period.
The report, produced by property agency CBRE, also said that a further 62,477 sq ft was sold for student accommodation, second only to London, with 378,459 sq ft.
Sign up for your free West Midlands newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the West Midlands including Birmingham, the Black Country, Solihull, Coventry and Staffordshire.
Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates.
We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away.
For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our
Among the offices sold for educational use was the 86,000 sq ft 10 Woodcock Street, which was acquired by Aston University from Birmingham City Council in September, and York House, a 22,175 sq ft building in Great Charles Street which was bought by Planet Education Networks in 2023.
ccording to CBRE, the office-to-education conversion trend is being driven by the higher education sector's growing demand for centrally located, adaptable spaces.
In 2024 alone, education-related lettings accounted for 44 per cent of Birmingham's total office take-up.
Theo Holmes, senior director and head of office agency at CBRE in Birmingham, said: "As º£½ÇÊÓƵ cities like Birmingham evolve, the role of secondary office stock is being fundamentally redefined, supporting vibrant, mixed-use urban environments and helping to meet critical infrastructure needs for housing and education.
"The similarity between educational and traditional office space needs, such as large efficient floorplates, combined with Birmingham's excellent amenities and transport links, makes such conversions both practical and beneficial."
CBRE's latest research shows that nearly six million sq ft of office space across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ has been sold for repurposing in the past three years.
While life sciences accounted for a significant portion - 2.2 million sq ft, focused primarily in London, Cambridge and Oxford - the most widespread new use for former office space across º£½ÇÊÓƵ cities was residential.
Other alternative uses include hotels, student accommodation, education, mixed-use, industrial, and medical.
