Office rents in Bristol are soaring amid rising demand for Grade A space and a shortage of supply, a new report has revealed. Headline rents in the city now stand at £48 per sq ft - the highest of any of the 海角视频’s big six cities, according to the latest data from the Bristol Office Agents Society (OAS).
Bristol’s city centre market saw 29 deals complete in quarter two, with a total take up of 126,056 sq ft, to bring the total for the first six months of the year to 253,035 sq ft. This is just below the five-year average, but when compared to the same period last year shows a 58% increase.
Both the city centre and out-of-town markets have seen take up in line with overall quarterly averages and ahead of average take up figures for quarter two.
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The largest deal of Q2 was a 20,365 sq ft letting at One Temple Quay. Further large deals include Ridge and Partners commitment to grow within Picton’s Tower Wharf, where they are expanding into 13,559 sq ft, and CEG securing three occupiers - Rathbones, Birketts Law and Knights - at the recently completed EQ building.
These lettings, along with deals at 10 Victoria Street, Assembly and One Hundred are all indicators there is a continued trend towards high-quality space in the city centre as businesses continue to seek Grade A space.
Current levels of supply remain low in the city centre, however. Tristan Capital’s Welcome Building and APAM’s One Friary are the only new build schemes under construction. Several schemes have recently completed including CEG’s EQ, AXA and Bell Hammer’s Assembly, and Umberslade’s Cargo Work, but have secured tenants and have strong interest in the remaining space, the report said.
Chris Howell, director at Howell Commercial, said “Like many sub-markets vacancy rates are rising but the reinvention of grade B stock continues at pace, which is testament to the underlying strength of the city’s professional and technology sectors."
The out-of-town market also performed well in quarter two, the report said, with 77,330 sq ft of take up from 10 deals. The largest of these was Sirona Care and Health signing to take 20,420 sq ft within South Gloucestershire Council offices in Yate.
JLL’s director of office agency Ian Wills added: “The number of transactions in Q2 is in excess of pre-Covid levels which is really encouraging. It is also fantastic to see companies like Ridge & Partners and Great American Insurance growing, the later increasing their office space threefold."