Member Article

Office rental levels in central Manchester nearly double Liverpool’s city centre rates

Rental levels for office space in central Manchester are now almost double those of Liverpool city centre, according to the latest annual office rents map from real estate advisors Colliers International.

The research shows that average rental levels for prime or Grade A office space in central Manchester had increased by 6% to £34 per sq foot and in Manchester South by 22% to £22 per sq ft over the past 12 months.

The rise in the average Grade A rental level for Manchester city meant it was almost double that for central Liverpool which rose by 6% to an average of £18 per sq ft.

Other centres in the North West of England to record rising office rental levels were Salford Quays where the average price per sq ft of Grade A space rose by 5% to £22 and Warrington which enjoyed a 3% rise in the value of its Grade A office space to £16.50 per sq ft.

All other rental levels for both prime and secondary office space in key centres throughout the North West such as Chester and Preston were unchanged.

Director of national offices at the Manchester office of Colliers International, Peter Gallagher, said: “The year-on-year increase in both Grade A and secondary office space rental values in central Manchester is an inevitable consequence of the ongoing and historic imbalance between rising demand from local, national and international occupiers and an all-time low in the availability of new Grade A space as developers scramble to bring game-changing schemes to market.

“The availability of Grade A space in central Manchester dropped by 15% in 2013 and experienced a further marked decline in 2014, when it fell by 38% year on year despite the provision by Argent of 176,000 sq ft at One St Peter’s Square.

“Delivery of further Grade A space will be negligible throughout the second half of 2015 and into 2016/2017 with consequent and continued upward pressure on headline rental levels and reduction in tenant incentives.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .