An influential review of Bristol’s commercial property market in 2012 reveals that the take up of office space in the city centre performed slightly below the national average, while out of town lettings performed better than average.
Produced by leading property advisers, CBRE Bristol, the report reveals a total take up of office space in the city centre of 409,225 sq. ft, which is slightly below that of 2011. However, there was an improvement in out of town take up, which totalled 251,373 sq. ft.
Philip Morton, Senior Director, CBRE Bristol, commented on the picture behind the statistics: “Most demand has been driven by the financial services sector. There has been some restructuring of corporate organisations prior to moving location, resulting in a slight reduction in overall space requirements, which is especially noticeable in the city centre.
“This is coupled with increasingly advanced workplace solutions that effectively mean occupiers require less space per employee.
“Bristol’s out of town office space has seen a broader mix of demand, including some specialist sectors, such as science and technology, which has helped create a lift in these figures.”
Although 2012 was largely static, CBRE is highlighting Bristol as one of the cities nationally that is poised for growth in 2013.
“There is no doubt that having an elected Mayor has added new impetus to interest in Bristol and with his experience in the sector George Ferguson may well be able help unlock planning issues that have held back some key development opportunities, which will be very attractive and particularly help grade A supply,” Mr Morton added.
