Coventry and Warwickshire’s office market is ‘alive and kicking’ despite the advent of hybrid working, the founder of an award-winning commercial property agency says.
Tom Bromwich, founding partner of Coventry-based Bromwich Hardy, says companies are increasingly seeking high-quality office space tailor-made to the post-pandemic working environment.
Tom said Bromwich Hardy had secured lettings, sales or acquisitions – or had deals under offer – for 83,000 sq ft of offices in eight buildings across the region in the last quarter.
“The office market is certainly not dead – in our experience it’s alive and kicking – but there is no doubt that it is also evolving in the wake of the pandemic and changes to the way people want or are able to work.
“That means that companies are not necessarily chasing the biggest spaces available but are most certainly concentrating on quality. Offices fitted out to the highest specification, with high-quality amenities, a good location and excellent infrastructure are moving particularly quickly and rent levels are reflecting this.
“Companies in larger spaces are finding that they may not need so much room as staff continue to work remotely or along hybrid lines and are starting to look at the options available or working to make the space they have work more efficiently.
“That means that there are both sales and acquisitions being concluded on both a freehold and leasehold basis, and we see no sign of that starting to fall away despite the current economic situation.
‘It has been fascinating to see the way the market has adapted, both to the post-Covid landscape and to the current economic challenges, and I have no doubt these changes will continue to drive the market for some time yet.”