National commercial property consultancy, Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), has released its Q4 2011 office statistics for the Thames Valley, highlighting a plateau in take-up over the last two years.
Take-up in 2011 totalled 1.7m sq ft, equal to the figures recorded at the end of 2010. 387,753 sq ft of this total was transacted in Q4, with key deals completed at Bedfont Lakes in Heathrow, Maidenhead Office Park, IQ Winnersh, Globe Park in Marlow and Dukes Court, Woking.
Nick Coote, Head of LSH’s Thames Valley team, commented: “Despite the downturn, the region’s office market has held up with the same annual take-up over the last two years. This is predominantly driven by lease events on office buildings, which are date-driven rather than economically-driven. Occupiers are consequently prompted to move if the life of their existing building has expired through mechanical and electrical systems and air conditioning, or if they simply want to upgrade to more modern and therefore efficient workspace.”
Of the 12m sq ft of available office space in the region only 28% is grade A and, with limited speculative development on the horizon, landlords are advised to refurbish their secondary stock to secure strong covenants over the next 12 months and to prepare for the upturn in demand in 2014.
Nick concluded: “The quality vs. supply dynamic is becoming an increasing issue for the region’s office market. Between 2013 and 2014 we are anticipating a serious shortage in grade A supply in several Thames Valley centres, and therefore hope that 2012 will see investors make braver steps to fill the void of the quality, grade A product that modern office occupiers are looking for.”
All data reflects take-up and availability above 5,000 sq ft.
