A commercial property agency in Hampshire has topped a closely-watched office space league table for the third consecutive year.
Hughes Ellard recorded 44 deals, involving a total of 274,000 sq ft, along the M27 Corridor between Southampton and Portsmouth.
Estates Gazette, regarded as the UK’s bible for the commercial property sector, compiled the league table from transactions recorded between September 2014 to August 2015.
Gary Jeffries, Hughes Ellard’s managing director, said: “Topping the league table for a third consecutive year stands testament to the expertise of the staff here at Hughes Ellard – they have a deep understanding of what clients need and what office space and location will best suit their future needs.
“The 274,000 sq ft is almost identical to the amount of space we led on last year – the healthy figure is also a reflection of a powerhouse regional economy, with a great mix of blue-chips, small-to-medium enterprises and a thriving community of entrepreneurs.
“We proudly help successful companies grow, whatever their size, and deliver results for commercial property investors, from landlords with small portfolios to multi-national pension funds.”
Hughes Ellard’s business space team include Gary, Russell Mogridge, Nix Cox, Tim Clark and Harnish Patel.
As in previous years, the league table excluded investment sales, lease renewals and re-gearing and included joint agent deals.
Second in the table was Lambert Smith, with Knight Frank in third place.
According to transaction information supplied by agents to Estates Gazette, there were 200 deals overall.
They represented a take-up of just under 612,000 sq ft, a slight decrease of 3% on the previous year.
Average deal size was 3,059 sq ft.
With Hughes Ellard as joint agent, the largest deal was the 70,310 sq ft letting to HSBC bank at Forum 1 at Solent Business Park, Whiteley, just off junction 9 of the M27.
Comprising the largest urban economy in the south east, outside of London, the Solent region is anchored around the two cities of Southampton and Portsmouth.
There are reportedly more than 50,000 businesses, with a population of 1.3m people.
Following the recent appointment of building surveyor Nick Miles, independent Hughes Ellard has a record 27 staff.
The firm, established 42 years ago, has offices at Ocean Village, Southampton, and the Cams Hall business park in Fareham.
Hughes Ellard’s professional services include development appraisal, search and acquisition, valuation, rent review and lease renewal, asset management, building consultancy, disposals and investment advice throughout the Solent Corridor and the UK.
