The 150,000 sq ft letting to BBC Wales in Cardiff was the headline deal across the UK in the final quarter of 2015, according to Bilfinger GVA’s Big Nine Report. In its quarterly analysis of the UK’s major regional city centres, the BBC Wales deal dominated lettings across the nine centres studied.
BBC Wales secured the 150,000 sq ft letting, following L&G’s £400m backing for the Central Square scheme.
The deal was a major contributor to the UK total of Q4 2015 occupier take-up, which came in at 1.67 million sq ft, 38% above the five year average.
According to Bilfinger GVA, strong take-up figures during the final quarter of the year across the ‘big nine’ cities took total activity for 2015 to 9.6 million sq ft, 20% above the five year average.
Cardiff’s total Q4 take-up figure of 290, 374 sq ft, dwarfed its five-year quarterly average of 94,158.
“The widespread resurgence in the city centre office market with the release of the BBC Wales letting, plus a strong final quarter, mean transactions in the offices sector and statistics for 2015 are some way above the average. With strong demand for city centre Grade A offices, rentals are already topping £24psf and in the first quarter of 2016 are expected to rise further again,” says Tom Merrifield, Regional Head of Agency at Bilfinger GVA in Cardiff.
“This is hugely encouraging for landlords and developers,” he continues. “The steady increase in demand, in particular supported by a number of larger active requirements, now supports the widely anticipated movement in rentals for both Grade A and Grade B stock.”
