Office take-up in and around Nottingham was up 46% in Q4 2017 compared to the same quarter the previous year, says research from national property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).
According to LSH’s latest Office Pulse report, Q4 was the busiest quarter of the year, with 103,754 sq ft take-up – rising by 37% on Q3.
Phil Quiggin, head of office at LSH Nottingham, said: “Office take-up in Q4 showed a rise of 46% on the previous year, which is good news, but the total for the year shows it is the lowest annual take-up for seven years and that availability is still falling.
“Q1 is shaping up to be an active quarter, but lettings will again be held back by limited availability.”
LSH reported 16 deals between October and December last year, six of which were greater than 5,000 sq ft.
The largest deals of the period were out of town, with 27,000 sq ft at Aspect Business Park to Homeserve and 31,000 sq ft at Lenton Lane to Siemens.
However, at 305,780 sq ft the total take-up for 2017 was the lowest annual figure for seven years and approximately 33% below the 10-year average.
Total office availability across the city centre and out-of-town locations also fell and now stands at under 1.2million sq ft. There was a notable addition in the city centre during Q4, with the refurbishment of 29,000 sq ft at One Royal Standard Place.
The report shows that there is still less than 13% Grade A space and 30% of stock is Grade C with a need for refurbishment.
