Boost For Out Of Town Office Take Up

May 11, 2009 - PRLog -- Lettings of out of town offices have more than tripled in the first quarter, according to leading Bristol property agents Colliers CRE.

Out of town lettings around the city rose by 76 per cent on the previous quarter, and 12 per cent on the same quarter of 2008, says data collated by the Broad Quay based agents.

Take up in Bristol city centre totalled 52,964 sq ft in the same period, down 69 per cent on the same period of 2008, and out of town totalled 107,886 sq ft.

James Preece, associate director at Colliers CRE’s Bristol office said: “Office take up overall in Bristol has held up reasonably well, though the city centre has experienced a tough first quarter.

“However, it is important not to place too much weight on statistics for such a short time period. A much clearer picture of the state of the office market will be revealed as we progress through 2009.”

Colliers CRE’s report shows city centre Grade A rents held up reasonably well in the first quarter, while Grade B rents saw a dramatic reduction – with some rents dropping by up to 30 per cent.

At the smaller end of the commercial property market (sub 3,000 sq ft) transaction levels held up well, almost on a par as experienced in the same quarter in 2008.

The largest city centre transaction during the period was the letting of 21,485 sq ft at the UK & Europeans Temple Back scheme to NFU Mutual.

Colliers CRE says the rise in the out of town figures is mainly due to Bristol City Council taking a lease of 59,143 sq ft at the former Somerfield headquarters in Whitchurch.

Meanwhile, unlike the city centre, there has been no drop in Grade B rents in out of town properties during the period with incentive packages remaining the main tool of negotiation.

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The Colliers CRE Group provides a broad range of real estate consultancy services including agency, valuation, property management, building consultancy and general consultancy to both UK and international clients. These services are delivered through specialist sector or service line teams which work closely together to provide an integrated service.

Release issued by Empica - http://www.empica.co.uk