The Sheffield office market has performed strongly through Q4 2018, with more than 92,383 sq ft of deals and an annual total of 363,584 sq ft, higher than the average demand.
Office take up totalled more than 164,398 sq ft for H2 according to Knight Frank’s Sheffield office, which has been involved in more than 60 per cent of the deals in Q4, helping the city to outperform the ten-year average annual take up of 300,000 sq ft.
Released by Sheffield’s economic development agency, Invest Sheffield, the 2018 figures show that the city had fewer H2 office transactions than H1, which totalled 199,000 sq ft transacted, but both halves of the year exceeded the 150,000 sq ft ten-year average, despite Q3 dipping to 72,015 sq ft.
Ben White, associate at the Sheffield office of Knight Frank, said: “The commercial property market in Sheffield continues to outperform the ten-year averages for take-up, demonstrating that demand for quality accommodation in the city remains strong.
“The city offers a competitive cost base in comparison to other key regional cities, which in addition to the two universities, offers a great talent pool, and is proving attractive to potential tenants, staff and investors.
“There is a serious shortage of good quality office stock due to strong demand, partly supported by Sheffield’s location and value, which is also driven by the ongoing levels of development within the city centre by both the public and private sectors and improvements to its broader transport infrastructure.
“We don’t foresee these levels of market activity slowing down in the near future, other than the availability of quality space, and although there is development in the pipeline, it is still some way from being brought to market.”
Notable deals for Q4 of 2018 include Social Work England taking 15,000 sq ft at 1 Northbank, Grant Thornton relocating into 13,500 sq ft at the former NUM building on Holly Street, 7,500 sq ft at ARBA Group’s Meadowhall Business Park taken by a national union and Mindbody Inc taking 7,600 sq ft at the Acero building.
