The potential demand for office space in Birmingham could exceed 800,000 sq ft over the next decade, new research suggests.
The Birmingham Future Office Demand report, published by property consultancy GVA, analyses occupiers' perceived requirements and take-up activity over the coming decade and identifies key drivers which will affect commercial growth and movement within the market.
Its research said chief among these were lease events, with expiries totalling 3.2 million sq ft for accommodation over 20,000 sq ft due to take place between 2014 and 2026.
Of these, a minimum of 65 per cent, or 2.1 million sq ft, were forecast to relocate to alternative city centre accommodation, with two thirds expected to occur within the grade A sector.
GVA director Charles Toogood said: "Over the past five years following the recession, deals have totalled 632,000 sq ft, only slightly below the 20-year average of 645,000 sq ft.
"This has included substantial inward investment with the likes of Deutsche Bank, the Legal Ombudsman, Vax and the Law Society all completing significant lettings.
"This is a trend that we expect to see continue, with companies looking to recentralise - where occupiers relocate from suburban areas and out-of-town office parks to city centre offices - and decentralise, with rising costs in the South East and London encouraging occupiers to look to regional centres to fulfil their back and mid-office requirements.
"We are fully expecting city centre office demand to continue to grow, with a resurgent economy and increasing occupier confidence driving corporate demand.
"This is particularly true across Birmingham's financial services, professional services and public sector occupiers, who will continue to drive demand for quality space.
"Coupled with the drive towards more sustainable and efficient buildings, and set against the backdrop of a maturing regional office market that has seen huge swathes of regeneration over the last full cycle, increased levels of take up will become a feature of Birmingham's central office market."
He added that GVA was anticipating an average growth in employment of around six per cent in the region, however occupiers would also be making their space work harder, continuing the recent trend towards lower occupational densities.
