Such was the demand for serviced office space in Birmingham last year that - outside of London - the city came out top in the 2007 ranking of serviced office hotspots compiled by officebroker.com.
The company, which works with more than 97 per cent of the UK's serviced office space providers and landlords, analyses its own extensive brokerage data on an annual basis to provide a snapshot of the country's commercial property market.
While central London and towns along the M4 corridor feature heavily in the officebroker.com Top 10 list, it is Birmingham which is stealing a march on rival towns and cities when it comes to demand for serviced office space from the business community.
"Birmingham continues to thrive, both as a business environment but also as a great city to live in," said Jim Venables, managing director of officebroker.com.
"Demand for office space remains extremely strong. Indeed, in 2007 we saw a 41 per cent increase in the number of enquiries for serviced office space in the city compared to the previous year and, outside of London, we brokered more deals for businesses seeking space in Birmingham than anywhere else in the UK."
He added: "The range of office space available in Birmingham is vast. From funky warehouse space to out of town business parks, contemporary city centre developments to period style office accommodation, this is a city that offers the business community an incredible amount of choice in terms of available space, therefore allowing it to meet the diverse needs of many different types of business."
Other towns and cities which saw demand increase significantly in 2007 included Liverpool, the 2008 Capital of Culture, where officebroker.com saw revenue increase by 46 per cent from 2006 to 2007.
"High levels of investment in Liverpool and the city's Capital of Culture status have no doubt boosted its standing as a place to do business in," said Mr Venables. "We expect strong demand to continue for the foreseeable future."
Additional hotspots cited included Warrington, Cardiff, Cambridge and Leeds. Nottingham, Watford and Bristol also enjoyed significant interest and growth throughout 2007.
Mr Venables said: "The serviced office sector in the UK continues to thrive and landlords looking to let space can contact officebroker.com."
