Birmingham serviced offices growing in popularity

DATA from officebroker.com has shown an 18% increase in the number of businesses moving to serviced office space in Birmingham city centre compared to 12 months ago.

The organisation suggests the demand is being fuelled by the need for flexible office accommodation and by decision makers being reluctant to invest heavily on property requirements.

Companies are also committing for longer when compared to 2012 with initial licence periods increasing from eight months to ten.

The report also revealed larger businesses are moving into the city and making use of flexible office space. The number of desks required by companies has doubled when compared to the first two months of 2012 from four up to eight.

But increasing levels of interest and take up has seen prices in the city rise. Across the 25 serviced offices in Birmingham city centre, rental costs have increased from £210 to £242 per desk, per month.

This places Birmingham above the national average, excluding Central London, of £223 per desk per month.

Chris Meredith, CEO at officebroker.com, said: “Compared to other UK cities, Birmingham appears to be performing well and it’s encouraging to see positive indicators of growth.

“We have seen a rise in rental costs due to on-going demand and healthy occupancy levels. Businesses are seeking out the flexibility they need to enable them to grow without taking on long-term financial commitments in order to secure office accommodation.

“What I believe this data shows, is that Birmingham is a place where companies want to do business and the consistent growth and progress in this important section of the property market over the last 12 months is likely to continue in 2013.”