Manchester 2013 office take-up jumps 11.7%

CITY centre take-up in Manchester increased by 11.7% last year to 880,620 sq ft, but demand shrank south of the city and at Salford Quays.
The Manchester Office Agents Forum (MOAF) said there were 255 deals with an average size of 3,195 sq ft, and the vacancy rate fell to a five-year low of 15.3%
Take-up in the fourth quarter was 215,136 sq ft, but there was a sharp decline in south Manchester, Salford Quays and Trafford.
It was an exceptional year for OBI which topped the city centre leasehold acquisition table advising on 12 deals covering 55,072 sq ft, and advised on more lettings, by space, than any other agent. It worked on 65 deals representing 237,532 sq ft. Edwards & Co was close behind on 208,549 sq ft and advised on 70 deals, more than anyone else. See how other agents performed from the tables below.
Available Grade A space in the city centre fell by a third in 2013 and is now 75% below a high of 600,000 sq ft in December 2009. Key deals during the year included World Pay taking 22,069 sq ft of space at 3 Hardman Square, Spinningfields, Jacobs committing to 23,526 sq ft of space at First Street and Travel Jigsaw signing for more than 60,000 sq ft at Sunlight House, Quay Street.
In South Manchester, take-up fell 10.9% to 588,576 sq ft while fourth quarter lettings totalled 139,432 sq ft. The largest transactions were at Manchester Airport and Cheadle Royal Business Park.
Take-up fell by 41.8% to 192,728 sq ft in Salford Quays and Trafford but rallied by 48,134 sq ft in the fourth quarter. The largest transactions were International Gaming Technolog’s 12,600 sq ft lease at Peel Group’s Quay West in MediaCityUK and First Place Estates buying 17,400 sq ft at Peel Cross.
Rupert Barron, director of the office agency at Colliers and spokesperson for MOAF, said: “The central Manchester market continues to witness a strong level of demand for both good quality refurbished stock and Grade A accommodation, that can offer tenants increased flexibility in their workplace strategy.
“If transactions involving Barclays and Trader Media Group complete in the first quarter of 2014, we would see available space drop to a six-year low.”
MOAF members include: CBRE, Canning O’Neill, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, DTZ, Deloitte, Edwards & Co, GVA, Jones Lang LaSalle, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, Matthews & Goodman, OBI Property, P3 Property Consultants, Savills, TSG Property Consultants and WHR.
Lettings
Leasehold acquisitions