KWB involved in a third of Birmingham office deals in Q2

BIRMINGHAM property consultancy KWB has worked out that it was involved in a third of the city centre’s office deals and half of the deals done in Solihull in the second quarter of this year.

Based on the Birmingham Office Market Forum’s Q2 research statistics, KWB completed 31% of offices in Birmingham and 52% of offices in Solihull.

The firm says Q2 was a particularly active period as it was involved in nine of the 29 transactions for office space in Birmingham.

These ranged between Birmingham city centre proper to the Jewellery Quarter and Edgbaston. KWB says has been responsible for the top three transactions for offices in Edgbaston so far this year, totalling more than 18,000 sq ft.

In Solihull KWB let or sold 31,000 sq ft to office occupiers during the period.

The occupiers were diverse in their activities, including facilities management, industry forum, energy comparison and press agency as well as creative, IT and construction.

However, despite a period of frenetic activity, KWB is warning of a lack of Grade A office space.

It is warning that occupiers searching for office space in Solihull in excess of 10,000 sq ft will start to experience lack of choice. The shortage of office space means that incentive levels will reduce and rental levels will increase, it suggests.

Mark Robinson, a partner at KWB, said: “For companies with office lease breaks or lease expiries approaching within the next 18 months to two years – or even three years for larger companies – now is the time to assess your options for office space.”