Office space Solihull and M42 corridor – quarter 2 2012 take-up

The market for offices in Solihull and the M42 corridor continues with a strong level of demand in 2012.

Based on the first two quarters, if we exclude the Wythall Green transaction*, there has been a total of 188,707 sq ft of office space transacted in 28 deals this year, giving an average letting of 6,740 sq ft of office space.

*With regard to Wythall Green, whilst the office building was sold for a market derived figure, it formed part of a larger business transaction and, as such, wasn’t technically available to the market as a whole. For this reason, we have discounted it from our market analysis.

Q2 highlights for Solihull office space transactions

The most notable deals by transaction size in the latest quarter include:

  • Emcor’s acquisition of c. 10,000 sq ft at One Cranmore Drive offices in Shirley
  • PMPS acquiring c. 9,000 sq ft in Building 300 at Trinity Park, Solihull next to Birmingham Airport
  • Thomas & Young’s acquisition of Carleton House comprising c. 9,000 sq ft of office space in Shirley

With these exceptions, remaining office lettings range from c. 2,000-4,500 sq ft, which are more typical of the market. With consistent demand and those enquiries progressing to completion, the M42/Solihull office market continues to benefit from its diverse economic base with no real pattern of which sectors office occupiers emanate from. Perhaps more reassuring is the number of local businesses prospering and in need of consolidating a number of sites or an office relocation to secure more efficient premises.

Office rental levels remain competitive but, if demand continues at its current level, we anticipate that the negotiating hand may swing more in favour of landlords.

Offices at Birmingham Business Park showing stronger enquiry levels

Over the last 2 years, approximately 30% of office take-up has been in the south end of the M42 area, namely offices in Redditch and Bromsgrove, with only 17% being located at Junction 6, specifically Birmingham Business Park. In 2012, this has changed slightly so that while the M42 south is strong, almost 50% of the number of transactions are representative of Solihull becoming more active, most notably at Birmingham Business Park, which is seeing stronger enquiry levels for office space than has recently been the case.

See full details of the transactions for office space in Solihull and M42 corridor.