MOAF: Manchester office take-up reaches 1.2m sq ft in 2022
A bumper Q4 saw 427,000 sq ft of deals complete in the city centre, taking yearly transactions comfortably above the 1m sq ft mark, according to Manchester Office Agents Forum.
The 1.2m sq ft of deals recorded in 2022 is 15% higher than the 1m sq ft take-up figure in 2021 and not far off the 1.45m sq ft recorded in 2019.
“The final part of the year heralded a number of large transactions, while rental growth has also continued,” said John Nash, director at Manchester-based office agency, Canning O’Neill.
The largest deal of Q4 2022 saw Deloitte put pen to paper on a deal that will see the consultancy open a new 63,000 sq ft office at 100 Embankment.
Two deals in excess of 35,000 sq ft at Manchester Goods Yard to Peak AI and Cloud Imperium Games also contributed to Manchester’s yearly total.
Other notable deals included Xero taking the top floor at Barings’ Landmark, which set a new headline rent for Manchester of £40/sq ft.
The 427,000 sq ft transacted in Q4 was 30% higher than the 326,000 sq ft recorded in the previous quarter.
Xero’s Landmark deal set a new headline rent for the city. Credit: via Space PR
Outside of the city centre, the Salford Quays and Old Trafford office market saw annual take-up increase to 277,802 sq ft from 255,791 sq ft year-on-year.
There were five deals of more than 10,000 sq ft in the final quarter of 2022; Horwich Farrelly’s 16,040 sq ft deal at Orange in MediaCity was the largest.
The South Manchester market saw 463,000 sq ft of deals throughout 2022, down on the 496,677 sq ft recorded in 2021.
Alderley Park in Cheshire East, which MOAF has factored into its calculations since Bruntwood acquired it in 2014, secured the largest letting of the quarter to Airship Interactive which took 15,385 sq ft.
Anthony Howcroft, partner at Hallams said he was encouraged by the overall take-up across the region.
“Organisations are recognising the importance of high-quality office space for both their people and their financial performance, and this has been reflected in the lettings we have seen at premier business destinations such as MediaCity, Embankment and Alderley Park.
“With the evolution of working practices and businesses increasingly demanding more from their working environment, we fully expect to see this ‘flight to quality’ continue.”
MOAF was formed in 2009, and members include Avison Young, BE Group, CBRE, Colliers International, Canning O’Neill, Cushman & Wakefield, Edwards & Co, Hallams Property Consultants, JLL, Knight Frank, LSH, Matthews & Goodman, OBI, Savills, Sixteen, and TSG Property Consultants.
Well Done
By P Skelton
Pretty good performance given the circumstances.
By Anonymous
Shouldn’t office take up stats include net growth? Deloitte moving offices due to their lease expiring isn’t really new office take up.
By Anonymous
Agree that relocations within GM of same square footage should be taken out and only the increased Sq ft taken up should be counted. Double accounting happening here as no doubt the space vacated by Deloittes will be counted as office uptake when that new occupier moves in!
By Anon
Oh come on please see what is taking place in front of you. When occupiers move to new sites, the accommodation that they vacate is very often refurbished and upgraded…….making it more attractive to the market. So it’s a double win. Deloitte at Hanover is a perfect example where obsolete space vacated by the co-op has been beautifully restored. And I could give you many more examples. We need high quality new space and this leads to investment in secondary space so it’s win win
By Officelover
Fantastic work MOAF.
By OfficeFan
Great result, more offices and better and more flexible space are exactly what a city needs to prosper.
By Charles