MOAF: Manchester office take-up 880,000sq ft

Office take-up in Manchester city centre last year was 880,620 sq ft, an 11.7% rise from 788,265 sq ft in 2012, according to Manchester Office Agents Forum.

MOAF said the vacancy rate fell to a five-year low of 15.3% of total space. A total of 255 deals were recorded in 2013 with an average size of 3,195 sq ft. Take up in the fourth quarter amounted to 215,136 sq ft.

Available Grade A space in the city centre declined by one third in 2013 and is now 75% below its recent cyclical high of 600,000 sq ft in December 2009.

Key deals in 2013 included World Pay taking 22,069 sq ft of space at 3 Hardman Square, Spinningfields, Arup taking 19,978 sq ft at Three Piccadilly Place, Jacobs committing to 23,526 sq ft at First Street and TravelJigsaw signing for 60,000 sq ft at Sunlight House, Quay Street.

In South Manchester, take-up fell to 588,576 sq ft in 2013 from 660,829 sq ft the year before, a decline of 10.93%. Take-up in quarter four was 139,432 sq ft. The largest transactions in South Manchester were at Manchester Airport and Cheadle Royal Business Park.

The Salford Quays and Trafford market saw take-up drop markedly to 192,728 sq ft in 2013 from 330,980 sq ft the previous year. The year-end recorded a belated rise in activity with take up in the fourth quarter of 48,134 sq ft.

The largest transactions saw International Gaming Technology take 12,600 sq ft at Peel Group's Quay West in MediaCityUK and First Place Estates buying 17,400 sq ft at Peel Cross.

Rupert Barron, director, national offices at the Manchester office of real estate advisors Colliers International 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."

The Manchester Office Agents Forum exists to promote better knowledge of the Manchester City Region office market providing accurate market statistics and informed market commentary. Formed in 2009, its current 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.