Liverpool Office Market remains strong
Liverpool’s office market is in good health, with a robust mix of industries and sectors taking up office space across the city. Demand has retained consistently over the last five years and businesses are looking for larger office spaces than ever before.
The report also identified strong demand for further grade A office space and, after 2018’s record breaking year, a need to focus on future strategy for growth.
Over 567k sq ft of commercial space was taken as office space in Liverpool City Region in 2019, 60% of which was taken in Liverpool’s Commercial District, with a total of 166 deals.
The biggest deal in Liverpool’s Commercial District in the past 12 months was Sony taking 65,000 sq ft in the Echo Building. The largest deal in Liverpool City Region was Greensill’s letting of 27,000 sq ft at Daresbury Park 2100, following £1.6m refurb.
Liverpool Commercial Office Market Review – 15th Edition
In the 15th edition of the Office Market Review, compiled by Professional Liverpool and Liverpool BID Company, demand for office space remains at a five year constant, but dips against the record breaking year of 2018, which saw the £125m sale of India Buildings following the 350,000 sq ft letting to HMRC, which significantly boosted the year’s figures.
Overall office take up with Liverpool city region was 567,793 sq ft in 2019, marginally lower than the five year average of 637,871 sq ft. Within Liverpool city centre (L1, L2 and L3), office take up was 400,454 sq ft. There is also growing demand for more flexible space in the Commercial District, with many smaller occupiers looking for short term flexible spaces as they establish their business. Liverpool remains an attractive prospect for investors, with rental values reaching levels £21-£25 per sq ft.
The data from the Office Market Review shows that Liverpool’s businesses are growing. For the past five years, with an increase in the size of transactions. In 2014 the average size of a deal in the Commercial District was 3,209 sq ft, while in 2019 the average size was 4,040 sq ft.
Liverpool’s business market continues to be evenly spread across all sizes, with a particular growth in smaller lets (under 2,500 sq ft) suggesting a robust SME community. 73.5% of all lettings in the Commercial District were under 2500 sq ft, there were 12 transactions over 5,000 sq ft and four deals above 20,000 sq ft, compared with three in 2018.
The breakdown of top 5 business industries taking space in the Commercial District are Professional services 42%, Creative IT/Media 24.5%, Public sector 14%, Distribution/Shipping 6%, Financial/Banking 3.5%.
Liverpool’s forthcoming Spine development at Paddington Village, set for completion in Autumn 2020, and the subsequent completion of Liverpool Waters and the Pall Mall Development in the Commercial District will boost Liverpool City Centre’s available grade A , office space.
Bill Addy, CEO of Liverpool BID Company said:
“The office market has performed strongly in the past five years, and it’s encouraging to see the trend continue, especially after 2018’s record breaking year. Take up levels remain positive and the balance across smaller and larger lettings shows the health of the market and spread of business.
“We recently partnered with Liverpool City Council on developing the Commercial District Spatial Regeneration Framework (SRF) identifying what the area needs to grow and develop further. More Grade A office space is a must for Liverpool’s Commercial District. Liverpool Waters and the Pall Mall development are a welcome addition, but we continue to need new developments that offer choice for businesses to come to Liverpool”.
For further information, read the full report HERE.