WeWork’s triple takeover of prominent Birmingham office developments in June has resulted in one of the best quarters for office take-up in the city centre for a decade. The serviced office provider agreed deals in June for 55,100 sq ft at 55 Colmore Row, 81,300 sq ft at Louisa Ryland House and 92,700 sq ft at Six Brindleyplace. The three deals accounted for more than 70% of the 318,000 sq ft total for the quarter, with none of the other 26 deals above 10,000 sq ft. It added to a healthy 198,000 sq ft in the first quarter of 2019 to push the half-year total above 500,000 sq ft – a figure only surpassed once in 10 years, when HSBC’s Arena Central letting boosted the 2015 statistics. Office market take-up in Birmingham, 2014-2019: The data is compiled by the Birmingham Office Market Forum (BOMF), which said it “demonstrates a very strong first half of the year, greatly assisted by a handful of larger lettings, not least to the flexible and co-working provider sector”. Brindleyplace has secured two of the largest three deals in the six months to June, with WeWork taking all of the office space in number six and the Commonwealth Games taking 72,300 sq ft at number one. Ben Thacker, of joint letting agents Savills, said: “There is a pipeline of approximately 1m sq ft of new Grade A space in the city centre over the next few years, however a large percentage of this is already under offer. “There is also a severely restricted supply of high quality refurbishments as well, so Brindleyplace is in an excellent position to capitalise on this.” Asset manager Hines is continuing to invest in buildings on the estate, having recently committed to a £3m refurbishment of communal areas and vacant suites at Three and Four Brindleyplace which follows the £4m refit of the Oozells Building. The forthcoming completion of the tram extension along Broad Street and past Brindleyplace is expected to further strengthen the appeal of the area, while the Paradise, Arena Central and Centenary Square developments will soon help to reconnect it with the city centre and Colmore Business District.
WeWork has signed leases on a total of three properties in Birmingham’s city centre in the past two months. In addition to properties at 55 Colmore Row and Louisa Ryland House previously reported, the co-workspace operator has signed a lease for 92,700 sq ft at Six Brindleyplace. The company is also looking to expand its footprint into other parts of Birmingham, including the Jewellery Quarter, which it plans to develop as part of an £80m mixed-use development that will include offices, shops, restaurants