The Southampton City Office Market in May 2012 bears a striking resemblance to 2011 and even 2010, comments Ben Welch from Goadsby Commercial’s Southampton office.
Office transactions in the city centre have remained limited, activity has generally been constrained to sub 5,000 sqft stock and whilst there continues to be an over supply of secondary accommodation, there is still a marked lack of grade A space. Incentives offered on grade B space are favorable to ingoing tenants and deals can be sought by those businesses considering relocation.
Our view is that there is good potential to refurbish city centre office buildings, however location, parking and specification will be key. Occupiers will need to consider relocating well in advance of their critical date and ultimately compromise on the space they take.
Development of new office accommodation within the City Centre, (despite some well reported demolitions) has yet to commence; Mayflower Plaza for example, previously ear marked for high quality office redevelopment, is now under public consultation for a revised scheme for student accommodation. Aqua can offer 60,000 sqft but are looking for a prelet to be in place first.
Out of Town office parks appear to remain the preferred choice for occupiers, Vanburgh House being an example of this with Goadsby acting to acquire 5,478 sq ft of space in the Botleigh Grange office Campus recently. The good parking provision and landscaped surroundings that out of town parks offer are currently beating their competing city centre instructions to tenant’s short lists.
However, the Southampton City Council’s recently launched City Centre Master Plan offers plenty for those associated with the City to be excited about. The Cultural Quarter with the newly opened SeaCity Museum is already the talk of the town and provides a vibrant public realm that the City deserves.
Business occupiers will closely follow the proposed “Station Gateway” where a new central business district is set to be developed, along with improvements to the train station and a new public square. With the planned investment total of around £3billion, regeneration both within the city, suburbs and on the waterfront, Southampton City’s future will hopefully become a new story to tell.
