South Coast: Office transactions highest since 2011, says LSH

In the third quarter 2013, office take-up in the South Coast hit its highest level since 2011, with 120,909 sq ft of deals. 

According to the latest report from national commercial property consultancy, Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), office transactions on the South Coast in the third quarter 2013 were double Q2 2013 levels and almost three times higher than office take-up for the same quarter in 2012.

Office transactions for the first three quarters of 2013 totaled 244,113 sq ft, almost equivalent to the entire take-up for 2012.

This comprised 24 deals, the largest of which was the 15,113 sq ft disposal of Trafalgar House in Winchester to Ashville.

The average deal size was circa 5,000 sq ft, an increase from the previous quarter suggesting an improvement in business confidence in the area.

New enquiries for office space were also up this quarter and increased by 39% on Q2 2013.

Rent-wise, Southampton city centre rents are being maintained at £18.50 per sq ft, while Winchester rents are still out-performing other city centres in the region with rents reaching £20 per sq ft.

Head of LSH’s South Coast office, Graham Holland, said: “This has been a very positive quarter for office deals on the South Coast – 24 of the deals completed were out of town, reducing oversupply in key office parks such as Solent Business Park and 1,000 Lakeside and helping to stabilise prime rents. While supply levels have been relatively stable over the past 12 months, effective supply levels have been significantly reduced through a number of successful applications for change of use from office to residential.”