Exactly How Dry Is The M42 Corridor Development Pipeline?

The supply of new office floorspace in the M42 corridor is at an all-time low, but will get lower.

With as much as 120K SF let in the first quarter of the year, and developers still sitting on their hands, the pipeline could hardly be drier.

Developers must deliver speculative office space along the M42 corridor, or prospective tenants will look elsewhere, according to one of Birmingham's leading agents.

Malcolm Jones, director of office agency at KWB, said the area around Solihull and Birmingham Airport is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success.

“I've been working in this office market for almost 25 years, and there's never been a time when the pipeline of office space has been so close to empty,” Jones said.

“The area's largest employment location is the 1.9M SF Birmingham Business Park but it's so popular the vacancy rate is down to just 6.8%, which, with several deals about to complete, is not far off being full.”

“I really hope that over the summer, we'll see one or two developers look to gain an advantage over their peers in this very competitive market, by revealing plans for speculative office space.”

Jones said an 80K SF block with 20K SF floorplates “would be snapped up” but, for now, none are in prospect. Rents would be mid-to-late £20/SF.

“There are no office schemes coming forward on a speculative basis at other sites along the M42, and it's becoming a major strategic issue for the regional economy," he added. "If potential occupiers can't find space here, they might well choose to go elsewhere.”