KNOWLEDGE CENTRE

Birmingham workstations hit an 11 Month low in January 2010

The cost of securing space in one of Birmingham’s many serviced offices fell to its lowest point since February 2009 during January 2010, but according to Tamworth based broker officebroker.com growth may be about to return.

Operating on a per workstation cost, the average price dipped to just £218.00 in the opening month of 2010, the lowest price recorded in eleven months of trading according to the UK’s leading broker, officebroker.com.

While such a drop will no doubt be well received by the increasing number of businesses seeking serviced office space, which rose +18% throughout 2009, it will not be welcomed by the owners of Birmingham’s serviced offices.

While such a drop will no doubt be well received by the increasing number of businesses seeking serviced office space, which rose +18% throughout 2009, it will not be welcomed by the owners of Birmingham’s serviced offices.

During a year that saw the number of individual tenants rise you could mistakenly believe that serviced office providers would have enjoyed a bumper year. But with tenant requirements having decreased and 21 new business centres entering the frame in 2009, providers have found themselves in an increasingly competitive market, made all the more difficult by an awareness amongst prospective tenants that they are in the rare position to play providers off of one another.

But as Managing Director of officebroker.com Jim Venables explains, the balance of power may be about to change once more.

“As a broker, we are starting to see enquiries from large corporate firms making a comeback. Many of our larger clients require project space, and the recession put a lot of projects on hold – but now that business confidence is being restored we are seeing a rise in the number of enquiries coming in from corporate clients.”

With the increased number of individual tenants already witnessed in 2009, the return of such corporate clients and their larger demands would have a fast moving effect on the level of serviced office space available, bringing about increased competition amongst prospective tenants and an upswing in workstation costs from providers as supply levels decreased.