The key South West property markets of Bristol and Bath are well placed to “weather economic uncertainty” in 2023 after a mixed performance last year, according to Carter Jonas’ Spring 2023 Commercial Edge outlook.
Annual office take-up in Bristol city centre increased by 5% last year compared with activity in 2021, with 620,000 sq ft of deals completing. The out-of-town market also fared well with take up hitting 340,000 sq ft, 12% above the average for the previous 10 years. However, in Bath office take-up in 2022 was just 62,700 sq ft – down more than 40,000 sq ft on the 10-year average.
Prime city centre office rents in Bristol rose to £42.50/sq ft in 2022 – out of town rents rose from £23/sq ft to £28.50/sq ft – with prime rents in Bath also increasing to £36/sq ft.
Carter Jonas said retailer demand in both cities remained robust in the face of the cost of living crisis, with “particularly strong interest from independents, food and beverage, and leisure operators”. The region’s industrial market also performed strongly with prime industrial rents in Bristol rising by 16% over the last five years to £9/sq ft.
In its outlook for the Bristol and Bath markets Carter Jonas said both cities have strong fundamentals and occupier demand for the best office, retail and industrial space in the South West “should ensure that the region’s commercial property market will weather economic uncertainty”.
Andrew Hardwick, partner in Carter Jonas’s Bristol office, added: “The property fundamentals in Bristol and Bath remain strong befitting the economic standing and enterprise culture of the cities. That is not to say that significant changes that lie ahead, will not be challenging.”
