Office take-up in Brighton & Hove, Crawley and Gatwick jumped last year, driven by company relocations and expansion, according to SHW’s Q1 2023 South East Office Focus.
In Brighton & Hove, take-up hit 220,000 sq ft, compared with 70,000 sq ft in 2021, and rents increased from £32/sq ft to £36/sq ft.
The new Edward Street Quarter accounted for approximately 80,000 sq ft of take-up, with only 30,000 sq ft of office space available in the mixed-use development. SHW reports logged demand of 800,000 sq ft with 420,000 sq ft of space currently available in the area.
In Crawley and Gatwick, take-up leapt from 55,500 sq ft in 2021 to 203,000 sq ft last year. The figures include Crawley’s largest deal to date, a 54,000 sq ft letting at Minerva.
Tim Hardwicke, SHW’s partner and head of agency, said: “Numbers are up due to many companies relocating to improve the quality of their offices, along with others taking opportunities to downsize, in part due to continued flexible working. Relocations have been mainly driven by lease events. However, there has also been a number of notable deals as a result of companies expanding.
“It’s encouraging to see companies investing in their buildings in order to provide staff with the best quality space they can afford – along with greener building promising lower running costs. As a result, we are seeing an increasing pattern of staff wishing to return to the office, rather than being directed to do so, with the new norm of three to four days per week in the office.”
