This upward trend is likely to continue until at least 2022, says Bidwells.
Rents in Cambridge continued rising in the second half of 2017 with open plan laboratory rents reaching £34 per sq. ft. - growth of 17.2% since 2014.
Prime office rents grew by 2.7% - hitting £38 sq. ft. by the end of December 2017 - and are expected to break £41 per sq. ft. by 2022.
These figures follow the UK Powerhouse Study, released by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) last week, that showed Cambridge had the fastest-growing city economy in the UK in the last three months of 2017 with growth of 2.2%. CEBR also predicted Cambridge’s year-on-year growth rate would be 2.19% in 2018, the best of any major location.
Will Heigham, partner and Head of Office Agency at Bidwells, said: “Our New Year figures and those released by CEBR last week clearly demonstrate Cambridge’s continued economic resilience and significance within the UK economy.
“Demand for high grade office and laboratory space in Cambridge is still high, at more than 1.3 million sq. ft. for Cambridgeshire, and by the time schemes due to complete in 2019 are on-line we expect rents to be at record levels.
“We’ve just completed the first letting at CB1’s 50/60 Station Road (pictured) and the landlord has also reserved two other floors for a co-working operator, two further signs of Cambridge’s enduring appeal.”
Other key figures revealed in the data:
- Take up of Grade A space has accounted for 55% of activity since 2013
- New schemes due to complete in 2019 will deliver 350,000 sq ft of office space of which over 35% is under offer or let
- The combined availability rate in office and laboratories market at end 2017 was 9.4%
Over 80% of Bidwells’ work is concentrated in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London, including sector-leading work in the science & technology, and education sectors.
A recent Bidwells-sponsored Cambridge Ahead report explored the current and future landscape of wet lab and incubator space provision for start-up and early-stage life science companies in the Cambridge sub-region. It found an insufficient supply of space for new start-ups and early stage firms and that demand has outstripped supply.
View Bidwells’ most recent Cambridge business space research
Read CEBR’s most recent UK Powerhouse Study
Read the Cambridge Ahead wet lab and incubator space provision report
Bidwells
Bidwells is one of the UK’s leading property consultancies, offering clients knowledge of, and access to, some of the most interesting real estate markets with the highest growth potential in the UK.
Over 80% of the consultancy’s work is concentrated in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London, including sector-leading work in the science & technology, and education sectors. Bidwells helps investors, developers, occupiers, house builders and home owners to harness the benefits of the exceptional growth in these markets which represent over 44% of all real estate activity in the UK.
In addition, Bidwells has a strong rural presence and manages thousands of square miles of the English and Scottish countryside and coastline. It is one of the leading consultancies in the high-growth forestry, renewables, and agriculture markets. These markets have consistently outperformed equities and bonds in recent years and are of significant interest to UK and overseas investors.
Established in 1839, Bidwells has retained many of its original clients, including some of the best-known colleges in Oxford and Cambridge who are among the biggest landowners in the UK. Today, Bidwells manages over £5.2 billion in property assets and employs 500 people in England and Scotland.