EXCLUSIVE Bristol Hits Record £40-Per-Sq-Ft Letting As Office Market Continues Strong Run

30 March, 2021

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By Paul Norman 
CoStar News
March 30, 2021 | 2:50 P.M.

IV Real Estate has signed what is understood to be the highest rent paid in Bristol, at 41 Corn Street.

Market sources this week said technology company Huboo has taken all of the upper office floors — from first to sixth and totalling 19,000 sq ft — at the building and will pay a record for the city of £40 per sq ft.

Flight Club recently leased the remainder of the 25,000-sq-ft building — which has just practically completed — taking the ground and basement floors.

Huboo is a storage and fulfilment services group for businesses.

IV has also just practically completed the neighbouring Gilbert House, which is available as a whole or on a floor-by-floor basis.

Bristol's office market has enjoyed a notably busy spate of investment and leasing activity during the pandemic.

In March, CoStar News revealed that Israeli investor Ashtrom Properties is in talks to buy the Portwall Place offices in Bristol city centre from BlackRock for around £62m.

In February, CoStar News reported that Aberdeen Standard Investments is set to buy Temple Quay House in Bristol city centre from Alpha Real Capital for £75m, or a 3.7% yield, likely the lowest yield paid for a sub-20-year income office investment in the UK regions.

Earlier in February, Kuwait-based investor Kamco and M7 Real Estate bought TSB's 64,000-sq-ft Bristol headquarters at Keypoint from a private Saudi trust advised by Phillips Roth/Kinetic Property as part of three UK acquisitions, while LCN exchanged on its acquisition of The Assembly in Bristol from AXA IM and Bell Hammer for £135m, or a 4.6% yield.

Also in February, CoStar News revealed that engineer Jacobs UK has taken 37,828 sq ft of offices at Mapletree's One Glass Wharf, while BBC Studios is close to agreeing a 60,000-sq-ft headquarters move as Bristol city centre continues to notably buck the national trend for understandably muted office take-up during the pandemic.

Jacobs' decision to move to One Glass Wharf follows the recent letting by DAS UK of 37,828 sq ft at Trinity Quay and comes as BBC Studios is understood to be close to going under offer on a circa 60,000-sq-ft move in the city.

The Beeb, advised by Knight Frank, is understood to have been shortlisting the relatively few options available in the city, with a sublet of EDF space at Bridgewater House at Finzels Reach strongly tipped as the favoured option. Gerald Eve and Hartnell Taylor Cook are advising EDF.

Radimir Radev, a CoStar analyst focused on the South West, said: “Bristol has recorded strong rent gains over the past five years. The falling vacancies, appeal for newer stock in the market and new achieved benchmarks have stoked landlord confidence. The under-construction Halo scheme achieved one of the highest rents in the market thanks to Osborne Clarke's pre-let of 74,000 sq ft in the development in February 2020. The law firm paid £36.50 per sq ft for the top floor (11,000 sq ft) and £35.50 per sq ft for the rest of the space. Those levels were recently eclipsed by Gleeds paying £37.50 per sq ft for 7,000 sq ft in the newly built Aurora building in September 2020.”

IV declined to comment.

pnorman@costar.co.uk

The original article appeared here