Derby sees office space freed up

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 25-01-2012

Thousands of square feet of Grade B office space will soon become available in Derby, as council workers are to be relocated from a selection of offices into a single building.

The host of offices in which council workers are currently based will be freed up once staff move, flooding the commercial market with 150,000 square feet of office space supply, says property agency Innes England.

Just under two thirds of Derby’s vacant office space is poor quality and last year the city suffered one of its worst years in terms of space take up. In 2011, just 199,000 square feet of space was leased out in comparison to 227,000 square feet in 2008.

While the council buildings are 1970s vintage, with no air-con or suspended ceilings, they boast a large number of parking spaces and could attract businesses.

Innes England director Nick Hosking said: "It may be of some good to Derby: there’s a dire lack of any space in the city centre, and bringing a lot onto the market may retain and even bring back some of the footloose-and-fancy-free businesses that have been forced instead to look at offices in Nottingham."

Mr Hosking stressed the need for Grade A space in Derby. Construction work has started on the creation of a Grade A office development in the centre, which could attract big name tenants to the area.

Copyright Press Association 2012