This year promises to be a tremendous opportunity for the city of Birmingham to rebound fast in the post-pandemic era. The impending 2022 Commonwealth Games in the ‘Second City’ represents a golden chance for Birmingham to shine on the world stage, cementing it – and the rest of the West Midlands – as a world leading hub for investment, trade and tourism.

Deloitte has published its Birmingham Crane Survey 2022 ahead of the Games, providing a snapshot of the city’s ongoing commercial development activity and the appetite for business space. This report was undertaken by Deloitte’s regional Real Assets division, which has been verified by industry contacts and further in-house researchers.

As the year begins, levels of new office completions are close to reaching levels not seen since 2019, which saw more than 775,000 sq. ft of new and fully refurbished office space supplied to new and growing businesses in Birmingham.

Demand for office space across Birmingham city centre and beyond is described by Deloitte as on an “upward trajectory”. As the city continues its post-pandemic resurgence, there is no suggestion of this letting up anytime soon. It’s the calibre of available office space that makes such good reading for the Second City, with best-in-class Grade A office space equating to 85% of all office activity across Birmingham.

Councillor Ian Ward, council leader at Birmingham City Council, said: “This incredibly positive news clearly demonstrates that Birmingham continues to be a city on the up and underlines our burgeoning reputation as a desirable place for businesses to relocate to.

“Prior to Covid, we were seeing growth at almost twice the rate of London, and four times the national average.

“And, while the pandemic has had a profound impact, the factors that made Birmingham such an attractive place to live, work and invest back in early 2020 remain in place and will now help power our recovery.”

Birmingham businesses still transitioning to hybrid working

Although Deloitte reports more than a third (37%) of commercial property developers anticipate no negative impact on letting demand because of homeworking, it acknowledges in its report that many of the city’s businesses are still trying to understand how the future of work will look.

Flexibility seems to be the word of the hour. Both in terms of leaseholds and floorspace, business owners are increasingly asking their landlords to show adaptability. Short-term office letting options are growing in popularity, but Deloitte is not yet prepared to speculate on whether this is a permanent shift in demand for Birmingham’s commercial property market.

At Pall Mall Estates, we’ve been committed to short-term lets for many of our workspaces across the West and East Midlands and beyond, giving our valued tenants the room they need to breathe. Our short-term lets are handy for businesses experiencing rapid post-pandemic expansion or those seeking short-term satellite office space to undertake a one-off project.

In addition to flexible working, Deloitte also remarks on the “accelerated shift” in employers attempting to redefine and improve the employee experience. By re-imagining the workplace, 61% of business owners and executives now believe this to be the best way to attract and retain the top talent in Birmingham.

—