News
Agents join together to promote city with a unified voice
28th April 2008
A new map that has redefined the boundaries of the city centre office market has been launched as part of a unique initiative by the city's leading office agents.
The map, which is the brainchild of the Birmingham Office Market Forum, reflects the rapidly expanding city centre and is designed to be used as a definitive reference document for those looking to invest in the city as well as the office agents themselves.
The boundary of the map will essentially follow the route of the former middle ring road taking in the Jewellery Quarter to the west of the city, Digbeth to the east and extending south west to take in Edgbaston and the Hagley Road.
The initiative is the first time any city's property community has come together to provide a unified voice on the office market and Birmingham Office Market Forum chairman Martin Guest, from CB Richard Ellis, believes the enterprise will reap huge benefits for the city.
He said: "Birmingham city centre has undergone enormous change and growth in recent years and in many ways has become a victim of its own success. The amount of good quality office stock continues to rise but is now spread over a much wider area.
"The aim of this map is to not only highlight the diversity of stock available and where it is in the city but also to ensure that potential inward investors are getting the same consistent message about available stock whether they walk into Locate in Birmingham or one of the city's letting agencies."
Jon Carmalt, from King Sturge and chairman of the West Midlands branch of the Office Agents' Society, said: "Traditionally the city centre office market has focused around the prime stock in and around Colmore Row but that is changing all the time.
"This initiative is absolutely necessary to convey the huge breadth of occupier choice that exists in Birmingham and consequently the variety of rental costs available."
John Griffiths, from GBR, said: "This new map and the website which will be regularly updated with all the latest occupier information will be an invaluable tool for everybody concerned in the sector and should boost investor confidence in the city by providing a unique clarity on the market."
Philippa Pickavance, from Drivers Jonas, said: "While we are all essentially competitors, as an industry we all understand the benefits of pooling our knowledge for the good of the city as a whole.
"The city has changed almost beyond recognition in recent years and redefining the office market boundary was long overdue.
Scott Rutherford, from Cushman and Wakefield, said: "This initiative should provide the platform for further significant growth of the market in the coming decade and beyond."
The companies involved in the Birmingham Office Market Forum are Atisreal, Birmingham City Council, CB Richard Ellis, Colliers CRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Drivers Jonas, DTZ, GBR, GVA Grimley, Jones Lang LaSalle, King Sturge, Knight Frank, KWB, Lambert Smith Hampton, Savills, and Vail Williams.