Commercial property consultants

•  Office market activity in the South Coast remained at a similar level to Q1 2013. Total office take-up in the South Coast was 61,339 sq ft, only a slight drop from the 61,865 sq ft recorded in Q1 2013.

•  Enquiry levels also remained consistent with Q1 2013. The majority of office enquiries were for office space below 20,000 sq ft.

•  South Coast office supply totalled 1.88m sq ft, an increase of 4.5% on Q1 2013 figures. Grade C space saw the biggest increase on the previous quarter, rising by 11%, compared to only 3% increases in both Grade A and Grade B space (although Grade B space still dominates overall at 69%).

•  Nearly 74% of all South Coast Grade C availability is in town, providing the potential for conversion to alternative uses, including residential.

•  City centre prime rents remained at £18.50 per sq ft, while out of town prime rents were £18.75 per sq ft. Out of town rents experienced downward pressure with Grade A supply levels higher compared to city centres. Winchester rents out-performed other city centres within the region (constrained office supply helped to maintain higher rents).

•  A significant amount of total South Coast office supply now falls into the sub-5,000 sq ft category, so to give a more accurate reflection of the market supply our analysis now includes availability above 2,500 sq ft.