Cardiff is on the edge of becoming a global capital city, but needs to embrace change in order to achieve its desired status, according to Knight Frank’s new Cardiff office market report.
Cardiff has developed into a vibrant commercial centre and its profile continues to grow across the leisure, retail and business sectors.
Both office leasing and investment markets are performing well despite current political uncertainty and leasing levels in the city reached 45,100m² at the end of Q3 2016, a total already above the 10-year annual average for the city.
Prime headline rents have also increased for the first time since 2012, now standing at €29.4 (£25) per sq ft, with current forecasts indicating prime rents will rise to €30.6 (£26) per sq ft by the end of 2017 as more new developments complete.
In the investment market, total office investment sales from Q1 2016 – October 2016 amount to €125.2m (£106.3m), and although this is less than the full year total for a somewhat extraordinary 2015, it still sits at 29% above the 10-year average.
The city has seen the highest concentration of overseas investment in the city since 2011 and the globalisation of the capital is said to be driving this shift in purchaser profile, as investors look outside of the traditional target markets of Central London and the South East.
Amongst the sectors having an influence on Cardiff, the importance of TMT (Technology, Media and Telecoms) cannot be overlooked. The city is moving away from its industrial past and fast becoming one of the UK’s major digital hubs, with the TMT sector in the city worth 3% of the digital GVA contribution to the UK economy.
