Solihull town centre re-establishes itself as a place to do business - report
Bucking recent trends, occupiers are increasingly looking towards Solihull town centre as a place to do business.
According to the latest M42 and Solihull Office Market Review, four of the nine Q3 office deals transpired within Solihull town centre, marking the first quarter since Q3 2021 where there has been more than one town centre deal. In fact, it is the first time since Q4 2020 that there have been four such deals.
Compiled by property agents, KWB, the report shows that the most significant deal of Q3 was BNP Paribas Personal Finance agreeing a 21,219 sq ft deal at AIR Solihull, located on Homer Road in the town centre. This is the largest transaction of 2024 thus far.
Malcolm Jones, head of office agency at KWB, said: “Impressively, 60 per cent of deals in the latest quarter took place in Solihull town centre, which is a stark uplift compared to recent years.
“The impact that AIR Solihull has had on these figures can’t be ignored. Having only been available for occupancy since the beginning of the year, the newly-refurbished building has already let 23 per cent of the total take-up for the M42 and Solihull office market in Q1-3 2024.”
Other town centre deals were also notable in Q3. Two deals took place at Radcliffe House, with Flutter taking 1,054 sq ft and Oracle occupying 2,957 sq ft. Majestic Wines, meanwhile, took 3,454 sq ft at 39 Dominion Court.
To date in 2024, town centre lettings represent 21 per cent of the overall total take-up across the M42 corridor and Solihull for 2024 thus far. This is positive news for Solihull town centre, having contributed just 2 per cent and 1 per cent of the 2023 and 2022 take-up totals, respectively.
Malcolm continued: “Whilst these town centre figures are no doubt impressive, the M42 corridor continues to be the more popular choice for occupiers, representing 79 per cent of the overall total take-up locally. We expect this to continue to be the overall trend in 2025.”
Read the full M42 and Solihull Office Market Review here.
