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HAS BRISTOL BECOME THE NUMBER 1 LEGAL LOCATION OUTSIDE LONDON?

Overall office supply levels remain healthy despite the downturn, says King Sturge

New Environment Agency building in the city centre will set the standard for “green” offices

 In the last decade Bristol has enjoyed an explosion in take up of office space from leading law firms - and the trend is set to continue.

Almost 750,000 sq ft is now occupied by the City‘s legal firms, with several others currently looking for tens of thousands of square feet of additional space.

And while the economy in general may be slowing, the region‘s office market remains buoyant with office take up in the first quarter of the year equal to the 10-year average and over 1 million sq ft of active requirements logged.

This includes the new £10 million Environment Agency HQ at Cabot House, set to become one of the country‘s flagship “green” buildings.

These “three S‘” - solicitors, supply and sustainability - were among the topics highlighted by Ian Wills, partner in the office agency team, at the annual King Sturge media briefing.

“Bristol is quickly establishing itself as a regional location of choice for the major law firms, and is close to overtaking the traditional centres of Birmingham and Manchester,” said Mr Wills.

“There has been a huge growth in the amount of space being taken by the leading lawyers over the past decade. Burges Salmon and Osborne Clarke have grown their office space by around 80 per cent, while the likes of Bond Pearce, TLT and Clarke Willmott have expanded by up to 900 per cent, through organic growth and mergers.

“In all, the legal sector occupies around 750,000 sq ft, and the growth is continuing. Meanwhile the likes of Ashfords, Burroughs Day and Thring Townsend are all looking for more space, amid rumours of a London firm looking in Bristol.

“The larger firms are working all over the country, bringing wealth back to the city. This is great news as there are clearly major benefits for the local economy from a thriving legal sector.” 

Mr Wills said that peaks in supply in the office market had in the past tended to coincide with dips in the economy, for example, in 1973, 1983 and 1991.

“This can also apply to 2008, but the fact remains that there is still around

1 million sq ft of demand in Bristol, across all sectors, and 60 per cent of take-up is in new offices,” he said.

“In addition there is no escaping the fact that sustainability is now at the top of the agenda when it comes to new offices, and the new Environment Agency site at Cabot House is an excellent example of the new breed.

“The agency has announced it is closing its offices at Westbury-on-Trym and Aztec West by 2010, and taking its operations into 70,000 sq ft in Cabot House, in what will be one of the country‘s most ‘green‘ office buildings, with features such as natural ventilation and electricity provided from sustainable sources.” 

ENDS             10th April 2008

For further information please contact Neil Fraser, Sturgess Van Damme, on 01275 349011 or email neil@sturgessvandamme.co.uk

Notes to editors

King Sturge is one of the largest international property consultancies in Europe (52 offices in 17 countries), with a comprehensive network of over 165 wholly owned and associated offices throughout the world.  Over 3,800 staff throughout these offices cover all property sectors and specialisms, including plant and machinery.  In Europe, King Sturge operates in principal mainland European cities.

In Asia Pacific, King Sturge has associations in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.

In North America, King Sturge has business partners in the Americas and Canada through King Sturge CORFAC International.