Covid-19 has undoubtedly hit the UK’s office markets hard. However, with virtual viewings of commercial properties still taking place during the lockdown and physical viewings potentially resuming when restrictions are eased, where do we expect the demand to come from when more occupiers start to consider their space requirements?

Although the UK’s start-up tech scene is likely to take a hit in the short term, we do expect to see a growth in new businesses focused on ecommerce, healthcare, gaming and cloud-computing given that they are all sectors likely to grow as social distancing redefines how we spend our time.

Therefore, it’s predicted that the UK tech sector will remain strong, playing a vital role in putting the economy back on track, and with Manchester being home to one of the largest tech clusters in the UK, the city’s office market is well placed to combat the slowdowns brought about by the pandemic.

According to Tech Nations, Manchester is the fastest growing tech city in Europe with over 62,000 skilled workers and has more than doubled its venture capital investment within a year. In fact, annual data released by the UK tech network shows an overall increase in investment from £48 million in 2018 to £181 million in 2019 – a staggering 277 per cent growth.

The city’s new tech neighbourhood, Bruntwood SciTech’s Circle Square development, will be a key location for this sector going forwards. In the first quarter of this year it already saw deals sign to occupiers such as Northcoders, HPE, Accenture and Hilti.

Additionally, with the Manchester office market continuing to be characterised by lack of supply (Grade A office supply now sits at just under 800,000 sq ft), many larger strategic requirements that we saw in the market pre-Covid-19 remain active, with occupiers realising that they have to act now if they are to ensure they are able to secure suitable accommodation over the next couple of years.

This continued desire for space, combined with the exciting development of major schemes such as Circle Square and the anticipated growth of the tech sector certainly puts Manchester in a strong positon to move forwards when restrictions are eased.

The Manchester office market got off to a good start this year, with Q1 figures exceeding the 10-year average by 25 per cent, and when life returns to the UK office market Manchester will be in a good position to continue the growth it has experienced in recent years.

Further information

Read more Market in Minutes: Manchester Officers