Figures from Savills Aguirre Newman show that take up rates are approaching the average volume for an entire year. The international real estate advisor believes that 2019 could close with volumes reaching 400,000 sq m above the historical record.

With regards to the most active zones, the new business areas continue to dominate representing 50% of activity. The scarcity of space in the CBD has meant that businesses districts slightly outside the centre, including 22@, stand out as popular choices. In fact, during the first six months of 2019, the same volume as 2018 was transacted in the technology district, with occupiers including New Relic, N26, Gartner and VM Ware.

Linked to this, co-working space has also become increasingly popular. The cosmopolitan community feel of the city has been key to this and, the co-working scene is now attracting both smaller start-ups as well as larger corporates.

Marie Laure Fenet, Director in the Office Agency division, Savills Aguirre Newman, comments, “Barcelona is unique in that it ranks very highly for city buzz and wellness, as highlighted by Savills recent Tech Cities report. As a result, it is an incredibly popular destination with a mix of global occupiers of all shapes and sizes. With stock being very limited and rents having risen on average by 11% y-o-y, it will be interesting to see how investors and developers alike respond to soaring demand over the next few years.”

With around 92% of the 117,000 sq m pipeline already pre-let, Savills Aguirre Newman expects rental growth to continue and exceed the peaks of the previous market cycle.