Belfast is world’s third-fastest growing office market

Belfast has the third-fastest growing office market in the world just behind Bangkok and Stockholm, according to a global property report.

Demand for prime office space in Belfast – chiefly driven by banking, financial and professional services firms – positioned it ahead of other in-demand cities including New York and Amsterdam, according to the report from CBRE.

Its latest Global Prime Office Rents report for H1 2017 shows that Belfast recorded the strongest prime office rent growth at 14.3 per cent year on year.

Only Bangkok and Stockholm delivered a stronger performance than Belfast, with both showing a year-on-year office rent growth increase of 18.2 per cent.

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Key factor

Heightened demand from business services firms and media, technology and telecoms companies was also a key factor behind the big jump in office rent growth in Belfast, the report found.

David Wright, director at CBRE, said the lack of speculative office development in Belfast was one of the reasons why the city has experienced such strong rental growth recently.

“Belfast still has a real shortage of prime Grade A stock, and there is a great need to deliver more occupier-ready Grade A office accommodation, in order to attract and retain high-end companies seeking to invest in the city,” he said.