Office space in Brighton

The business and financial services sector accounts for almost 30 per cent of the total number of jobs in Brighton. Most of these businesses occupy office units that were built during the 1960s and 1970s, which means that the majority of the office stock available in town is Grade B. In total, there are almost 500,000 square feet of office floor space in Brighton, but less than 5 per cent of this amount belongs to Grade A office accommodation.

This shortage of good quality office space was highlighted by a recent survey carried out by the Employment Land Study, which stated that by 2026 Brighton will require an extra 20,000 square metres of Grade A office floor space in order to accommodate growing demand. The highest demand is for city centre properties whose maximum size is 930 square metres.

Despite the urgent need for Grade A office accommodation, speculative developments in Brighton continue to be rare. In fact, only one project of this type was completed in the 12-year period between 1992 and 2004. As of December 2012, only one mixed-use development project had been granted planning permission: the 1,197 square metre office and warehouse development project at Seaview Way.

At the time of writing, Brighton & Hove's City Council reported that there were 265 office units available throughout the city, whose size ranged between 100 and 38,300 square feet of floor space. Average rental values for properties in the city centre vary substantially, as some properties are on offer for £10 per square foot while others fetch prices of £23 per square foot and over. The latest transactions situate average rental values at £21.50 per square foot.

Retail space in Brighton

During the first six months of 2012, availability rates for retail floor space in Brighton stabilised after a period of constant up and downs. Brighton has one of the highest amounts of retail floor space in the south of England, as the city centre alone is home to more than 1,500 shop units. It is believed that this figure will increase over the next few years, and by 2016 an additional 54,000 square metres of retail floor space might be needed.

Currently, approximately 70 per cent of the total number of retail units available in the city centre are occupied by independent retailers. The figures are similar when it comes to Brighton's Business Improvement District (which comprises Preston Street, The Lanes, Western Road, and North Street), where 68 per cent of the retail units available are taken by independent retailers.

Over the past year, there has been a 29 per cent increase in the number of retailers involved in leisure services. Market analysts predict that this sector will be the highest growing over the next five years, and point at potential investment opportunities in this area. Moreover, it is expected that during 2013 there will be a number of projects aimed at redeveloping the London Road area and increasing its potential as a prime retail area.

In 2012, Brighton's Business Improvement District - Brilliant Brighton carried out a survey that revealed that the overall vacancy rates for retail units in the city dropped from over 6 per cent to just 4.93 per cent. This fall in vacancy rates took place during the first two quarters of the year. Rates in city centre units also decreased from the previous year's 7.34 per cent to the current 6.03 per cent. These figures are encouraging, especially when compared to the United Kingdom's national average of 14.6 per cent. In fact, retail vacancy rates in Brighton have been steadily declining since 2010, when they were at a record high of 8.8 per cent.

Average rental costs for prime retail premises are in the region of £177 per week.

Industrial space in Brighton

Despite the generalised decline in the importance of manufacturing to the economy, Brighton has a rather high rate of businesses in this sector, with over 670 industrial units. Currently, there are over 20 industrial estates located in Brighton and the surrounding area. These offer starter units, warehousing space, workshops, and properties for industrial and business use. The total amount of industrial and warehouse floor space in the area amounts to 467,000 square metres.

According to data provided by the local council, at the beginning of 2013 there were 30 industrial properties available for rent or sale in the Brighton area. The majority of these properties are dedicated warehouse units, whose size ranges between 1,130 and 15,700 square feet. The lowest rental costs were quoted at £4.50 per square foot, although some properties fetched figures that exceeded £8 per square foot.