There are significant office accommodation cost savings to be made on relocating from London and the South East to Leicestershire. Office rental levels in Leicestershire are not only considerable lower that for comparable properties in London and the South East, they are also extremely competitive with other cities and regions across the country. Few areas beyond Leicestershire can combine significant financial savings, with an integrated package that includes a central UK location, excellent communications links and a dynamic, culturally diversified and skilled labour market.

 

Average prime city centre office rental values in Leicester are currently £140 per sq.m., offering typically £300-£600/sq.m (80%) savings (see Chart 1 ) on equivalent Type 1.premises in London (Type 1:Town centre location with self-contained suite over 1,000 sq.m. in office block erected in last 10 years).

 

Type 2 office accommodation - available at an average cost of just £100 per sq m in Leicester (Type 2:As Type 1 but suite size in range of 150 sq.m to 300 sq.m).

 

Office rental levels in the county also extremely competitive -£120 -£140 per sq.m. for new high quality offices on business parks with direct access to M1 Motorway. Existing office accommodation ranges from £80 to £120 per sq.m.

Office rental levels in Leicester are also extremely competitive with other city locations across the country (Chart 2). Competitor locations in other parts of the country that are (ostensibly) cheaper, typically suffer from poorer accessibility and/or weaker workforce profiles.