With many workers remote working from home, companies have been re-evaluating their requirements for office space, but councilmembers in Salford believe there there will continue to be a high demand for office space in Manchester.
There are many Class A office buildings at Salford Quays. The strategic economic growth manager at Salford Council, Dr. Justin Bentham, says that he is confident that demand for this office space will continue. The University of Sheffield PhD holder said the office market is shifting focus on quality ahead of quantity.
The head of the asset management team at Salford Council, James Kington agrees, saying that businesses require attractive modern office spaces in central locations. He explained to Manchester Evening News:
“A lot of businesses have considered whether they need all the space that they had in a pre-Covid environment. But that being said, there’s also the social distancing and how comfortable people will be in offices. So people aren’t reducing as much as you might think because they may have their staff more spaced out than they did previously.”
Academic Dr. Bentham, meanwhile, predicts that office space demand will vary between industry sectors. The technology sector wants more flexible working with a mixture of home-based and office work. Most banking industry workers are expected to return to the office, however.
The many new developments in Manchester, whether being constructed or in the planning stage, are evidence of the confidence in the future of the Manchester office space market.
