Property Index Shows Big Office Price Drops in Birmingham and Manchester

CAMBRIDGE, January 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Serviced office prices at lowest point since mid-2011, reports Office Genie

It's a great time for small businesses to rent office space in two of Britain's key business centres, according to Officegenie.co.uk. According to its quarterly price index, serviced office rents in both Manchester and Birmingham are currently considerably cheaper than they were in the summer.

As a site dedicated to small businesses and entrepreneurs, Office Genie calculates office space prices per person in key cities across the UK. Currently, the average serviced office (per person) is at £125 per month in Birmingham and £82 in Manchester, down from 2011 highs of £159 and £96 per person per month (around 20 per cent) respectively.

In comparison, office space in areas such as London, Bristol and Leeds have largely held their value in the latter half of 2011.

Office Genie managing director Ciaron Dunne commented: "This is great news for entrepreneurs in these key business hubs. Both Manchester and Birmingham have proven to be hotbeds of innovation over the years, but in tough financial times it can be hard to make the leap from home project to fully fledged business.

"As the New Year starts, many budding entrepreneurs will have promised themselves they would get more professional in 2012: moving out of the garage or bedroom and into a serviced office is the perfect start to achieving that goal.

"Also, serviced offices let you explore the idea of taking that step without having to make a huge commitment. Many of these office schemes let you sign up on a month-by-month basis, while also offering the flexibility to rent the amount of desks you need, rather than committing long term to an office you may not be able to fill, or will outgrow."

At the time of going to press, Office Genie had more than 5,000 serviced offices listed in the Manchester area and more than 3,000 in Birmingham, as well as a large selection of shared, rented and sublet offices.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Office Genie is the UK's leading desk space website, providing an independent environment to both let desks and compare them, for free. The original site, Desk Space Genie, was launched in 2009 as the first dedicated desk space office search engine. The name was changed to Office Genie in 2010 as the range of desks available spread to include serviced space and complete offices. The site is one of the most popular in its field, regularly featuring in the national press. http://www.officegenie.co.uk