■  2014 was an exceptionally strong year in the Manchester office market, with total take-up reaching 1.3m sq ft, its second highest level in the last 15 years. This strength looks like it has continued into 2015, with the take-up in the first six months of this year reaching 663,525 sq ft.

Source: Savills Research

■  This strong transaction level is the result of seven lettings of over 20,000 sq ft in the first six months of 2015, compared to ten of the same size in the whole of 2014.

■  Overall the profile of tenant demand this year has been broadly similar to 2014, with the most active acquiring sector being Business & Consumer Services, closely followed by the Professions. The proportion of the total take-up that was driven by the TMT sector has fallen slightly over the last 12 months, and accounted for 13% of the space leased in the first half of 2015.

■  The level of active demand for office space in central Manchester remains healthy, driven both by local and national demand. It is notable that there has been a marked increase in requirements from the legal sector, with 'northshoring' clearly in vogue amongst London-based law firms.

■  Following a period of significant office development throughout 2006–08 Manchester has experienced a continued erosion of Grade A supply. This has accelerated dramatically during the course of 2014 and early 2015. The completion of One St Peters Square in 2014 added approximately 270,000 sq ft of new Grade A accommodation to the supply of stock however it is anticipated this will be predominantly let by the end of 2015.

■  With continued pressure on supply, we estimate that the total Grade A availability in the CBD has now fallen below 500,000 sq ft for the first time since 2007. This figure is even lower for the best quality space, and we estimate that there is currently only 260,000 sq ft of the best quality space available in the market. We anticipate a further reduction in the level of availability throughout the second half of 2015 and early 2016.

Source: Savills Research

■  As a result of the imbalance between healthy demand and limited stock as outlined above, a number of new build schemes have commenced development in the first half of 2015. These include One New Bailey Street, the XYZ Building, 101 Embankment, 2 St Peters Square, and One Spinningfields. These six projects will deliver just over one million square feet of new build space over 2016–18.

■  There is also currently around 500,000 sq ft of significant refurbishments in the city centre office market.

■  The impact of the scarcity of Grade A stock is now starting to be felt, with top rents within the City Centre increasing. A headline rent of £32 psf was achieved in 2014 and we anticipate £34 psf will be achieved during 2015.