Birmingham is the United Kingdom’s second largest city after London but often suffers by comparison and from its relative proximity to the British capital. Only 200 kilometres separate the two cities and, although there is a 20-minute interval high-speed train service, there are no direct flights, sometimes taken as a hallmark of a city’s status. It might be unkind to call Birmingham a back office location for London-based firms, but…

Knight Frank reports that UK regional office occupier demand in Q2 2015 — at a combined take-up of 193,238 square metres — was 51 percent higher than in Q1, and that total investment was at its highest level since 2007. Birmingham was the best performer, with take-up of 48,415 square metres.

“Improved occupier confidence led to a surge in pre-letting activity and high levels of take-up across the main regional office markets in Q2 2015,” says Stephen Hodgson, head of regional offices at Knight Frank, “which we anticipate w