Cambridge Property Report 2003

The Cambridge Property Report 2003 concentrates on the current trends in, and potential demand for, commercial property space in and around Cambridge. The data used has been drawn from interviews with innovation-based companies during the 3rd quarter of 2003. The report does not set out to describe the issues of supply, except in relation to sublet space, but focuses instead on demand from the current occupier’s perspective.

The companies that participated in the Cambridge Property Report 2003 (or “CPR companies”) occupy 7,031,380 sq ft. Of this space, the sector that occupies the most square footage is the Information Technology sector, followed by Life Sciences, Materials, Industrials, Telecommunication Services, Consumer Discretionary, and Energy. The most prevalent type of space among the CPR companies is Office, then Light Industrial, Other, Wet Lab, Dry Lab, and General Lab. Report highlights include:

Approximately 8% of the CPR companies have space over and above their needs. Of that surplus, 264,007 sq ft is available for sublet or 3.5% of the total space occupied.

The mean amount of space a Cluster company occupies is 10,432 sq ft, and the mean price paid per sq ft, per annum is £13.04.

There are 152 companies with plans to move in the period between June 2003 and June 2005. The sub-sector with the greatest number of companies with plans to move is Biotechnology.

Twenty-eight of the 152 companies that have plans to move wish to stay within 1 mile of their current location, 46 plan to move 1 to 5 miles, 51 plan to move more than 5 miles away, and 27 have no preference. Of the locations in demand, the Cambridge business/science parks were identified 56 times as a potential destination, the periphery surrounding Cambridge was identified 51 times, and the Cambridge city centre was identified 24 times.