Guy Grantham, head of UK regional office research for ATIS Real Weatheralls, said: 'The sluggish development pipeline is unlikely to mitigate the imbalance between supply and demand for the right product in some regional centres. The broader, less IT-reliant occupier base in these centres - compared to the South East - means there is every possibility that core locations will see uplift of between five and 10%.'
However UK economic growth is forecast by most economists to slow to 1.5-2% during 2002. While this is a long way from recession, and if achieved it will represent the strongest growth among the G7 nations, ATIS real Weatheralls warns that it will have an impact on office demand across the UK.
'Recent evidence suggests many occupiers, particularly in the financial services sector, are putting space requirements on hold in the short term,' said Grantham.
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