New office forecasts for seven regional UK cities

We have augmented our UK Commercial Property coverage with the addition of office forecasts for seven major regional cities. Overall performance is informed by our views on the RoUK market, but differences in the outlook for regional labour markets, trends in demand, supply pipelines and readiness for EPC standards lead to significant variation across the cities. In terms of total returns, at 8.6% p.a. over 2026-29 we expect Cardiff to outperform, while Birmingham is at the bottom of the table with returns of 5.6% p.a. But most regional cities still do relatively well compared to Central London, where a lower income return will keep returns to 6.2% p.a.