The Midlands office space market operates across ten postcodes in the East & West Midlands: B (Birmingham), CV (Coventry), DY (Dudley), DE (Derby), LE (Leicester), NG (Nottingham), ST (Stoke on Trent), TF (Telford), WV (Wolverhampton), and WS (Walsall). Spanning a wide geographical area with over 300 flexible office buildings sees the price of office space range dramatically from £60 per desk in smaller cities and towns to £650 in prime city centre locations. Birmingham is the region’s largest and most expensive area to rent an office, with desks rates rising by 22% in Q2 2026 driven by demand outstripping supply of Grade A space. – Last updated
| Budget tier | Essential | Comfort | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| From (£/desk) | £60/month | £150/month | £280/month |
| To (£/desk) | £150/month | £280/month | £650/month |
| Building grade | Functional, no-frills space on a tight budget | Well-finished, comfortable and practical | High-spec design with a polished finish |
| Where in the area | Lower grade city centre, smaller towns and city fringes |
Core city centre, business parks and larger towns |
Prime city centre or business park postcodes |
Unsurprisingly, Birmingham is at the forefront as a destination for business followed by Nottingham and Coventry in the Midlands. Birmingham is favoured by professional and financial services clustering around Colmore Row and Brindleyplace including HSBC and Lloyds Banking whilst creative and technology businesses favour Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter. Nottingham is popular with finance and tech firms with Experian and Capital One both choosing the City for regional offices. The universities in Coventry have attracted advanced manufacturing technologies and across the region more broadly Bet365 are based in Stoke on Trent and Next chose Enderby in Leicester as their HQ.
The Midlands really is just that. It is arguably one of the best places to be connected to both the North and South with both the road and rail networks. The M6 opens routes to Manchester and the North whilst the M5 routes to the south. The Midlands enjoys some of the best rail connections outside of London, with Birmingham New Street to Manchester Piccadilly taking 1 hour 27 minutes and Birmingham International to Euston 1 hour 10 minutes.
Birmingham leads the way in offering the widest choice in both style and grade of office space in the Midlands. Within the City centre businesses can choose from period properties in the financial district or ultra modern space in regenerated districts like Digbeth. Business parks make up around 30% of office stock in the Midlands with Birmingham Business Park in Solihull, Pride Park in Derby and East Midlands Business Park in Castle Donington being notable for both size and quality of space. Spaces in City centres such as Stoke on Trent, Walsall or Derby tend to be of a lower grade due to less investment but offer good value for money to businesses looking for functional space.
Covering an area with 10 postcodes the Midlands is a real mix of very cheap and affordable offices in smaller towns such as Walsall and Dudley with space starting from less than £100 per desk in some cases versus Grade A spectacular office developments within Central Birmingham that can easily ask for over £600 per desk. On average, regional cities and towns in the Midlands are between 37% and 58% cheaper than a comparable office space in London making the area a realistic choice for businesses looking to branch out of London but still attract talent and maintain decent transport links. The East Midlands focussing on Nottingham and Derby offer the lowest cost city centre space in the region with prices starting from £250 per desk.
Across the region, current flexible desk rates run from £60 per desk per month up to £650. This is list price for flexible office space, which is priced on an all-inclusive basis.
Stoke on Trent, Walsall and Dudley offer some of the most cost effective spaces in the Midlands. Flexible office space pricing is largely dependant on the occupancy of a specific building, the location and the quality of fit out so prices can be dramatically different within the same City.
Birmingham is the UK’s second city with billions of pounds invested in its development over recent years so with this comes a premium price to pay. Demand is also outstripping supply in grade A buildings and so this will also drive up the prices charged for remaining available stock.
Central Birmingham is around 35% cheaper than London, with smaller cities and towns being up to 58% cheaper.
Since 2022 there has been a significant increase in office providers entering the market in Nottingham, Derby, and peripheral areas of Birmingham like Solihull and Tamworth. In these areas, a space with a premium quality fit out could cost you at least 50% less than a comparable product in Central Birmingham.
One of the best in the UK as it is a the meeting point of the national motorway network. The M6 takes you north to Manchester and joins the M1 at Rugby. The M5 takes you to the south west and the M40 to London. Major improvements are also being made to the M42 network which services Birmingham Airport and the NEC.
The fastest train out of Birmingham International to Euston is only 1 hour and 10 minutes (or 1 hour 19 minutes from Birmingham New Street if you needed a City Centre station).
We cover the whole of the Midlands and have been helping businesses find offices for over 20 years. Often we have access to spaces in smaller areas and towns that other companies won’t due to our experience in the market.
Usually very quickly in a flexible office. If the office is not occupied once you have agreed the commercials with your new office provider it is often within a matter of days.
In Birmingham prices have jumped by 22% in 2026 so yes. However, pricing the region more broadly have not increased at this rate and instead sit at around 1-5% increases year on year.
