26 Wharf Street is set to be the first home of cryptocurrency trading platform Digital Surge, which has continued an impressive growth trajectory since its inception in 2017. Given their field and method of work Digital Surge have been able to operate remotely to date, but with the team growing and a desire to create a distinguishable culture it was clear that bringing people together in a centralised office would be the next step in the evolution of the business.

As cryptocurrencies continue to develop and become a more “investor grade asset class” platforms like Digital Surge will benefit from the increased awareness of their service and will find a position as a market leader through doing the basics well – providing a great product and backing it up with excellent customer service.

This deal is representative of a few recent leasing trends that Caden has captured as the Brisbane office market comes back to life. One is the recent flurry of businesses that are growing out of their serviced office premises wanting to get into their own directly leased office. With rental discounting in the serviced office sector rife through 2020 we are now seeing full rates return which is putting stress on some occupiers. As a result, they have come to the direct office market where incentives above ready-to-go fit outs are proving more attractive.

This deal also falls into a trend amongst recent deals in which over 80% of transactions have been completed in fitted spaces. Fitted options are being favoured at the moment as flexibility of lease term is consistently a preference amongst active tenants, however building owners typically require a 5 year lease to justify construction of a new fit out. As such, fitted options allow a building owner to have a more flexible approach where they can agree a shorter lease term.

26 Wharf Street continues to roll on, coming from staring down the barrel of nearly 70% vacancy only just over 12 months ago. With only two full floors to go, 26 Wharf has proven its value in the market and will look to capitalise on improving market conditions with these final vacancies.

For more information on the building, or the market in general please contact Lewis Harper on 0437 187 659 or at lewis.harper@caden.com.au