The First Innings: Perth and Edgbaston

As Russell Crowe once famously remarked: “It doesn’t matter if it’s cockroach races, cricket or football: if you grow up in Australia, you want to beat England at everything”. Strong stuff, one might think (especially coming from a New Zealander). 

 With this in mind and in the spirit of the enduring England / Australia rivalry, Oscar Higgins and I will be packing up our figurative cricket coffins and exploring each of the upcoming test venues hosting the 2025/26 Ashes Series. 

 Throughout each post, we’ll be exploring each local market’s commercial real estate landscape, while including equally iconic English Ashes test venues along the way, along with an insight into that market’s commercial real estate offering. 

 Dramatic? Unpredictable? Potential for a huge upset? Definitely (and that’s just the real estate element).

Oscar: From Doug Walters’ and Adam Gilchrist’s blistering centuries to Stokes’ defiant ton in 2013 against Mitchell Johnson’s fiery pace, Western Australia has played host to some of the Ashes’ most iconic moments.  However, new beginnings beckon for the West, as the 60,000 capacity Optus Stadium stands ready to take the reins from the iconic WACA ground and host its first Ashes test and, in doing so, create its own legacy of Ashes glory. 

What, however, can be said about Perth’s current commercial property landscape?

Perth’s CBD office market saw a rise in vacancy to 17%, propelled by new supply (a welcome addition to Perth’s ageing office stock, akin to Australia’s bowling attack) and tenant contractions.[1] Despite this, vacancy remains below the historical 10-year average.  New development initiatives, including Nine the Esplanade and the recent 6,200 sqm conversion of 100 St Georges Terrace (fully leased to South32), have ushered premium space into the market.[2] That said, it is likely that no further developments will come online until 2030, marking the longest supply gap in three decades.  Premium net face rents rose 1.2% QoQ to $771/sqm, while A-grade rents increased 1.1% to $674/sqm.  Occupier activity remains dominated by mining outfits, accounting for 47% of leasing activity during Q2.[3] Effective rental growth is offset by elevated incentives, driven by high fit out costs and subdued demand.  Investment activity has been limited, though signs of renewed interest are emerging in the face of compelling fundamentals as yields soften to 6.6%–8.8% across Premium, A-grade and B-grade assets. 

Retail in Perth, buoyed by national tailwinds, is outperforming the market.  Regional centre rents are up 1.6% YoY, Sub-regional up 0.9%, and Neighbourhood Centres rising 1.6% YoY.  Large Format Retail (LFR) rents grew 2.2% YoY, supported by strong household spending and limited new supply.[4] Investor interest remains high across all retail sub-sectors, with yields (6%) stable or compressing due to strong demand and limited transaction opportunities.  Perth’s retail assets are benefiting from tight vacancy and population growth, with capital inflows continuing to strengthen.

Perth’s industrial sector, historically underpinned by Western Australia’s mining sector, is one of the tightest nationally, with vacancy falling to 2.6% in Q3.  Take-up volumes for Q3 2025 reached 90,600 sqm, driven by strong demand in the south and east submarkets.  Despite the moderation in face rent growth over the past two years, prime rents recorded an increase of 5.6% YoY to $141/sqm, while secondary rents increased 2.3% to $111/sqm.  Incentives held steady, and investment volumes surged, with $246.8 million YTD, surpassing 2024 levels by 75%.  Private investors constitute a particularly active source of capital, although institutional interest remains (such as Centuria’s acquisition of 7–11 & 25–27 Gauge Circuit, Canning Vale in March 2025).  Yields tightened to 6.42% (prime) and 7.00% (secondary), reflecting investor confidence and limited supply.[5] Downward pressure on interest rates should continue to prop up investment activity in the space. 

Across the board, Perth’s strong economic fundamentals, including population growth and ongoing strength in the resources sector, continue to deliver stability for the market.  For us Australians, let us hope that Perth’s market stability mirrors Australia’s fortunes, as we look to consolidate our 71.4% winning percentage in the West and go 1-0 up to start the series. 

Oli: Birmingham’s Edgbaston has traditionally been a series opener for English Ashes series, as it most recently did in 2023, but has hosted Ashes series as far back as 1902. 

Immortalised in England cricket folklore as one of the “greatest tests of all time”, England famously beat Australia by two runs on the final day of play here back in the golden summer of 2005, which any England cricket fan will tell you, was down to heroics by Messrs Harmison, Jones and Flintoff, and not to the torn ligaments of a certain Glen McGarth, courtesy of what might be the luckiest stray ball in English cricket history. 

In terms of the local commercial property landscape, Birmingham and the West Midlands has had a resilient 2025 so far, with the Colmore Business District leading the way in respect of high-end office space being in demand in the most desirable city centre location, which, like the Hollies Stand on Day Three of a test on Saturdays, is nearly at capacity. Industrial lettings in the city have risen significantly, reaching 1.22 million sq ft in the first half of 2025: a blockbuster total even Harry Brook would be proud of. 

This builds a picture of Birmingham continuing its role as one of the UK’s most important economic hubs: perhaps the Ollie Pope of the UK commercial real estate landscape. 

Score Prediction:

Oscar: Australia win by 170 runs or 7 wickets.  Marnus Labuschagne will be man of the match, on the back of a first-innings century.

Oli: England to scrape home by 40 runs or 2 wickets. After Zak Crawley is dismissed for a characteristic sub 10 run total, heroics from Pope and Stokes will occur in the England engine room, with Bashir contributing in the attack on a dry Perth wicket. 

There is no Ashes rivalry between Minter Elison and Burges Salmon. If you’re interested in learning more on investing in commercial real estate or conducting M&A in the UK, please contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]