Drivers Jonas Deloitte’s annual Manchester Crane Survey shows 11 new starts recorded compared with just five in 2010.

Cranes are more visible around the city, with building work under way at King Street, at the former Boddingtons Brewery and around the Co-op’s new headquarters on Miller Street.

Drivers Jonas Deloitte said much of the construction activity is accounted for by hotels and student housing, as several major schemes emerge on the city’s southern fringes.

These include including Unite’s £4m Arch Bar development and more than 1,200 student beds in and around Oxford Road being granted planning permission.

Adam Robson, senior surveyor from Drivers Jonas Deloitte, said: “The lack of new office development provides fertile ground for new opportunities in 18 to 24 months’ time, once existing supply has been eaten up.

“With nothing on the horizon post-2011, large occupiers could soon be considering pre-lets.”