Take-up

Q1 2022 take-up, totalling 234,275 sq ft, was the highest Q1 take-up level since 2005, beating the previous record set in 2020. Furthermore, this was a significant 83% above the five-year Q1 average.

Grade A take-up accounted for 47% of Q1 take-up. This included the 22,500 sq ft deal to Deloitte at Halo, and 15,600 sq ft to law firm Clarke Willmott at Assembly, building C. With construction yet to complete at either of these two sites, this demonstrates the pace at which occupiers are moving for best in class space within the Bristol market.

Supply

Total supply currently stands at 733,000 sq ft. This equates to just 1.3 years of supply, and with Savills regarding anything under two years as a undersupply, availability within the Bristol city centre market is currently extremely limited.

The current Grade A supply level in the market is 136,000 sq ft. This represents a significant decrease of 23% on the Q4 2021 total and is indicative of the severe lack of Grade A supply within the market. As such, Grade A vacancy rate decreased by 0.5% to 0.9% at the end of Q1 2022.

Take-up by business sector

The TMT sector continues to perform strongly in Bristol, recording 105,000 sq ft take-up in Q1 2022, which accounted for 45% of the overall total. This included the 55,000 sq ft acquisition by Paymentsense UK at CEG’s EQ building, where construction is due to complete in Q1 2023.

Elsewhere, it was also a promising start to the year for the Professional sector. Total take-up of 64,000 sq ft accounted for 27% of the overall total take-up, which in terms of quantum has already surpassed the annual total achieved in 2021.

Rents

The prime rent in Bristol increased by 12% in Q1 2022 to £42.50 per sq ft at quarter end. With this latest increase, prime rent in Bristol has grown by 49% since 2016, and at £42.50 per sq ft, Bristol has the highest prime rent in the UK Big Six markets. Equally, average Grade A rents have also increased significantly during this period. The average Grade A rent in Q1 2022 was £39.87 per square foot, a 9% increase on the 2021 Grade A average.

Interested in other areas of the UK?

View all of our latest Occupational Office Data research here.