Take-up

Q3 take-up totalled 112,000 sq ft. This was 17% above the pre-Covid Q3 2019 total and was just 16% below the long-term Q3 average for the market. There were 31 transactions in Q3 2022, which was 19% above the five-year Q3 average for the market.

This takes 2022 total take-up to 327,000 sq ft which already surpasses the annual total achieved in 2021 by 28%.

Grade A take-up of 24,000 sq ft accounted for 21% of total take-up in Q3. The largest Grade A deal was the 10,000 sq ft acquisition by PwC at One Kingsway.

Supply

Total supply reached 1.6 million sq ft at the end of Q3 2022. This represented a decrease of 5% on the Q2 2022 total. That being said, with a strong year so far in terms of take-up and a limited development pipeline, Savills expects the supply total to continue to decrease in the remaining quarter of 2022 and into 2023.

Grade A supply currently sits at 330,000 sq ft. This represents a significant decrease of 29% on the Q2 total. With resilient demand for best-in-class space, Savills expects the Grade A supply total to continue to fall moving towards 2023.

Take-up by business sector

The Public Services, Education & Health sector was the most active in Q3, accounting for 28% of the take-up. This included the 17,000 sq ft letting to the University of Wales Trinity St David at Haywood House North in the city centre.

Elsewhere, it was a successful quarter for the Property Companies, Development and Construction sector, which was the second most active sector, accounting for 25% of the Q3 total spread across two deals.

Rents

There was no change in the prime rent in Cardiff in Q3 2022. Although the prime rent remains at £25.00 per sq ft, Savills latest rental forecasts are predicting rental growth in the market for the first time in six years, with the likelihood that rents will top £30.00 per sq ft by the end of 2022/early 2023. Average Grade A rents have increased significantly from 2015 to 2022, with average Grade A rents standing at £22.80 at the end of Q3.

Interested in other areas of the UK?

View all of our latest Q3 2022 Occupational Office Data research here.