Take-up

2022 take-up for Leeds totalled 600,000 sq ft. This was broadly in line with the long-term average for the market. Take-up increased in every quarter of the year, with Q4 take-up of 210,000 sq ft achieving the best Q4 total since 2015.

Grade A take-up reached 370,000 sq ft which accounted for 61% of the take-up total in 2022. The largest Grade A letting in Q4 was the 36,000 sq ft acquisition by Arup at 11/12 Wellington Place. 2022 Grade A take-up was spread across 45 completed deals which was the highest number of annual Grade A lettings on record since 2007.

Supply

Total availability at the end of 2022 was 780,000 sq ft. This means that availability decreased by 10% in 2022. Furthermore, Grade A supply stood at 325,000 sq ft at year end, meaning that total Grade A availability fell by 17% in 2022.

The total vacancy rate for the market is 6.4%, with the Grade A vacancy rate falling 50 basis points in 2022 to 2.7% for Leeds city centre. There is less than a year of available Grade A supply based on average demand, highlighting the current lack of Grade A availability in the Leeds market.

Take-up by business sector

The Public Services, Education & Health sector was the most active in 2022, accounting for 26% of total take-up. The represented an increase of 7% in its share of annual take-up compared to 2021. The largest letting in the sector in 2022 was the Q4 55,000 sq ft acquisition by Leeds Trinity University at 1 Trevelyan Square.

Elsewhere, the Professional sector was the second most active, recording 115,000 sq ft take-up which equated to 19% of the overall total across 23 completed transactions. This was the largest number of completed annual deals for the sector since 2015.

Rents

There was no further increase in the prime rent in Q4 2022, which currently stands at £36 per sq ft. That being said, the prime rent did grow by 6% in 2022 and has grown by a significant 20% over the last five years. Equally, average Grade A rents have increased over the same period. The average Grade A rent in 2022 was £29.22 per sq ft, which represents a 21% increase on the 2018 Grade A average.

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