Take-up

In the final quarter of 2023, Leeds take-up totalled 112,000 sq ft across 32 deals done. Grade A take-up accounted for 56% of the total in Q4, which amounted to 63,000 sq ft.

2023 total take-up totalled 653,000 sq ft, 4% higher than the long-term average. This was also 9% higher than the 2022 total and the highest annual take-up since 2019. The largest deal of the year was 124,000 sq ft, which was acquired by Lloyds Bank at 11 & 12 Wellington Place.

Supply

Availability in Leeds totalled over 800,000 sq ft in Q4 2023, 11% higher than Q4 2022 and 26% higher than the previous quarter. This is largely due to 107,000 sq ft of space becoming available at West One.

Secondary space dominated the availability by totalling 555,000 sq ft, therefore accounting for 64% of the overall total. Grade A and Prime availability accounted for 36% of the supply, totalling 309,000 sq ft. Grade A vacancy rate has decreased to 2%, down 70 basis points on Q4 2022.

Take-up by business sector

The most active business sector in Q4 2023 was the 'Professional' sector, which leased a total of 33,000 sq ft across seven transactions, accounting for 29% of the total. Barnett Waddingham acquired the largest space in the sector and in the quarter at City Square House, a Grade A building, totalling 13,000 sq ft. Overall, during 2023, the 'Professional' sector leased 191,000 sq ft, accounting for 29% of the total.

Another notable active sector was the 'TMT' sector, which leased a total of 23,000 sq ft, accounting for 20% of the total. This was across five deals, with Sky leasing the largest deal totalling 8,500 sq ft at 26 Whitehall Road.

Rents

There was a new headline rent achieved in 2023, which reached £37 per sq ft, 3% higher than 2022. Savills latest rental forecasts expect headline rents to grow further to reach £40 per sq ft by the end of 2024, an 8% increase. Average Grade A rent in Q4 saw a slight increase to £31.16 per sq ft which represented growth of 26% on the 2019 average, as the top end of the market continues to perform strongly from a rental perspective. Rental forecasts are predicting headline rent to reach a high of £44 per sq ft by 2028.

Interested in other areas of the UK?

View all of our latest Q4 2023 Occupational Office Data research here.