Occupier demand in Leeds breaks national average
OCCUPIER demand for office space in the UK’s major regional cities, including Leeds, has seen record take-up figures.
Although levels of supply have fallen, demand has continued to rise, says the latest regional office market report from GVA.
Leeds saw strong activity over the past year, breaking the national city centre take-up average with a 13% increase.
The city saw 550,000 sq ft of deals completed during 2014, which was led by the largest deal in the city, law firm Squire Patton Boggs’ 33,000 sq ft tenancy at MEPC’s Wellington Place.
Another area that Leeds outperformed the market in 2014 was rental growth. This was marked by headline rents in the city increasing from £25 per sq ft in the fourth quarter of 2013 to £26 per sq ft in the same period last year. Net effective rent was also up by 10.7%, beating the average of the top five cities, which currently stands at 5.3%.
Matthew Tootell, director of offices at GVA Leeds, said: “Leeds mirrors the growth that the eight biggest cities are currently witnessing, and we’re confident that as we continue to move into 2015, Leeds and the broader Yorkshire market will remain prosperous.
“In line with last year, we’re expecting to see particularly strong rental growth, as improving occupier demand and shortages of grade A space should lead to a gradual acceleration in headline regional office rental growth.”
Leeds has also been placed in the top five cities for out-of-town deals, with 118,132 sq ft of take-up in the previous quarter.
Nationwide, out-of-town deals have also witnessed growth, with an increase of 28% above the five-year quarterly average.
