City centre office deals up but there is a lack of supply in Leeds

Leeds recorded a healthy year for city centre office space take-up in 2019 but property experts warn the city is running out of available new space this year.
The forthcoming Temple district in Leeds will include new office buildings like Globe Square.The forthcoming Temple district in Leeds will include new office buildings like Globe Square.
The forthcoming Temple district in Leeds will include new office buildings like Globe Square.

New 2019 figures by the Leeds Office Agents’ Forum (LOAF) show that occupier take-up in Leeds city centre reached 743,192 sq ft in 2019, 12 per cent higher than the previous year.

In the final three months, city centre office take-up reached 164,398 sq ft across 31 deals. There were three transactions over 10,000 sq ft - the largest being the letting to Sky of 31,000 sq ft at 26 Whitehall Road.

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Ross Firth from, Cushman & Wakefield, said a squeeze on supply is putting upward pressure on city centre rents, with £32.50 per sq ft typically being quoted on the best space.

LOAF’s data also showed that 84,483 sq ft of office space, across 28 deals, was transacted across the out-of-town market in Q4 last year. In total, 280,524 sq ft was transacted across the year in the out-of-town market, a 30 per cent decrease compared to 2018.

Alex Hailey, from CBRE, said: “The lack of good quality office product will continue to be an issue.”

Paul Richardson, of CEG, which is building the first office building at the Temple district - said: “Pre-lets of speculatively built office accommodation are going to continue to be the main option for occupiers looking to the city for the next two to three years.”

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