Take-up of office space in Leeds city centre fell by more than half in 2020

Take-up of office space in the centre of Leeds fell by more than half in 2020 after businesses paused their search for new premises
Step Change Debt moved into new offices at 123 Albion Street in Leeds during the final quarter of 2020.Step Change Debt moved into new offices at 123 Albion Street in Leeds during the final quarter of 2020.
Step Change Debt moved into new offices at 123 Albion Street in Leeds during the final quarter of 2020.

New figures released yesterday by the Leeds Office Agents’ Forum show that occupier take-up reached 337,446 sq ft in 2020, a 55 per cent decrease compared with the previous year.

In the final three months of 2020, city centre office take-up reached 88,793 sq ft across 14 deals. There were two transactions over 10,000 sq ft - the largest was the letting to StepChange Debt Charity, who took 45,893 sq ft at 123 Albion Street.

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Meanwhile, in the out-of-town market, there were 22 deals reaching 59,925 sq ft of between October and December. Notable deals included the 9,300 sq ft freehold sale of Rofta House at Thorp Arch to Core Care Holdings.

Take-up for the whole year in the out-of-town market was 172,627 sq ft, a 38 per cent decrease compared to 2019.

The Forum highlighted that the challenge is to deliver the right workplaces for businesses in a post-Covid world.

Jill Goodman, from Avison Young, said: “Without doubt the pandemic has given occupiers the opportunity to assess how they safely occupy their workplaces in the future, and we expect the tangible, longer term impact on the physical office to become clearer in the not-so-distant future.”

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