Office letting activity across Leeds’ city centre and out-of-town markets has continued to demonstrate robust performance, with the Leeds Office Agents Forum (LOAF) recording 681,029 sq ft of transactions in the first nine months of 2024.
According to LOAF’s data, Leeds city centre office take-up in quarter three (Q3 2024), reached 146,372 sq ft across 33 deals. Q3 city centre activity was up 7% compared to the same three-month period last year and 47% higher than in Q2 2024.
Among the key city centre transactions, the University of Law’s commitment to 15,241 sq ft at Yorkshire House on Greek Street was the largest, highlighting the ongoing importance of the legal and education sectors in the Leeds office market. Another notable city centre deal was with WIZU, a locally headquartered flexible workspace provider, who took 13,860 sq ft at One Embankment, further strengthening Leeds as a hub for flexible office solutions.
Clem McDowell, director from Carter Towler commented: “As city centre supply levels continue to tighten, upward pressure on rents remains. The highest prime rent achieved in Q3 was £39.00 per sq ft, and prime rents are expected to reach the £40 per sq ft plus mark soon.”
The out-of-town office market delivered an impressive performance in Q3, with take-up reaching 112,893 sq ft across 22 deals. This was the highest quarterly total since Q1 2021, and a 55% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Key out-of-town deals included Persimmon Homes acquiring 13,134 sq ft at Temple Point, and flexible office space provider 2 Work securing 10,026 sq ft at the Plateworks House in Seacroft.
Eamon Fox, partner from Knight Frank, added: “It has been an encouraging quarter for the out-of-town market, which recorded its highest activity level in over three years.
“A series of significant deals underscores the strong demand for high-quality office space outside the city centre, where we are seeing an asset class start to compete with its city centre counterpart, in terms of sustainability, technology, transport and the decarbonisation challenge.”
Members of the Leeds Office Agents Forum include Avison Young, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Bowcliffe, Carter Towler, Carter Jonas, CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, Fox Lloyd Jones, JLL, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, Sanderson Weatherall, Savills and WSB.