Figures revealed from the Leeds Office Agents’ Forum (LOAF) show office take-up for the second quarter of 2022 reached a total of 201,378 sq ft in Leeds.
Leeds city centre recorded 147,047 sq ft of take-up across 23 office deals in the three months from April to the end of June 2022 (Q2 2022).
The 53,058 sq ft freehold acquisition of 105 Albion Street by the Department for Education was the largest completed in the city centre. Wellington Place also welcomed new occupiers including Redmayne Bentley who took 11,743 sq ft for its new Leeds head office at number 3 and Burendo signed for 2,271 sq ft at number 10.
Forum member Jill Goodman from Avison Young said: “We saw continued occupier confidence in Leeds office market with a 19% increase in Q2 city centre take-up compared with the first three months of the year. The highest rental achieved was £34 per sq ft maintaining the city’s prime rental figure and underlining Leeds as a cost-effective location in comparison to other regional cities.
“Formerly the headquarters of Leeds Building Society, the future of 105 Albion Street is now cemented with the sale to the Department for Education and plans lodged to convert the building into a new educational facility. The deals concluded at Wellington Place reinforce the draw of quality space and amenities.”
In Leeds’s out-of-town market a total of 54,331 sq ft across 29 office deals was completed in Q2 2022. The largest was to care home provider Maria Mallaband Care Group who took 7,625 sq ft at Westcourt on Gelderd Road. The average size of transactions in Q2 2022 was smaller at 1,873 sq ft, compared to 3,401 sq ft in Q1.
Robin Beagley from WSB added: “We saw 29 out-of-town office transactions which is a healthy level although average deal sizes were smaller. There were just three deals over 5,000 sq ft to complete: the letting to Maria Mallaband Care Group, 5,835 sq ft was leased to Gym King at Temple Point, and Northern Estate Agencies, the umbrella company for Manning Stainton, Ryder & Dutton, and Mortimers brands, acquired 5,565 sq ft at Lawnswood Business Park.”
“The highest rent achieved was over £19 per sq ft for several smaller suites. An absence of good quality supply remains a concern especially when newer buildings can command rentals of £24 per sq ft in the best business parks.”
The Leeds Office Agents’ Forum is made up of Avison Young, BNP Paribas, Bowcliffe, Carter Towler, Carter Jonas, CBRE, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, Eddisons, Fox Lloyd Jones, JLL, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, Ryden, Sanderson Weatherall, Savills, and WSB.
