City centre office deals up but there is a lack of supply in Leeds
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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Hide AdRoss 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.”