UK regional office take-up rebounded in Q1 2024, largely driven by the professional services and banking/finance sectors. Demand for Grade A space continues to drive leasing activity, in turn resulting in record rental growth in some key regional cities.
Key findings from our Q1 2024 report indicate that:
- Total take-up across the top ten regional cities reached 1.14 million sq ft in Q1 2024, up 9.2% year-on-year.
- Leasing activity remained mixed from city to city, with some markets outperforming in Q1 2024, including Birmingham, Leeds and Edinburgh.
- A lack of larger deals continues to hinder total take-up levels, with just two deals over 50,000 sq ft in Q1 2024, as operators continue to seek opportunities to downsize.
- While average regional vacancy is above the long term average at 10.5%, Grade A vacancy remains very low at just 2.3% due to a lack of available new supply.
- As of Q1 2024, 38% of the regional development pipeline has been pre-let, some of which resulting in record rents.
