Knight Frank predicts record-breaking Leeds rents by the end of Q1
The property consultancy anticipates rents raising from the £40/sq ft mark to a high of £46/sq ft by the end of March, primarily due to a scarcity in quality office space.
Eamon Fox, partner and head of development at the company’s Leeds office, noted how Leeds is now regarded as the UK’s most enterprising regional city alongside Manchester.
“We are also blessed with some talented developers, such as CEG, Rushbond, Kinrise and Opus North.
“At Knight Frank, we expect to be busy, across all sectors, including investment and industrial, as well as office agency.
“There is no doubt that this has been an interesting, if challenging, 12 months for the commercial property sector in Leeds and the wider Yorkshire region.
“However, the combination of a stuttering economy and political instability has not dampened investor enthusiasm and confidence in building and enhancing brand-new offices in Leeds, confidence based on continued strong letting activity, large relocations to Leeds by firms growing into Leeds for the first time and a thinning pipeline of quality office space.”
Significant deals that underline his points include x+why’s 34,000 sq ft leasing at Bridgewater Place, and Ashtrom Properties £80m acquisition of the 230,000 sq ft Central Square building was Leeds’ largest office investment deal for more than five years.
That sale, says Fox, “was described by my colleague Henrie Westlake as a deal that will ‘almost certainly be viewed as the bellwether deal of this cycle’.”
Rounding off, Fox notes: “It’s important to be optimistic. The iconic City Square House, next to Leeds Station is now open for business with high-class occupiers such as DLA Piper and Markel having moved in, while Kinrise’s Trevelyan Square and 34 Boar Lane continue to set a high bar for superb office space.
“CEG’s Temple continues to be an exceptional successes and Opus’s 12 King Street has big news coming in Q1, 2025 on the final few lettings in the building.”