Leeds office market slow but steady
The latest data from the Leeds Office Agents Forum shows city centre take-up for the year so far is around 25,000 sq ft less than this time last year, but consistent with the long-term average.
A total of 84,329 sq ft of office deals was carried out in Leeds centre during Q2 of 2025, transacted across 21 deals.
The largest of these was to JN Bentley, who took 17,124 sq ft at No1 Whitehall Riverside.
As H1 comes to a close, city centre take-up has reached 325,611 sq ft, compared to the same period last year which totalled 349,332 sq ft.
Two mid-sized lettings secured headline rents of £40/sq ft during Q2: Catella APAM let the fourth floor of One City Square to intellectual property firm HGF, on a 10-year lease, and a letting to accountancy firm PKF, who occupies the third floor of One Park Row.
Activity in the out of town market was quiet, with 41,642 sq ft let across 20 deals, the largest of which was 10,339 sq ft at Trueman House, Capitol Park, to Harron Homes.
LOAF members include Avison Young, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Carter Towler, Carter Jonas, CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, Fox Lloyd Jones, JLL, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, Sanderson Weatherall, Savills and WSB.
Nick Salkeld, director at Fox Lloyd Jones, remains optimistic: “Occupier demand for amenity-rich, sustainable workspace continues to dominate the market.
“With the current supply rapidly diminishing and a restricted pipeline, we continue to see rents pushing comfortably past £40/sq ft for standing stock and around £50/sq ft quoted on new builds.
“There are a handful of key pre-let requirements for 2027–29 that we anticipate will unlock new schemes across the city.”
Toby Nield, director from Savills, added: “Nearly a third of all transactions this quarter were for space over 5,000 sq ft, compared to the long-term average of around 4,000 sq ft.
“This indicates growing confidence, with businesses expanding and encouraging a return to five-day office working.
“We are aware of a number of significant transactions under offer, at strong rents; therefore, we are optimistic of a strong take-up performance in the second half of the year.”
