Leeds office take-up surges as rents rise to record £52.50/sq ft
According to Colliers’ latest Regional Office Snapshot, take-up reached almost 180,000 sq ft in Q2 – more than five times the 34,000 sq ft recorded in Q1 and the highest quarterly total since Q1 2025.
Office take-up in Leeds surged in the second quarter of 2026, with occupiers signing for 179,898 sq ft of space as demand rebounded from a slow start to the year.
Four lettings of more than 10,000 sq ft contributed to the strong quarterly performance, led by a 71,572 sq ft deal at Livingstone House to Luminate Education Group, with plans to convert the space into a new Leeds City College campus with the backing of £8m of government funding.
Greencore, one of the UK’s largest convenience food manufacturers, also took 39,468 sq ft at Broad Gate on a 15-year lease.
The education sector was the largest acquirer of office space during the first half of the year, driven by the Luminate deal.
However, the wider service sector – including technology and professional services businesses – accounted for half of all take-up in H1 2026.
Despite the sharp increase in occupier activity, the availability of new grade A space remains a major constraint on the market.
Colliers said the city’s grade A vacancy rate remained unchanged at 0.9% during Q2, with no activity recorded at any of the marketed schemes, and it expects the vacancy rate to fall further during the second half of the year as new supply remains “critically constrained”.
The only new office space delivered in Leeds so far in 2026 has been Vastint’s 75,000 sq ft Kellstone scheme at Aire Park, which reached practical completion in June and where 26,234 sq ft remains available. Eversheds Sutherland exchanged on 47,000 sq ft at the scheme in Q3 2025, with the lease completing in Q2 2026.
The shortage of new grade A offices is also pushing occupiers towards second-hand premium space, according to Colliers, with six individual deals recorded on second-hand stock in the city centre during Q2, including Greencore’s deal at Broad Gate, alongside activity at Majestic, Platform and 34 Boar Lane.
Colliers said the lack of new grade A product was forcing occupiers keen to retain a city centre location to consider alternative options, and meanwhile rising demand and limited supply are continuing to put upward pressure on rents.
The headline Leeds office rent increased again in Q2 to a new record of £52.50 per sq ft, following a deal agreed by DAC Beachcroft at 31 Wellington Street.
Gateley has also agreed a deal at £52.50 per sq ft, while quoting rents of £55 per sq ft are now becoming the norm, pointing to a Leeds office market where occupier demand is recovering strongly, but where the availability of high-quality space is increasingly failing to keep pace.
Dominic Pozzoni, head of national offices at Colliers added: “The first half of 2026 has reinforced a clear trend across the UK regional office market: occupier demand remains firmly focused on high-quality grade A space, while available supply continues to tighten.
“Despite varying levels of leasing activity between cities, the strength of rental growth and exceptionally low new-build vacancy rates in key regional centres underline the resilience of the market.
“With development pipelines remaining constrained and businesses continuing to prioritise best-in-class workplaces, we expect further upward pressure on rents and continued competition for prime space through the remainder of the year.”
