Take-up

Total take-up in 2022 was 460,000 sq ft. This was a successful year for the Cardiff market recording its best annual take-up performance since 2018 and beating the five-year average for the market by 9%. Take-up was spread across 112 transactions which was the highest total of completed deals since 2007.

There was just over 200,000 sq ft of Grade take-up in 2022, which accounted for 44% of total take-up. This was up 5% on the five-year annual average Grade A proportion of 39% as the flight-to-quality picks up in the post-pandemic market.

Supply

Total supply was 1.55m sq ft at the end of 2022. This represented an increase of 9% on the 2021 total. That being said, this increase in supply was mostly due to Grade B and C space returning to the market which will be unlikely to let without refurbishment.

Grade A supply was 375,000 sq ft at year end. This represented a decrease of 10% on the Q4 2021 total which reinforces the occupier demand for the highest quality space that is available in the market. This is reflected by the falling Grade A vacancy rate, which stood at just 3.4% at the end of 2022.

Take-up by business sector

The TMT sector was the most active in Cardiff this year, accounting for 30% of total take-up. This was spread across 17 completed lettings with the largest being the 65,000 sq ft deal to BT at 3 Capital Quarter in Q1.

Elsewhere, Public, Services, Education and Health was the second most active, accounting for 17%. The largest letting was 17,000 sq ft to University of Wales Trinity St David, and with an annual deal count of 18, no sector completed more transactions than Public Services, Education and Health in 2022.

Rents

There was no change in the prime rent in Cardiff during 2022. Although the prime rent remains at £25 per sq ft, Savills latest rental forecasts are predicting rental growth in the market for the first time in seven years, with the likelihood that rents will reach £29 per sq ft in early 2023. Average Grade A rents have increased significantly from 2015 to 2022, with average Grade A rents standing at £22.41 at the end of 2022.

Interested in other areas of the UK?

View all of our latest Q4 2022 Occupational Office Data research here.