Take-up

Take-up in Leeds during the first half of the year totalled 325,611 sq ft, and was achieved through 46 transactions. This was on par with the five-year H1 average number of transactions. Take-up was 7% below the total for H1 2024, however, it was 13% and 9% higher than the five- and ten-year averages.

Grade A take-up totalled 198,070 sq ft and accounted for 61% of the H1 total. This was 14% higher than the five-year average H1 Grade A take-up. 70% of transactions were 5,000 sq ft or below, whilst there were three deals of 20,000 sq ft or above. These include the 108,576 sq ft purchase of Princes Exchange by Network Rail and two lettings at 3 South Brook Street, Aire Park to Interactive Investors and TPT, which were 23,270 sq ft and 23,261 sq ft, respectively.

Supply

Availability in Leeds at the end of Q2 2025 stands at 962, 296 sq ft, a decrease of 8% on the previous quarter, continuing to show the lack of office space in Leeds. This means that the vacancy rate now stands at 7.8%, a decrease of 70 basis points (bps), making it the lowest of the regional markets.

Grade A and Prime availability total 269,479 sq ft and 173,545 sq ft, respectively. Grade A availability has decreased by 21%, and Prime has also decreased slightly by 7%. The Grade A vacancy has declined by 70 bps to 2.2%; meanwhile, the Prime vacancy rate is now 600 bps lower and stands at 1.4%.

Take-up by business sector

The most active sector during H1 2025 was the 'Public Services, Education & Health' sector, which leased a combined total of 152,666 sq ft, and therefore accounted for 47% of the total. The total was achieved through nine transactions, with the largest being acquired by Network Rail at 2 Princes Exchange for a total of 108,576 sq ft.

Another active sector during the first half of the year was the 'Insurance & Financial' sector, which accounted for 16% of the total by leasing 52,873 sq ft. This was also closely followed by the 'Professional' sector, which also accounted for 16%, and leased 52,439 sq ft. The largest deal of the two sectors was Interactive Investor, committing to 27,270 sq ft at 3 South Brook Street, Aire Park.

Rents

There was a new headline rent achieved in Q2 2025. It was achieved at both 1 City Square and 12 King Street, at a rent of £40 per sq ft. However, Savills is aware of multiple transactions under offer at £40 per sq ft and above. This is 5% higher than the same period in 2024, with Savills expecting headline rent to grow further to reach £46 per sq ft by the end of 2025, representing an increase of 15% on current rental levels. Savills revised rental forecasts are predicting headline rent will grow by 28% over the next five-year period and reach a market high of £51 per sq ft by 2029.

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