Take-up

Take-up in Cardiff during Q3 totalled 53,389 sq ft, which was 34% higher than the previous quarter and was achieved through 18 transactions. Take-up in Q1–Q3 totalled 187,232 sq ft, which is down on the long-term averages. There were 52 transactions completed in the period, with the average deal size totalling 3,601 which is 2% above the five-year average.

Grade A take-up in Q1–Q3 totalled 38,862 sq ft spread across seven transactions, and accounted for 21% of the total, with the 'Professional' sector accounting for 71% of Grade A transactions.

Supply

Availability at the end of Q3 in Cardiff stands at 1.36 million sq ft, on par with the previous quarter. This means that the overall vacancy rate has increased by 10 basis points (bps) to 12.4%. Of the total stock available, secondary accounts for 73% and has had no quarter-on-quarter decrease, highlighting the preference for high-quality stock in Cardiff.

Grade A availability now totals 376,000 sq ft, an increase of 4% on Q2 2025 and accounts for 27% of the total. The vacancy rate has therefore increased by 10 bps to 3.4%.

Take-up by business sector

The most active business sector in Cardiff during Q1–Q3 2025 was the 'Insurance & Financial' sector, which accounted for 33% of the total, with a combined take-up of 61,000 sq ft. There were four transactions in the sector, with Creditsafe accounting for 82% of the sector’s take-up and pushing up the total, with 49,937 sq ft acquired in Q1 at Ty Meridian.

The 'Professional' sector was also active within the market year to date, with a share of 25% of the total take-up. The sector leased a total of 47,685 sq ft, which was achieved through twelve transactions, which was the highest number of transactions during Q1–Q3 on record for the sector.

Rents

There was no increase in Prime headline rent in Q3 2025; however, it did increase during Q2 2025 to reach £30.00 per sq ft at One Central Square and Hodge House, representing an increase of 20% on historical rental levels. This is a significant increase for the market, which has seen increased rental growth over the past year and has now reached its forecasted headline rent for 2025. Savills is forecasting that rents could reach £37.00 per sq ft during 2026/27, and will exceed £39.00 per sq ft for refurbished space by 2029, a further increase of 30%. However, a rent in excess of £45.00 per sq ft for a secured pre-let of a new build office is also forecast by 2029.

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