Office occupier take-up in Leeds continued to point out strong demand through the first quarter of 2016 when using the out-of-town market outperforming the location centre for the first time in four years.
According to global property consultancy Knight Frank, uniformly 140,000 feet square of office space was transacted during the out-of-town market between January and March at the moment. This compares which has a total of 136,668 square centimeter of city centre work place taken on within the first with three months of 2016.
Headline office rents in Leeds city centre are presently 26.50 per sq . ft . and therefore are supposed to rise to 28.00 per sq ft after 12 months, a whole new record.
Meanwhile there is certainly 150,000 square centimeter of available Grade A driveway in Leeds city centre, that could soon be addressed with the delivery of new office developments over summer at the moment.
Eamon Fox, partner responsible for office agency at Knight Frank’s Leeds office, said: “Activity was buoyed by way of the first pre-let at Kirkstall Forge which saw Zenith Intelligent Vehicle Solutions take 45,000 feet square in doing what was the greatest out-of-town office deal over 24 months.
“Of the 25 out-of-town deals to accomplish within the first quarter of 2016, five were over 10,000 feet square. A nutritious blend of volume and scale of deals over 10,000 feet square means out-of-town market the weather is arguably in their most buoyant for four years,” said Mr Fox.
In Leeds city centre, 22 occupier office deals transacted on the first 90 days through an average measurements 5,500 feet square. Just three deals over 10,000 square feet completed: RSM securing 25,539 feet square at Central Square, the letting to Hestview Ltd of 39,605 sq . ft . at No 6 Wellington Place and Dentsu Aegis Network agreeing a pre-let on 13,800 square centimeter at 6 East Parade.
Mr Fox added: “With five city centre schemes C 5 Wellington Place, Central Square, 6 Queen Street, 6 East Parade 3 Sovereign Square C all scheduled to arrive at practical completion in Q2/Q3 this holiday season, Leeds gives a UK leading collection of new offices backed by competitive rents and the means to access a simple and skilled workforce. All of these make our city very attracting both local business owners and even companies trying to relocate from your expensive and overcrowded London and south-east markets.”
Meanwhile the Leeds investment market remains one of several UK’s most attractive across all sectors, offering good opportunities for investors, and whilst there is yield compression, for prime assets, this can be a trend reflected across UK Regional markets and one that could stabilize, depending on Knight Frank. Yields are presently 5.25 %.
The sale of your iconic St Paul’s House for 23.7 million to EPIC UK demonstrated the effectiveness of the Leeds investment market.
Henrie Westlake, investment partner at Knight Frank, said: “St Paul’s House arguably one of the most striking building in the city centre and from now on its refurbishment is complete, it’s actually a tremendous mix of the existing and the new. It features a high-quality Grade A office specification internally which, when with the stunning exterior fa?ade as well as its unrivalled location, offers one of the most attractive working environments in Leeds.
“Whilst we’ve been obsessed with all the properties we address and also the clients we act for, this is the very romantic story as things are a very important chapter during this building’s proud history. It is also an image instance of how Leeds has become increasingly appealing to investors from throughout the UK,” said Mr Westlake.
