The latest figures from international real estate advisor Savills reveal that take-up figures for Greater London & South East Office have achieved the strongest quarterly performance since Q1 2025 with 630,000 sq ft of take-up in Q1 2026. This highlights increasing confidence in the market especially compared to Q2-Q4 2025 which averaged just 560,000 sq ft per quarter.
Occupiers continue to seek best in class space across the region with 81% of take-up being Grade A space, which is largely driven by corporate occupiers, particularly in larger size bands. The number of deals over 20,000 sq ft remained in line with the long-term averages, demonstrating sustained corporate demand across the regions. This was further supported by the uptake in the 30,000- 39,999 sq ft size band further highlighting the confidence in mid-sized and large corporate occupiers.
Savills data shows that technology and manufacturing & industry sectors dominated across the region accounting for 50% of total take-up. Maidenhead, Chelmsford and Slough had a particularly strong start to the year achieving headline rents with £60 per sq ft in Maidenhead, £34 per sq ft in Chelmsford and £40 per sq ft in Slough. Noteworthy deals include the Microsoft deal at Thames Valley Park at 79,000 sq ft. Other notable deals include:
- Zebra – Tempo, Maidenhead: 30,000 sq ft
- Siemens – Botanica, Slough: 28,000 sq ft
- Ralph Lauren – The Clarendon Works, Watford: 21,000 sq ft
Andrew Willcock, Head of Greater London & South East Office Leasing at Savills, comments: “Despite the strongest quarters take up since Q1 2025, the economic and global headwinds have undeniably slowed down or stalled leasing transactional activity in the last few months. However, larger corporate demand is relatively healthy, and once volatility settles, we anticipate a number of lettings to complete on the prime space in the market.”
Bella Sharp, Commercial Research Analyst at Savills, says: “Sector activity continues to be led by technology and manufacturing & industry, which together account for half of all take-up, reinforcing their role as key drivers of demand across the region. Following this data, we expect to see continued demand across the regions for the year ahead, especially across any available grade A space.”
