According to figures released today from the Leeds Office Agents’ Forum (LOAF), 87,689 sq ft of office take-up was recorded in the city centre in the first quarter of 2015, alongside 59,540 sq ft in the out-of-town market.
The largest city centre office deal to complete in the first three months of the year was the letting of 17,159 sq ft at No 1 Whitehall Riverside to FDM Group at a rental of £26.00 per sq ft. All but two of the 28 city centre office deals to complete in Q1 2015 where in the sub 5,000 sq ft size bracket.
Richard Bean of JLL and spokesperson for the LOAF, said: “The FDM letting has confirmed prime office rents at £26 per sq ft, a current high for this cycle, although we forecast prime rents will continue their upward trajectory. This underlines the continued demand for Grade A stock of which there is a low and fast diminishing supply.”
Of the 23 deals transacted in the out-of-town market, the letting to Motor Mile at Progress House was the only transaction above 10,000 sq ft in this quarter.
According to LOAF, a number of larger transactions, including the pre-let to Addleshaw Goddard at 3 Sovereign Square, have already completed or expected to transact during the second quarter which will immediately boost the city centre figures at the half year point.
The Leeds Office Agents’ Forum was established by the leading surveying firms based in Leeds to collate and distribute definitive market data. Its members are BNP Paribas, Carter Towler, CBRE, Colliers International, DTZ, Eddisons, Fox Lloyd Jones, GVA, JLL, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, Ryden, Sanderson Weatherall, Savills and WSB.
