Leeds office uptake doubles as rent is set to fall

Leeds city centre office take-up doubled in the third quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter, according to research from Jones Lang LaSalle.

In the last three months 98,000 sq ft of transactions have taken place compared with 49,060 sq ft in the second quarter.

Jeff Pearey, head of Jones Lang Lasalle’s Leeds office, said: “Traditionally, the summer months see lower levels of transactional activity in the city centre office market but, pleasingly, our findings show nearly double the amount of office space was leased during the period between June and September 2009 when compared to the second quarter of this year.”

It has also been revealed by Knight Frank that headline office rents in Leeds city centre are expected to fall in the last quarter of 2009 for the first time in 16 years.

According to Knight Frank's Regional Office Market Presentation (ROMP) for quarter three 2009, rents for Grade A office space in central Leeds will fall from £27 per sq ft to £26 per sq ft during the next three months.

Leeds is the only city in the UK where rents are predicted to fall, although other cities such as Sheffield, Bristol, Birmingham and Edinburgh have experienced falls earlier this year.