Take-up of city office space on the rise, says forum

The office agents’ forum said total take-up of offices reached 235,001 sq ft across 35 deals, a 51 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The Dart Group took the most substantial letting with 71,000 sq ft at The Mint to house its growing holidays business.

The Mint, which is also home to part of Asda’s empire, is now almost fully occupied.

The forum said accountants KPMG’s pre-let at Sovereign Square and law firm Shulmans’ pre-commitment to Wellington Place also boosted take-up figures.

Paul Fairhurst, spokesman for the forum, said: “We saw a solid performance in 2012 with occupier activity slightly up on 2011 levels.

“In contrast, city centre take-up in this first quarter is actually higher than the first six months of last year and we have seen more activity from the professional services sector during this period.

“The pre-lets agreed with KPMG and Shulmans has allowed Leeds City Council and MUSE and MEPC respectively to kick start some much-needed, and widely anticipated, office development in the city core and is a clear sign that confidence is returning to the market.

“While there is now a relative lack of Grade A built stock, the demise of law firm Cobbetts will bring a further 34,000 sq ft of good quality space to the market at No1 Whitehall Riverside.

“However, there are currently a number of larger occupier requirements in the market for built space so the forum expects this situation to persist for some time.”

The out-of-town market recorded 96,907 sq ft of take-up across 27 deals. This was a 73 per cent increase compared with the same quarter last year. Whist last year’s volumes were led by lots of smaller sized lettings; there were seven transactions more than 5,000 sq ft in the first quarter compared to just three during the same period last year.

Paul Fairhurst said: “A decent level of churn, regears and lease events are still anticipated to drive the market coupled with the strong possibility of some occupiers following the lead of KPMG and Shulmans and committing to pre-lets.”

The Leeds Office Agents’ Forum was set up to collate and distribute definitive office market information.

Its members include BNP Paribas, Carter Towler, CBRE, Colliers International, DTZ, GVA, Jones Lang LaSalle, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, Ryden, Sanderson Weatherall, Savills and WSB.

The Yorkshire Post reported Dart Group’s expansion into The Mint last week.

Chairman Philip Meeson said the move will create nearly 200 new jobs in Yorkshire this year.