National occupier outlook

Regional Big Nine take-up reached 2.2 million sq ft in Q4 2024, this is on par with the previous quarter and the 10-year average. Cardiff(+110%), Edinburgh(+169%) Glasgow(+1%) and Leeds(+2%) all saw above average take-up this quarter compared to the 10-year average.

This brings annual 2024 take-up to 7.9m sq ft, up 10% on 2023 levels. Whilst levels remain below the 10-year average of 8.6m sq ft, the annual increase indicates positive occupier sentiment, particularly from larger corporates. Indeed, 15 deals in excess of 50,000 sq ft completed last year in comparison to just five in 2023. The largest deal to complete in Q4 2024 was Lloyds 282,500 sq ft pre-let at Port Hamilton, Edinburgh. In addition to this, Lloyds also pre-let 110,000 sq ft at John Street, Cardiff, underpinning the banking giants commitment to the UK regions.

The Financial and Professional Services sectors acquired the most space in the Big Nine in 2024, accounting for an 18% share each. The subsector to see the biggest annual growth in take-up was Education and Training, which saw a 39% annual increase. The sector was particularly active in Birmingham with three of the largest Education deals of 2024 happening in the city; 190,000 sq ft at 10 Woodcock Street to Aston University, 70,000 sq ft at 1 Brindleyplace to Global Banking School and 45,000 sq ft at Broad Street to University College Birmingham. The repurposing of offices to suit education and training uses is a trend we expect to continue into 2025, particularly in those cities with high levels of vacant secondary stock.

Appetite for best-in-class space remains in high demand and short supply across the Big Nine city centres, this continues to drive strong levels of rental growth. 7 out of 9 city centres experienced annual rental growth last year bringing Big Nine average prime rental growth to 6.6%.