The Big Nine
Quarterly review of take-up in the major regional office occupier markets in the UK.
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 Bank of England continues to prioritise supporting growth over inflation, announcing a 25 bps base rate cut in November 2024 and more recently a further 25 bps cut in February 2025 to 4.5%, its lowest level since June 2023. However, financial markets have been volatile in recent months, due to concerns over the possible impact on global inflation of the new Trump White House’s plans on tariffs. January 2025 was a rapidly changing month for bonds, with the 10-year gilt yield rising from 4.55% on 1st January to 4.86% on 14th January; then declining to 4.58% on 28th January.
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