Leeds experienced an increase in office space take-up in 2011
Take-up of 
Leeds City Centre office space increased last year.
The amount of leases secured increased for the whole year as well as Q4.
Leeds City Centre saw an increase in the amount of office space being taken up in 2011 it has been revealed.
According to the Leeds Agents’ Forum the amount of take-ups increased by 40% on the previous year, with the amount of office space being leased in Q4 rising to 87,050 sq ft.
The total amount of take-ups reached 398,159 sq ft with the forum stating that there is a squeeze on grade A supply.
However, in comparison to the five year average of 437,386 sq ft there was a slight decrease of 9% but this could be due to the fact that in some cases the amount of office space available does not meet the demand.
The time period between October and December saw a boost in Leeds City Centre with a whopping 43% of grade A space being leased suggesting that the demand remains high.
Some of the transactions that took place in the city were of a small scale, with some in the sub 5000 sq ft bracket.
Of the take-up, The Leeds Agents Forum said: “The trend towards smaller sized deals in the sub 5,000 sq ft bracket continued in quarter four; there was only three city centre transactions over this size to complete. Occupier activity was driven by a broad range of sectors including recruitment, financial and media.
“We anticipate take-up to continue to rise as occupiers absorb the existing stock as a result of forthcoming lease events and a lack of on site supply. We also expect a couple of big names to sign pre-lets which could kick-start some much needed speculative space in the city core.”
Some of the most notable transactions to take place in Q4 of 2011 included Towry acquiring 10,994 at Toronto Square, 5314 sq ft being taken by Northgate Arinso UK at Riverside West and BSkyB taking 10,235 sq at 2 Wellington Place.