The big UK office round-up: How was 2024 for your market?
CoStar’s analysts assess how London and the key regional office markets have performed during another challenging year
Office vacancies across the country continued to climb in 2024 as another wave of new office completions arrived and aggregate demand losses accelerated, as measured by net absorpt...
Ten commercial property trends to watch in 2025
CoStar’s UK analysts look back at data insights from 2024 and give their view on whether they will continue in the year ahead
Although 2024 in many ways felt like a repeat of the previous year as the UK’s faltering economy and high interest rates continued to weigh on market activity, the past 12 months p...
Vacancies for new offices in the capital’s fringe markets are more than twice as high as in Central London
London office tenants focus on best-in-class space, and location is key
Office vacancies in buildings delivered in the last five years in Central London are less than half of those constructed during the same period in London’s fringe, defined as the s...
Demand for retail space in Oxford falls despite job and footfall growth
Retail lettings relative to stock fall to the lowest on record, but there are positive signs for recovery
Demand for retail space in Oxford has fallen to its lowest on record despite a relatively high increase in employment and healthy footfall in the retail sector. Leasing activity ha...
Spotlight on London’s Southbank East: Improving office market conditions point to a healthy recovery
Accelerating demand for high-quality space is driving rental growth
Improvements in local amenities, good access to public transport, vibrant cultural offerings, an abundance of high-quality office stock and relatively low rents have transformed So...
UK construction starts fall to a 12-year low
Budget uncertainty and high costs drive new starts down across all sectors
New construction starts across the UK fell to the lowest level since 2012 in the third quarter of 2024, as budget-related uncertainty, persistently high costs and rising vacancy af...
Vacancy rate for prime City offices falls to 10-year low as tenants target quality space
Rents for best space under upward pressure as demand strengthens
Prime City of London offices have experienced some of the strongest demand gains on record over the last 12 months, fuelling rental growth in a market with rising overall vacancies...
Bristol office market hits record rent gap
Demand for quality space drives rents for 4 to 5-star offices to 67% above secondary stock
Strengthening demand for high-quality office space has driven the gap between rents for the best and the rest in Bristol to its highest level on record. At the end of the third qua...
Southampton city centre tops the table for South Coast office locations
Low vacancies and strong rental growth drive the port city to top spot
An analysis of the South Coast’s office submarkets finds that Southampton’s city centre tops the league, outscoring the region’s 21 other submarkets by a substantial margin.
Strong leasing demand and limited construction has eroded office vacancies in London’s City Fringe
Take-up reaches a five-year high for the 12 months to third quarter 2024
Rolling four-quarter take-up in the City Fringe, one of London’s biggest submarkets with 29 million square feet of office stock, rose to over 2.3 million square feet in the third q...
Cardiff industrial vacancies hit 10-year high, but sales volumes soar
Major closures drive vacancies upwards although strong inward investment improves outlook
The shutdown of two major industrial facilities in the Cardiff market has propelled vacancy rates to 7%, the highest level since 2014. The rise was driven by the closure of Bridgen...
Vacancies hit a record high in London’s Eastern Fringe as demand weakens
Annual leasing activity is now 70% below the pre-pandemic high point
Subdued demand and the completion of the latest phase at Lendlease’s IQL Stratford development have driven vacancies in London’s Eastern Fringe submarket to a record level.
Brighton office rental growth strengthens as construction falls to seven-year low
Options for large occupiers are particularly tight across the region
Office construction in Brighton has fallen below 100,000 square feet for the first time in five years as high borrowing and construction costs deter developers from starting projec...
Spotlight on Cambridge: Science and tech demand limits office vacancies, but average rental growth has declined
Demand focused on science parks as options for large requirements remain limited
Cambridge office vacancies, which are 6.3%, have been trending considerably lower than in the wider UK, thanks to demand from science and tech tenants seeking access to the city's ...
Oxford laboratory and R&D construction starts reach record level as strong demand drives optimism
Resurgent tenant demand drives spike in new development activity across the City of Spires
The new construction of lab-enabled real estate in Oxford has reached a record high during the third quarter of 2024. With two weeks of the quarter remaining, the 12-month rolling ...
Is the true prelet a thing of the past?
Cost volatility and market uncertainty are driving London office tenants away from off-plan prelets
London office tenants are turning away from off-plan prelets, preferring to acquire space in buildings where construction is underway.
Build it and they will come – and earlier than ever before
London office tenants are committing to space further in advance of completion
Office tenants are committing to space further ahead of practical completion than in the past.
M&S Drives Bristol Retail Leasing to 11-Year High Although Rents Continue To Fall
Momentum Is Building in South West City Centres as Cost of Living Eases and Footfall Returns
The third quarter of 2024 could be the Bristol retail market’s most active on record as two big Marks and Spencer acquisitions push leasing activity north of 250,000 square feet.
Swansea Offices Outperform as Vacancies Sink to All-Time Low
New Schemes Are Expected To Drive Rents in the Welsh Market Over the Coming Years
Swansea has experienced one of the strongest office rental growth rates of any UK market over the last 12 months, with average office rents growing by almost 2%, driven by falling ...
Cardiff Office Leasing Stuck at Lowest Levels Since Pandemic
Deal Volumes Continued To Fall in Second Quarter After Post-Pandemic Rally
Office leasing volumes in Cardiff continued to fall in the second quarter as weak demand dragged on tenant activity. Around 70,000 square feet of office space was let in the three ...