Big 6 UK cities: Office take-up set to hit 353,000 m2 by year-end

Savills predicts that by the end of 2025, office space taken in the "Big 6" UK regional cities (Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, and Manchester) will reach approximately 353,000 m2. This is largely driven by strong activity in professional services.

Offices - Savills

While the third quarter of 2025 saw a slight dip in overall office take-up (88,143 m2, down 6% from the five-year average), the total for the first three quarters (248,980 m2) is right on par with the five-year average. Savills expects a surge in activity in the final quarter, pushing the year-end total to approximately 356,740 m2.
Some cities performed exceptionally well in Q3. Bristol, in particular, saw a remarkable 164% increase year-on-year, with 21,160 m2 taken, significantly boosted by Hargreaves Lansdown's large deal and a new record rent achieved by Birketts. Leeds also experienced a year-on-year rise in Q3 take-up, and Birmingham was ahead of its five-year average for the quarter. Bristol and Birmingham also saw the highest increases in the number of deals closed in Q3 compared to the previous year. Manchester recorded the largest single deal of the year so far with Autotrader's 12,077 m2 lease.
Across all regions, the professional services and TMT sectors are leading the way, each accounting for 19% of the total office space taken.
James Evans, National head of office agency at Savills, said: “In spite of continued challenging  trading conditions and uncertainty associated with a late budget these take up figures emphasise a remarkable resilience in the sector. It is likely year end figures will track long term average.  Slow decision making however remains a threat to speed of transactions. Looking towards 2026 a lack of new development may hamper take up but this in turn presents significant opportunity for repositioned assets and rental growth.”