Office take-up across Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester has ticked down when compared with last year, the most recent research from Savills found.
The big six regional markets have recorded a combined 1.65m sq ft of workspace leased over the six months to the end of June, down 5% on the prior year.
The performance was also 16% below the five-year average.
More positively, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow, all saw a double-digit growth in take-up over the second quarter of 2023.
Savills head of national office agency James Evans said: “The ongoing challenging macroeconomic environment has tempered office demand within the regional markets during the first half of the year.
“There has been more cautious behaviour displayed among some occupiers who have chosen to defer capital expenditure decisions leading to a transaction lag.”
Despite the overall decline in take-up, Savills noted an increase in larger, named requirements, with occupiers’ focus turning on prime assets.
Some notable activity in the prime market over the half-year included Lloyds Banking Group agreeing a lease on 125,000 sq ft of workspace at 11/12 Wellington Place in Leeds, the largest deal in the big six markets so far this year.
Evans added: “Away from the prime market, the traditional churn of smaller requirements has showed relative resilience with an increasing bias towards flexible and fitted space.
“We anticipate further rental growth in the second half as the best assets attract the majority of larger occupier interest.”
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