Regional office market round-up
Take-up remains robust
Take-up in the Big Six at the end of Q1 2026 totalled 833,692 sq ft, achieved through 185 transactions, down by 4% on Q1 2025 but up by 3% and 4% on the five- and ten-year Q1 average number of transactions. Take-up was down by 16% compared to the same period in 2025, but broadly on par with the five-year Q1 average.
Grade A and Prime take-up totalled 541,735 sq ft, accounting for 65% of the total take-up and 17% higher than the five-year Q1 average take-up. There were 53 Grade A and Prime transactions in Q1 2026, 22% above the five-year Q1 average number of transactions. Prime transactions totalled 18, which was the highest Q1 on record for the Big Six.
Availability continues to fall
Availability at the end of Q1 2026 totalled 9.84 million sq ft, representing a 1% decrease on the previous quarter. This means that the vacancy rate contracted to 10.4%, a decrease of 10 basis points (bps).
Grade A and Prime availability stood at 2.8 million sq ft and 1.6 million sq ft, respectively, accounting for 29% and 16% of the total availability. Grade A availability increased marginally by 2%, while Prime availability continued to decline by 14%, further highlighting the constrained supply of best-in-class availability in the regions. Consequently, the Grade A vacancy rate increased by 10 bps to 3.1%, while the Prime vacancy rate decreased 20 bps to 1.7%, the lowest level since 2023.
Professional occupiers continue to lead take-up /strong>
The ‘Professional’ sector was the most active in Q1 2026, leasing a total of 173,865 sq ft and accounting for 21% of overall take-up. The largest letting in the sector was in Birmingham, where Eversheds Sutherland acquired 45,690 sq ft at Three Chamberlain Square, Paradise, taking the last remaining space in the building.
EY also contributed to sector take-up with its acquisition in Edinburgh of 36,209 sq ft at 4 & 5 Haymarket Square.
The ‘Public Services, Education & Health’ and the ‘TMT’ sectors were also active during the quarter, both accounting for 20% of total take-up. TMT leased a total of 167,415 sq ft, while Public Services leased 167,288 sq ft.
The two largest transactions in both sectors were GPA (Public Services), which took 114,967 sq ft at Havelock in Manchester, and Graphcore (TMT), which took 68,504 sq ft at 1 Georges Square in Bristol.
Despite lower-than-average take-up, there were 186 office deals transacted in the quarter, which is 3% above the short-term average.
James Evans, Head of National Office Agency
Headline rent
The highest headline rent achieved during Q1 2026 was in Birmingham and Bristol, reaching £52 per sq ft at 3 Chamberlain Square (leased to Eversheds Sutherland) in Birmingham, and at EQ (leased to Graphcore) in Bristol.
Across the Big Six, rental premiums are forecast to increase by an average of 26% over the next five years, based on current rental levels. Headline rents in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester are projected to reach a record £60 per sq ft by 2030, if not before.
Savills expects that if a new build pre-let were to be secured in the Big Six, this would increase headline rent in excess of £55 per sq ft within the next two years.
Interested in other areas of the UK?
View all of our latest Q1 2026 Occupational Office Data research here.