The big UK office round-up: How was 2025 for your market?
CoStar’s analysts assess how London and the key regional office markets have performed during another turbulent year
To office market participants and observers, 2025 marked the year when the recovery finally began. Following four-and-a-half years of heavy demand losses totalling 48 million squar...
UK economy shrinks in October, driven by a slowdown in construction and services
GDP contracted by 0.1% as activity weakened ahead of the Autumn Budget
The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in October, as activity weakened ahead of the autumn budget.
Has the UK office market’s flight to quality finally eased?
Demand for non-prime UK offices turns positive for the first time since 2019
The much-discussed flight-to-quality trend has finally eased after net absorption turned positive for non-prime UK offices, defined as offices rated 4 stars or below by CoStar’s ra...
Investment decision-making speeds up across office and industrial sectors
The average months to sale fell back in the third quarter
The number of months that UK office and industrial investment sales spend on the market before transacting has started to fall, after reaching a four-year peak in 2025.
Office leasing rises to record level in London’s City Core North submarket
Strong demand from financial sector occupiers has driven leasing in EC2 in 2025
Leasing volumes in London’s City Core North office submarket reached record levels in Q3 2025, driven by demand from financial sector tenants in EC2. The take-up of office space in...
Does floorplate size matter?
A deep dive into vacancy and demand for London’s office floors reveals some interesting trends
After five years of upward movement, London office vacancies stabilised in 2025. For the first time since 2019, the London office market experienced three consecutive quarters of p...
Industrial leads the way as the South Coast market recovery begins
Leasing market outlook improves as vacancies peak and demand returns
As the world began to return to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, the significant surge in demand for UK logistics space, driven by massive increases in online retail, started to...
London office construction starts slump to 15-year low
Refurbishment projects increase as smaller new build schemes bear the brunt of rising borrowing costs
Office construction starts in London have fallen to their lowest level since 2010 as economic headwinds and planning delays impact appetite for development. In the 12 months to the...
Resurgent occupier demand for Canary Wharf offices forces availability rate to seven-year low
Large financial firms soak up space amid dwindling central London supply
Leasing activity has surged in 2025 in the Docklands Core market, which includes Canary Wharf, as occupiers look east to satisfy their occupational requirements. So far this year, ...
A tale of two submarkets: Oxford’s industrial market faces diverging trends as Cherwell vacancies surge
Accessibility and cost emerge as the key drivers of supply and demand around the city of dreaming Spires
Industrial property performance across Oxfordshire is increasingly defined by a tale of two submarkets. While Cherwell, anchored by Banbury and Bicester, is grappling with rising v...
Office demand in Bristol’s Eastern fringe hits 17-year high as leasing accelerates
Newly developed buildings are attracting strong demand from tenants seeking the best space
Bristol’s Eastern Fringe office market has posted a strong performance in the first nine months of 2025, with leasing activity accelerating and a shrinking development pipeline dri...
Port of call: Avonmouth anchors Bristol’s industrial growth
Vacancies falling as leasing strengthens in key South West logistics hub
Demand for industrial space in Avonmouth has driven a sharp fall in Bristol vacancies and underpinned the strongest rental growth since 2023.
Gatwick industrial market ready for take-off as market reaches turning point
Vacancies peak as construction of new industrial space falls sharply
Vacancies in the Gatwick industrial market look to have finally peaked after a prolonged period of growth, marking a turning point for one of the South East’s most strategically lo...
Southbank East office market faces high vacancies amid weakened occupier demand
Lack of prelet activity and a cautious outlook shape the submarket in 2025 and beyond
Southbank East, long regarded as one of London’s most vibrant office submarkets, is experiencing challenging times as fundamentals weaken and demand for large, new space slows. Net...
Life sciences demand weakens as laboratory leasing falls to a 12-year low
Take-up has halved in 2025 as the UK has struggled to attract and retain life sciences investment
After record activity in 2024, annual take-up of laboratory space in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in 12 years. In the 12 months to the second quarter of 2025, rolling annu...
Bristol office market at a turning point as vacancies fall and leasing accelerates
Leasing activity in the second quarter reached its highest level in three years as momentum builds
Falling vacancies and strengthening occupier demand indicate that the Bristol office market has entered the upswing phase of the next cycle. The vacancy rate, which had been rising...
UK economy beats expectations in the second quarter, driven by construction and services
GDP rose 0.3% in Q2 2025, a marked slowdown from the previous quarter but ahead of expectations
The UK economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter, beating analysts’ expectations of a more modest expansion of 0.1%. Slower growth had been factored in after the first quarter of ...
London office vacancies fall for the first time in three years as demand improves
Strengthening leasing activity signals continued recovery in occupier demand
Conditions in Central London’s office occupier market have started to show strong signs of improvement during the first half of 2025. There has been a positive change in occupier d...
London office leasing voids are shortening as demand picks up
West End and Southbank lead recovery from post-pandemic peak, but concerns linger over large developments in non-core areas
The number of months spent on the market, or leasing void, has fallen to its lowest level for three years in most Central London office markets, as vacancies continue to fall and d...
London flex office demand hits decade low amid market shift and tech sector caution
Rolling annual take-up falls to 87% below peak, though long-term growth in AI and fintech could revive demand
Demand for office space in London from flexible workspace providers has reached one of its lowest levels for at least a decade. Rolling 12-month take-up by flex providers fell to j...