Take-up of office space in Bristol is accelerating, led by out-of-town activity, according to the regional market update from Avison Young.

The firm’s Big Nine report for Q2 2024 – which looks at the commercial property market in nine economic powerhouses across the UK – says take-up between April and June was up nine per cent on the 10-year quarterly average and 12 per cent up on Q1 in the Greater Bristol area.

While city centre take-up was down slightly, at three per cent below the long-term average, the out-of-town market was a whopping 34 per cent above.

Total take-up for the Greater Bristol area was 203,386 sq ft. Demand from professional services companies, government, and technology firms accounted for 59 per cent of all take-up.

Notable deals in the city centre included insurance firm Great American’s 20,365 sq ft lease at One Temple Quay, property and construction consultancy Ridge and Partners’ 13,559 sq ft lease at Tower Wharf, and wealth management firm Rathbones’ lease of 12,000 sq ft at EQ.

Out-of-town deals included Sirona Care & Health’s lease of the 20,420 sq ft second floor of South Glos Council Offices in Yate (pictured), and service office provider Citibase’s lease of 19,328 at The Aztec Centre.

The speculative development outlook for Bristol in 2024 was described as strong, with 442,736 sq ft of office space under development, adding to the 109,863 sq ft of space completed so far in 2024.

A further 81,000 sq ft is due to complete in 2025.

The report also suggests that rent for prime properties is up 13 per cent on the year, and four per cent on the quarter, at £48 per sq ft.