Bristol Office Market Booms: Rents to Rise as Demand Soars
The office market in Bristol delivered an exceptionally positive year in 2025, according to a new report from Avison Young. Office rents in the city are expected to continue rising amid soaring demand for commercial space across the South West region.
Record-Breaking Take-Up Figures
Annual take-up of workspace in and around Bristol reached 926,000 square feet last year. This impressive figure represents a 21 percent increase above the five-year average and an eight percent increase above the ten-year average. The city centre alone accounted for a substantial 604,000 square feet of this activity.
Prime rents held firm at £50 per square foot, maintaining Bristol's position as the highest-rented market among Avison Young's Big Nine cities. The report highlights that strong occupier demand for high-specification workspace continued to push rents higher across these major cities last year, with Bristol, Birmingham, and Leeds all setting new rental records.
Major Corporate Transactions
The largest city centre transaction in six years involved investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, which moved from its headquarters after forty years. The company, which employs approximately 2,000 people in Bristol, signed a long-term lease for more than 90,000 square feet across three floors at the Welcome Building near Temple Meads station.
Another significant deal saw legal firm Burges Salmon regear its lease and expand by acquiring an additional 41,600 square feet at One Glass Wharf. These major transactions underscore the robust activity within Bristol's commercial property sector.
Expert Analysis and Market Outlook
Julian Watts, managing director for Bristol and South West at Avison Young, commented on the city's performance. "Bristol continues to stand out as one of the strongest-performing cities within the Big Nine," he said. "The office market delivered an exceptionally positive year in 2025, marked by record headline rents in both the city centre and out-of-town markets."
Watts added a note of caution regarding future trends: "With supply tightening and space under construction being pre-let, the market is poised for continued upward pressure on rents." This suggests that businesses seeking premium office space in Bristol may face increasing costs in the coming months.
National Context and Investment Trends
Nationally, the UK office market was boosted by a strong fourth quarter in 2025, where take-up reached 2.1 million square feet. Year-end take-up for the country totaled 7.6 million square feet, just four percent below 2024 levels and in line with the five-year average.
Investment volumes in Bristol's commercial property market reached £227 million in the fourth quarter, bringing the year-end total to £1.1 billion. Avison Young noted that while investor sentiment had been impacted by economic uncertainty and elevated borrowing costs—contributing to slower decision-making—positive economic news at the start of 2026 was expected to stimulate activity and support an increase in transaction volumes.
The combination of strong demand, limited supply, and significant corporate moves positions Bristol's office market for continued growth and rental increases throughout 2026 and beyond.
