“The first half of 2026 has been shaped by geopolitical conflict, inflation concerns and a changing political landscape,” said Tasos Vezyridis (pictured right), head of European research at CBRE. “Despite this, the occupational market is robust, debt markets remain liquid, and demand for prime assets continues to exceed supply in many sectors.”
Occupier demand for offices remained firm, with central London take-up forecast to broadly match 2025 levels, driven by technology, media and telecommunications occupiers — particularly artificial intelligence firms. AI-related leasing activity in central London reached 0.7 million square feet by the end of H1.
In the living sector, rental demand stayed strong, underpinned by a shrinking supply pipeline and government-backed housing initiatives. Investment volumes in the sector are forecast to exceed £13 billion by year-end, up 4.1% year-on-year and a new record for the sector — a figure that will be of particular interest to mortgage professionals tracking institutional appetite for residential assets.
Industrial and logistics activity was supported by third-party logistics operators, manufacturers and retailers, with third-party logistics occupiers accounting for 45% of H1 take-up. Development activity grew 6% in H1 to 19.9 million square feet, though the increase was driven predominantly by build-to-suit schemes, which now represent two-thirds of space under construction.
Data centres remained among the strongest-performing segments of UK property. Demand from hyperscalers, cloud providers and AI occupiers is expected to push London take-up to a record, surpassing 200 megawatts for the first time. London accounts for 83% of UK data centre supply, though land and power constraints are prompting expansion into surrounding markets.
