Some 5.9 million square feet (550,000 square metres) of UK office stock was sold between 2022 and 2024 for £3.44 billion (€4.1 billion), with the intention of converting it to a range of alternative use types, says CBRE.

The bulk of purchases for repurposing happened in London, with 3.3 million square feet (307,000 square metres) of stock sold for £2.5 billion (€3 billion) between 2022 and 2024 for conversion into life sciences, hotels, student accommodation and other residential assets. Outside the capital, Cambridge experienced the greatest degree of intended office conversions (by square footage), followed by Leeds and Oxford.

CBRE has found life sciences has been the most popular targeted office conversion type during the past three years.

Life sciences has been the greatest beneficiary in both Oxford and Cambridge, demonstrated by the purchase of some 1 million square feet (92,900 square metres) of office stock for conversion across the two markets. T