Britain's regional office property markets enjoyed a positive 2012 in spite of the overall fall in take up last year, according to the latest Knight Frank research report.
While the 4,930,430 square feet that was taken up in 2012 was four per cent down on 2011 and 11 per cent down on the ten year annual average, cities such as Edinburgh and Leeds saw an improvement as they bucked the national trend.
And Manchester was also among the areas to witness a strong 12-month period last year, with a ten per cent increase in take up compared to 2011.
David Porter, head of Knight Frank's Manchester office, said: "Generally the UK regions have witnessed a steady churn of office take up, with companies either consolidating operations into a single HUB building, or taking less space.
"In almost all cases, occupiers are looking to upgrade the quality of their space and hence the majority of demand is for new or recently refurbished Grade A accommodation."
Mr Porter added that the growing level of take up in certain cities means that speculative development or refurbishment of existing poor quality stock was becoming increasingly likely, and that certain out of town locations experienced a strong 2012 compared to previous years.
Along with Manchester's steady performance in the office market, Edinburgh saw a 47 per cent leap in take up while Glasgow saw a 15 per cent jump.
What's more, with Leeds experiencing a slightly more modest yet still promising three per cent rise, it seems that certain areas of the north are beginning to look increasingly appealing to businesses and investors.
Indeed, with the announcement that the HS2 line will now serve Manchester and Leeds, commercial property in the two cities could become more sought after as they prepare for the economic stimulus the project is expected to provide.
As Britain continues to recover from last year's recession, the latest figures suggest that 2013 could be a more positive one in the office market.