Market Lens Snapshot
United Kingdom | Q3 2026
July, August and September 2026
Asset Classes: Office Industrial Retail
At a glance
- Retail is the clearest shortening story. Its 66.8% share of starts under three years was the highest of any sector across the three countries. The annual increase was concentrated in one-to-under-three-year terms, not terms under twelve months.
- Office lengthens, but the year-to-date result is still weaker. Its Q3 average rose 6.1% year on year; the January–September average remained 1.4% below 2025.
- Industrial leads retention; retail exposes the limits of tenant counts. Industrial’s 81% tenant retention was the highest in the report. UK retail led the three retail markets on tenant retention but ranked last on rent retention.
Sector summary, Q3 2026
| Measure | Office | Industrial | Retail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average starting lease term, Q3 2026 | 43.4 months | 53.2 months | 36.1 months |
| Change from Q3 2025 | +6.1% | +0.3% | −11.4% |
| Q3 starts under three years | 46.9% | 22.1% | 66.8% |
| Tenant retention | 78.1% | 81% | 74.7% |
| Rent retention | 85.2% | 88.9% | 79.3% |
| Average rent collection, Q3 2026 | 97.6% | 96% | 97.6% |
Lease lengths cover Q3 2026 starts. Retention compares September 2025 with September 2026. Average rent collection covers July–September 2026.
Lease lengths: retail shortens as office commitments lengthen
Office rises year on year; industrial remains the longest
Office’s Q3 average rose to 43.4 months, up 6.1% year on year and 4% from Q2. Retail’s fell to 36.1 months, down 11.4% year on year and 12% quarter on quarter, reaching its lowest Q3 level in the series. Industrial remained the longest at 53.2 months, broadly flat year on year (+0.3%) but 14.8% below its Q2 peak.
The year-to-date comparison qualifies the quarterly picture. Industrial was the only sector with a higher January–September average than in 2025, up 5.2%. Office was 1.4% lower and retail 11.3% lower.
Against Q3 2019, the pre-pandemic baseline, retail’s average starting term has roughly halved. It fell from 73.3 to 36.1 months (−50.8%). Office was 36.9% below the baseline and industrial 31.7% below it. Even where recent terms have lengthened, commitments remain substantially shorter than before the pandemic. These are different groups of commencing leases, not the same leases tracked over time.
Average lease length (months)
By asset class, Q3 observations, 2019–2026. Hover or tap the chart to see values.
| Asset class | Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025 | Jan–Sep 2026 vs Jan–Sep 2025 | Q3 2026 vs Q3 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | +4% | +6.1% | -1.4% | -36.9% |
| Industrial | -14.8% | +0.3% | +5.2% | -31.7% |
| Retail | -12% | -11.4% | -11.3% | -50.8% |
Average starting lease length in months by asset class, Q3 observations from 2019 to 2026.
Retail’s shift is towards one-to-three-year terms - not more sub-year starts
The contrast at three years is pronounced: 66.8% of retail starts ran under 36 months, compared with 46.9% of office and 22.1% of industrial starts.
Retail’s one-to-under-three-year share rose from 23.3% to 34.5% over the year. Its under-twelve-month share edged down from 32.7% to 32.3%. The larger short-term share therefore does not mean a rise in sub-year agreements.
Industrial presents the opposite mix: 77.9% of starts ran for three years or more. Its largest band was three to under five years, while 13.7% ran for ten years or more. Office’s under-twelve-month share fell from 17.4% to 9.9%, alongside its higher average term.
Leases by term length
Distribution of starting lease terms (months), Q3 observations, 2019–2026. Select an asset class, then hover or tap a bar to see values.
Terms under three years
Share of starting lease terms under 36 months, Q3 observations, 2019–2026. Hover or tap the chart to see values.
Share of starting terms under 36 months, Q3 each year.
Retail’s short-term share rose sharply year on year, while office’s fell and industrial’s increased modestly. The within-year pattern was less uniform: retail returned close to its Q1 share after a lower Q2, while office and industrial recorded lower short-term shares in each successive completed quarter.
| Asset class | Q3 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | 47.9% | 47.9% | 47.3% | 46.9% |
| Industrial | 21.2% | 24.0% | 23.6% | 22.1% |
| Retail | 56.0% | 66.8% | 55.1% | 66.8% |
Market context: quality divides office and retail
Office: The RICS Q2 2026 UK Commercial Property Monitor recorded a net balance of +51 expecting prime office rents to rise, compared with −26 for secondary office. Surveyors also reported larger incentive packages. The rise in average term therefore needs to be read alongside asset quality and the cost of securing a commitment.
Retail: Occupier demand was the weakest of the three sectors, at a net balance of −16. Prime rent expectations were positive (+9), while secondary retail expectations were −34. This provides context for the short-term mix, but does not establish why tenants chose those terms or that all retail locations face the same conditions.
Industrial: Industrial was the only sector with positive occupier demand (+3), and even secondary rents were expected to rise (+12). Its longer-term mix sits alongside a stronger demand backdrop; the quarterly fall in its average term is not, by itself, evidence of weakening demand.
RICS net balances are the share of respondents reporting a rise minus the share reporting a fall, not percentage changes in rents or demand.
Tenant health: similar collection can sit alongside very different retention
Office and retail both average 97.6% collection in Q3
Average collection was 97.6% for office and retail, compared with 96% for industrial. Collection measures the share of rent paid within thirty days of its due date. Retail’s Q3 result was above its 96% full-year average, but the overlapping periods do not establish a quarter-on-quarter improvement.
United Kingdom: average rent collection rate
Percentage of rent paid within 30 days of the due date
| Asset class | Avg. Oct 2025–Sep 2026 | Avg. Q3 2026 | Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office | 97.7% | 97.6% | 97.2% |
| Industrial | 96% | 96% | 95.9% |
| Retail | 96% | 97.6% | 97.2% |
Source: Re-Leased Market Lens, Tenant Health 2026. Retention: September 2025 to September 2026. Collection: October 2025 to September 2026.
The matching office and retail Q3 averages do not extend to retention: office retained 85.2% of rent, compared with 79.3% for retail. Payment reliability and continuity of the rent base are distinct measures.
Industrial leads tenant and rent retention; retail trails both
Industrial led the UK with 81% tenant retention and 88.9% rent retention. Office followed at 78.1% tenant retention and 85.2% rent retention.
Retail recorded the UK’s lowest retention on both measures, at 74.7% of tenants and 79.3% of rent.
United Kingdom: tenant and rent retention by sector
Source: Re-Leased Market Lens, Tenant Health 2026. Retention: September 2025 to September 2026. Collection: October 2025 to September 2026.
The retention gap is rent retention minus tenant retention, expressed in percentage points.
The difference between rent and tenant retention was also smaller in retail. Rent retention exceeded tenant retention by 4.6 percentage points, compared with 7.1 points in office and 7.9 points in industrial. Rent changes, additional space and the mix of tenants staying or leaving can influence these gaps; they do not establish individual rent growth.
Industrial presents a different contrast: it led both retention measures despite recording the lowest Q3 collection rate. Alongside the matching office and retail collection rates, this shows that the payment ranking did not carry through to retention. Collection describes rent paid within thirty days of its due date, while retention captures continuity over twelve months. The results cover different periods and cohorts, not a linked history of individual tenants.
The takeaway
The UK has sharply different leasing horizons by sector. Retail’s short-term share has risen to two-thirds of starts, while office terms lengthened year on year and industrial retained a predominantly three-year-plus mix. Retail commitments are now roughly half their pre-pandemic average length.
Good collection does not guarantee a comparable retention outcome. Office and retail share the same Q3 collection average, but retail has the lowest rent retention in the report. Industrial leads retention even though it does not lead collection.
For landlords, the useful next step is to connect these benchmarks to their own portfolios: how much rent is attached to upcoming breaks and expiries, and what would it cost to retain or replace that income?
For landlords, the useful next step is to connect these benchmarks to their own portfolios: how much rent is attached to upcoming lease decisions, and what would it cost to retain or replace that income?
About the data
Market Lens draws on anonymised, aggregated data from Re-Leased’s platform. This snapshot covers the United Kingdom's office, industrial and retail.
- Lease length measures the full starting term of leases commencing in the reporting period, not the remaining term of existing leases. Term-band shares are count-based, not rent-weighted.
- Tenant retention measures the percentage of tenants remaining after twelve months.
- Rent retention measures rent paid by retained tenants compared with the previous year.
- Rent collection measures the percentage of rent paid within thirty days of its due date.
- Retention gap is rent retention minus tenant retention, expressed in percentage points.
Lease lengths and tenant retention provide complementary views of portfolio performance, rather than tracking the same group of tenants. Figures are rounded, and historical results may be revised as data coverage expands.
Explore the full research
This snapshot draws on two Market Lens reports from Re-Leased: Lease Lengths in Focus | Q3 2026, examining starting lease terms across office, industrial and retail, and Tenant Health 2026, benchmarking rent collection, tenant retention and rent retention across New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
