The office market in Porto is continuing to gain momentum, recording its strongest first half since 2024 despite activity remaining below its longer-term average.

Savills Portugal reveals that companies and organisations took up 19,516 square metres of office space in the city during the first six months of 2026, an increase of 80 percent compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the second quarter accounted for 12,366 sqm, representing an annual increase of 89 percent.

These figures come from Savills Portugal’s Office Market Spotlight H1 2026.

Despite the sharp annual increase, Porto’s first-half statistics were still 9 percent below the average recorded during the first halves of the previous five years.

The largest individual transaction involved Portugal’s National Health Service (SNS), which occupied 6,149 sqm, as public and institutional organisations were the biggest source of demand, accounting for 7,128 sqm, or 37 percent of the total, followed by Technology and Utilities companies, representing 29 percent overall, while activity from the sector increased by 66 percent year on year.

Active sectors

Lisbon remains considerably larger in terms of office activity, with 66,906 sqm taken up during the first half of the year, which still represented a 20 percent decline compared with the first half of 2025.

The capital initially showed signs of recovery during the first quarter, but weaker activity between April and June pushed the overall six-month result into negative territory.

The number of transactions nevertheless increased by 11 percent to 80 deals, suggesting that demand has not disappeared despite the fall in the amount of space being leased.

Technology and Utilities were the most active sectors in Lisbon, accounting for 25,223 sqm, equivalent to 38 percent of total take-up.

There was also a significant increase in companies expanding within their existing offices, as expansion deals represented 43 percent of activity in 2026, compared with just 13 percent in 2025.

Savills said this points to both companies choosing to grow within buildings they already occupy and a shortage of high-quality office stock, with more than half of the space expected to enter the market through the 2026-27 development pipeline already being pre-secured.

Prime rents

While office take-up weakened, Lisbon’s prime rents increased 3.4 percent year on year to €30 per sqm per month.

Porto recorded stable rents across all seven office submarkets, as Prime CBD space in Boavista remained at €21 per sqm per month, unchanged from the first half of 2025.

The limited availability of high-quality space is expected to remain a key factor influencing both markets.

In Lisbon, the planned EntreCampos project, due to be completed in 2028, is expected to add more than 100,000 sqm of prime office space and could significantly reshape the capital’s Prime CBD.

More space planned

Porto is also set to receive additional supply.

Savills expects 46,377 sqm of new office space to come onto the market by the end of 2026, with around 44 percent already pre-let.

A further 51,000 sqm is forecast to be delivered over the following two years across five projects.

Frederico Leitão de Sousa, Head of Offices at Savills Portugal, said the figures demonstrate that office demand remains active in both Portuguese cities, although the markets are operating at different scales.

He said the increase in transactions and the growing share of expansion deals in Lisbon indicate that companies continue to commit to locations where they already operate.

Meanwhile, Porto’s 80 percent increase in take-up highlights the city’s growing importance as an alternative office market, driven particularly by public and institutional demand.

According to Leitão de Sousa, the shortage of high-quality office space is the common factor affecting both markets and is likely to continue limiting activity over the coming quarters.