Central London office demand soars

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 15-12-2011

Office rentals per sq ft in central London soared in November to almost twice the number leased during the previous month, CBRE has revealed.

The real estate advisory firm discovered that 1.1 million sq ft of central London office space was leased in November, the highest level since December last year and 80% more than in October.

City office space rentals were particularly improved thanks to the completion of Aon’s 191,700 sq ft office refurbishment at the Leadenhall Building.

Central London had 15.6 million sq ft of offices available for rent in November as a large number of second-hand space, which could benefit from a completely new office fit out, came back onto the market, meaning the area’s availability rate stood at 7.1%.

Meanwhile, demand for offices in central London rose by 5% to 13.1 million sq ft during the month, with particular interest in the West End, where a 15% rise meant demand rose to 4.9 million sq ft.

Digby Flower, CBRE executive director, said: "The strong take-up in November was down to deals completing from earlier in the year. There is still a sizeable amount of space under offer which should translate into leasing activity over the next six months.

"Beyond this, occupiers are likely to delay taking space until there is greater clarity on the macroeconomic picture."

Copyright Press Association 2011