City office rents 'to skyrocket'

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 05-01-2010

Rental costs in London's City district are likely to increase significantly over the coming year, it has been forecast.

Property agency King Sturge has revealed that during the economic downturn, office interior rents in the City have fallen by 40 per cent on average. Therefore, the fact that little new building is schedule to take place over the next two years will mean rising demand is likely to push up rental costs considerably.

Angus McIntosh, partner and head of research at King Sturge, noted: "2010 will be a boom year for commercial property investment."

However, he added businesses should be aware of the fact this year could be a "false dawn", as prices are also forecast to fall back by 2012.

Elsewhere, DTZ also recently made similar forecasts for the year, although its projections were for a nationwide increase of 0.3 per cent in rents over the coming 12 months, rising to a cumulative 1.8 per cent rise over the next five years.

Posted by Ian Johnson.