Commercial property rents 'to rise'

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 08-04-2010

A lack of commercial property floor space will likely lead to an increase in rental costs, it has been stated.

Digby Flower, executive director and head of central London agency, at CB Richard Ellis, said a lack of new modern office design developments is leading to a squeeze in the marketplace and therefore rents will go up over the coming months.

He commented: "We were saying that City rents were £43.50 per sq ft at the end of 2009 and they will be £52.50 by the end of 2010. You will see it continuing to rise through to 2012, depending upon what the development response is."

According to NB Real Estate, the amount of commercial space in the UK fell from 576.1 million square metres in 2007 to 574.9 million square metres in the year to January 1st 2009 - the equivalent floor space of nine Westfield London shopping centres.

Posted by Paul Kelly.