Global property consultancy CBRE has released figures showing that take-up of Central London office space increased by 32 per cent in the second quarter of 2013.
The total take-up in Central London was 3.4 million sq ft, which brings the total for the year to 5.9 sq ft. This number is significantly higher than the 4.7 million sq ft which was seen at the same point last year.
The second quarter of 2013 saw good levels of demand from a number of business sectors. There were higher levels of take-up from firms within the business services (18 per cent), banking & finance (18 per cent), and TMT sectors (19 per cent).
Take-up in the City hit its highest level in nearly three years at 1.6 million sq ft which was significantly above the 10-year average of 1.2 million sq ft.
Take-up in the West End increased by 41 per cent over the previous quarter, but year-to-date take-up remained slightly behind the same point last year. Prime headline West End rents increased to £97.50 per sq ft over the three months.
Under offers in Central London hit 3 million sq ft for the first time since the second quarter of 2011.
Two units over 100,000 sq ft are currently under offer: Sea Containers House SEI (216,300 sq ft) and Cannon Place, EC4 (140,300 sq ft). Eight more buildings over 50,000 sq ft are under offer across Central London.
Chris Vydra, the Executive Director, of City Agency, said, “The increases in take-up across Central London seen this year, along with rising under offers, have led some to call the turning point in the market.
“Whether or not this is true remains to be seen, but the heightened levels of activity are supporting our forecasts of a steady improvement in the occupational market and a return to rental growth.”
Availability in Central London remained largely unchanged over the rest of the quarter at 17.1 million sq ft.
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