Could London’s serviced offices be seeing an upturn? Serviced office provider Orega has announced that its High Holborn business centre is now fully occupied after just six months.
16 High Holborn houses 281 workstations within its walls, as well as meeting rooms, break areas, and the most advanced technology and telecommunications, just a stone’s throw from Chancery Lane tube station.
This announcement comes hot on the heels of the news earlier this month that the 12,500 sq ft Colmore Plaza serviced offices in Birmingham had achieved full occupancy.
Orega has taken this uptake in their serviced offices as a sign of growth in the market. While major blue chip companies have taken up some of the space, small businesses are also showing a healthy appetite for what they are offering.
An Orega spokesman claimed that the success of the High Holborn serviced offices was due to careful selection of location, a formula the residential property market has been preaching in triplicate for some time.
He commented that ‘the decision we made has clearly paid off as we have attracted a sterling line-up of occupiers … seeking a well-located London base and an attractive working environment.’
However, it appears that Orega’s success in London and Birmingham may be part of a wider trend. A study released by Official Space indicated that demand for serviced offices in London has increased by 6% in the first quarter of this year.
It appears that market confidence is on the rise, but a lack of new developments is forcing companies that seek to expand to compete for existing property, meaning an increase in rents. In Holborn, rents increased by 14% in the first quarter of this year.
Despite Orega’s claim that its success is due to careful selection of location, Jones Lang LaSalle has reported that demand for office space is fairly evenly spread out between town centres and out-of-town locations. Town centres account for 52% of take-up, compared to 48% out of town.
Whatever the reason, the speed with which full occupancy was achieved for this size of building will no doubt be a comfort to other owners of serviced offices in the City.
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