Office lettings in central London are up 30% year-on-year, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The agent found that completed transactions – plus space under offer – is approximately 30% higher than at the end of the first quarter last year. Take-up of office space in the UK capital in the first three months of this year totalled 2.4 million sq ft, the agent said.
Around 3.2 million sq ft is currently under offer – the highest since mid-2007 and almost double London’s five-year quarterly average.
Four potential deals over 100,000 sq ft are currently under offer: TfL has placed approximately 230,000 sq ft under offer at 10 Upper Bank Street in east London; Mizuho is under offer at 2 New Ludgate in the City (193,000 sq ft); Havas is under offer at 3 Pancras Square in the north of the capital (160,000 sq ft) and Estée Lauder is under offer at 1 Fitzroy Place in the West End (140,000 sq ft).
Andrew Parker, Cushman & Wakefield’s head of City office agency, said: “Improvement in business sentiment is now more widespread across all business sectors in the City and is boosting occupier activity. We are now seeing healthy competition for office space, and choice is diminishing for larger occupiers. This is likely to lead to a sharp uptick in rental values as the year progresses.”
