West End office space hits highest Q1 in over six years

According to the latest figures from real estate advisor, CBRE, the amount of office space under offer in Central London in Q1 2018 stood at 3.2m sq ft.

The firm says that this represents an increase of six per cent on the previous quarter, as well as showing a three per cent increase on the same point in 2017.

Take-up in Central London reached 2.8m sq ft in Q1 2018, the West End witnessing its strongest start to the year since 2012, with its largest deal boasting a 65,900 sq ft letting to WS Atkins at Nova North in Victoria.

Dan Hanmer, head of West End and Midtown leasing at CBRE, said: “In a noticeable trend, driven by a squeeze in supply, we are seeing continued demand for larger units, with eight transactions over 50,000 sq ft completing in Q1.

“London take-up is behind trend albeit steady, however, there is renewed buoyancy in the West End market and we are seeing continued demand from occupiers in London’s highest quality buildings, a trend we expect to continue to see across all sectors.”

Availability in Central London increased by seven per cent to 14.3m sq ft but that is still below the total 12 months ago. A total of 1.1m sq ft of development and refurbishment space completed in Q1.

A further 2.3m sq ft is expected to complete before the end of the year, of which 54 per cent has already been committed to be leased.

By the end of the quarter, 9.1m sq ft was being actively sought by occupiers, primarily from the banking and finance sector (26 per cent) and creative industries sector (24 per cent).