Speculative office schemes under construction in central LondonKnight Frank
- London’s office market is proving resilient in the face of Brexit.
- Office leasing activity in central London hit 13.84 million sq ft last year, more than 2 million sq ft than in 2016.
LONDON — London’s office market is booming and proving resilient in the face of Brexit uncertainty.
A new report from Knight Frank found office leasing activity ticked up sharply last year, which the property adviser said was driven largely by growing demand from the UK’s burgeoning tech sector.
The report said office leasing activity in central London hit 13.84 million sq ft last year, more than 2 million sq ft than in 2016.
Knight Frank said it had seen “extraordinary demand” for London offices from the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) sector
Stephen Clifton, head of central London at Knight Frank, said the growing take-up showed “tremendous confidence in London after the EU referendum” in June 2016.
“Central London’s office market witnessed a high volume of activity in 2017 with record take-up by TMT firms.”
Knight Frank’s report also warned that a serious lack of office supply in central London will make it difficult for any companies looking to move in the next few years.
“There is a lack of quality office space supply, as, despite there being over 259 development schemes under construction in Central London, 187 are residential, and of the remaining 72 offering commercial space, only two thirds are available to lease, with many of them already pre-let to office tenants,” the report said.
“Furthermore, the development pipeline has meant that more than a quarter of these buildings will not be available until 2020, creating a short-term squeeze for any companies needing to move in the next two years.”
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