Central London office space under offer climbs

Fresh evidence of demand for Central London offices has emerged today, with new data showing a rise in year-on-year commercial space under offer in the City and West End.

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Roughly 3.7m square feet (sq ft) of office space was under offer during the first three months of 2019, marking a 20 per cent increase on the same quarter in the previous year, according to property giant CBRE.

Rents in the capital’s prime hotspots edged up, with rates in the City rising by £1.50 per sq ft to £71.00 and in the West End by £2.50 per sq ft to £107.50.

However, take-up in Central London fell by 34 per cent to 2.7m sq ft from the heightened levels seen in the final quarter of last year, despite a number of major lettings, such as Sony Music’s deal to move to King’s Cross.

"Quarter one was slightly below average in terms of take-up, however this is not uncommon at the beginning of any given year," said Chris Vydra, executive director of London Leasing at CBRE.

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He added: "High levels of demand are evident in the under offer levels, which are 20 per cent up on this point last year. This has started to filter through to rental values, which saw up-lifts in both the City and West End."

Demand from flexible office operators, creative firms and banks made up a large swathe of the take-up last quarter.