Central London leasing market still robust

In its Central London Leasing report it said ‘despite Q3’s financial turmoil, leasing activity in Central London showed no signs of slowing’. It said there was 2.7m sq ft of take up in the City & Docklands which is the highest quarterly take-up since the fourth quarter of 2006.

Five deals were recorded over 100,000 sq ft, for example RBS’s decision to take Land Securities’ Bankside 2 & 3 schemes on the Southbank totalling 359,000 sq ft and Reed Smith Richards Butler’s pre-let of 160,000 sq ft at British Land’s Broadgate Tower. The total take up for the year in the City and Docklands is 5.8m sq ft - up 18% on the same time in 2006.

A total of 900,000 sq ft was let in the West End during the third quarter and total take up for the year is 2.8m sq ft which is a slight increase on the 2.6m sq ft total at the same time last year.

Guy Taylor, partner and head of West End office agency: ‘We are experiencing a very robust leasing market with record rents being achieved for the most sought after space. For example, in the West End, Permal paying £140/sq ft with minimal rent free on a 15 year term at 12 St James’s Square.’

James Young, partner and head of Cushman & Wakefield’s City office said: ‘Whilst the market in the City has performed well to date this year, undoubtedly the heavy influence in this market of banks and financial services companies means that demand levels are going to be impacted moving forward as the current turmoil starts to impact. This contrasts with the West End where demand for space comes from a more diverse range of sectors.’