London,
15
December
2017
|
11:42
Europe/London

CITY OFFICE TAKE-UP REACHES HIGHEST LEVEL IN 13 YEARS

Summary
  • Take-up boosted by large transactions
  • November figure 3% above the 10-year monthly average
  • 125,400 sq ft Lloyds Banking Group sublet is the largest transaction of the month  

Office take-up in Central London for November 2017 was 1.0m sq ft, representing a rise of 36% compared with October’s figure.

Boosted by three deals over 100,000 sq ft, City take-up in November was at its highest level since 2004. The largest transaction of the month was a 125,400 sq ft sublet by Lloyds Banking Group at 125 London Wall, followed by a 117,700 sq ft acquisition at One Poultry to a co-working provider. Hyperion Services Limited took 115,800 sq ft at One Creechurch Place, a new development.

The business services sector represented the largest proportion of take-up in November at 30%, owing to several deals to co-working/flexible space operators whilst banking & finance accounted for the second largest proportion with 24% of monthly take-up. Over the last 12 months, take-up has been dominated by three sectors with 29% of take-up coming from business services, 21% from creative industries, followed by banking & finance at 20%.

Availability in Central London fell slightly in November, ending the month at 14.3m sq ft which is 4% below the 10-year average of 14.9m sq ft. Availability is being driven by secondhand space, which was 14% above the long-term monthly average, whilst new space was below average levels. The Central London vacancy rate increased to 4.9% from 4.7%.

Emma Crawford, Managing Director, London Leasing at CBRE
November has been a record month in terms of take-up, demonstrating the resilience of London and its continued allure across multiple sectors. Despite Brexit it is reassuring to see the banking and finance sector representing nearly a quarter of London office leasing deals last month.
Emma Crawford, Managing Director, London Leasing at CBRE