London, 1 October 2013 – A total of 3.2 million sq ft was transacted in the Central London office occupier market in Q3 2013. This took the year-to-date total to 9.2 million sq ft, a third higher than at the same point last year, according to the latest research by global property consultancy CBRE.

The West End saw the greatest volume of take-up of any Central London market in Q3 2013, with 1.1 million sq ft acquired over the course of the quarter, the highest quarterly total since the end of 2011. Southbank take-up hit its highest point since Q2 2007, with 0.8 million sq ft transacted, including the two biggest deals in Central London.

For the first time since 2010, take-up in Central London has been above the 10-year average of 3 million sq ft for two consecutive quarters.

There were five deals over 50,000 sq ft in Central London in Q3 2013, the largest of which were:

•430,200 sq ft to News UK at The Place, SE1
•216,300 sq ft to Ogilvy & Mather at Sea Containers House, SE1
•205,300 sq ft to KPMG at 30 North Colonnade, E14

Under offers in Central London now stand at an on-trend 2.6 million sq ft, 6% higher than at the end of Q3 2013. CBRE report that there are nine buildings across Central London with more than 50,000 sq ft of space currently under offer.

For the first time this year Central London availability fell below the 10-year average, dropping by 4% over the course of the quarter to 17 million sq ft.
Emma Crawford, Head of West End and Midtown Leasing, CBRE said: “The first half of 2013 saw renewed optimism as a pick-up in activity after the subdued levels of demand seen last year. This has continued into Q3 with nine deals over 50,000 sq ft and a further nine buildings under offer suggesting that the improvement in occupier sentiment is enduring. Sustained heightened levels of demand together with falling availability in Central London will support rental value growth.”