London,
15
August
2019
|
09:54
Europe/London

Pre-lets drive London leasing activity above 10-year average in July

  • London office take-up totalled 1.3m sq ft in July, rising above the 10-year average
  • The largest transaction during the month was at One Braham, E1, where BT took 328,100 sq ft
  • Demand for second-hand space rose 27% above the 10-year average

Office take-up in Central London for July 2019 reached 1.3m sq ft, representing a 26% rise from the end of June 2019 and surpassing the 10-year average of 1.1m sq ft, according to the latest figures from global real estate advisor CBRE.

The largest deal of the month was at One Braham, E1 where BT pre-let 328,100 sq ft. This deal helped pre-let take-up reach 615,800 sq ft, 190% above the 10-year average of 212,300 sq ft.

The creative industries sector and business services sector each represented around a third of the monthly take-up, accounting for 34% and 33% respectively during July. Flexible office operators took 391,200 sq ft across four deals. The second largest deal of the month saw WeWork take 277,900 sq ft at 30 Churchill Place in the Docklands.

Central London saw a rise of 2% in availability in July 2019 from the previous month at 13.3m sq ft. 70% of total availability was second-hand space at 9.3m sq ft, above the 10-year average of 8.8m sq ft. The largest available unit was in EC2 at 22 Bishopsgate at 490,100 sq ft.

There was 3.8m sq ft of office space under offer at the end of July, remaining above the Central London 10-year average of 3.1m sq ft. At 2.3m sq ft, a high proportion (61%) of the space under offer was second-hand, 27% above the 10-year average of 1.8m sq ft. There were four under offers greater than 100,000 sq ft in size, of which the largest was at 22 Bishopsgate for 420,400 sq ft.

David Perowne, Executive Director and Head of City Office Leasing, CBRE
Demand for London office space proved to be extremely strong in July. Led by BT’s acquisition of One Braham, pre-let take-up reached unprecedented levels as, undeterred by political uncertainty, occupiers sought to secure premium space across London.
David Perowne, Executive Director and Head of City Office Leasing, CBRE