City offices set for bumper demand in 2018 as more businesses expected to come to the Square Mile

​City office take-up will soar in 2018 with businesses expected to lease more than 5m square feet (sq ft) of space this year.

According to real estate advisers CBRE, Brexit has had minimal impact on financial and insurance firms’ appetite for office space it the City. It also forecasts demand for co-working spaces will continue to boost office take-up in the Square Mile this year.

Read more: London office bonanza as City deals drive record take-up

Chris Vydra, executive director, City leasing CBRE, told City A.M.: “We are seeing continued confidence in the City market, borne out of the expansion of the tech and co-working industries. There is steady demand from the professional services sector, and to date Brexit has had little impact on financial and insurance sector occupiers.

“The City office market is showing itself to be extremely resilient. Indeed we predict that well over 5m sq ft will again be signed during 2018, although potentially higher should the co-working and serviced office sectors continue their insatiable expansion.”

Data showed take-up in the City rose 36 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017 to 1.8m sq ft, 40 per cent above the 10-year quarterly average. Meanwhile, take-up in central London for the final quarter was 3.8m sq ft, representing an increase of 10 per cent on the previous quarter.

Read more: Office space take-up in London beat a 10-year average last quarter

The largest deal of the quarter saw co-working giant WeWork acquire 135,500 sq ft at The Bard, The Stage, EC2

CBRE’s research also pointed out office take-up in London as a whole reached 13.2m sq ft last year, up seven per cent on the previous year. The figures were boosted by large transactions with 2017 witnessing 17 transactions of over 100,000 sq ft in the highest annual total since 2001.