Central London office take up jumps in fourth quarter
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Office take up in central London jumped in the final quarter of last year, as the diversity of businesses operating in the capital provided resilience for the city’s commercial property market.
Take up increased four per cent to 3.6m sq ft in the three months to the end of December, above the 10-year quarterly average of 3.3m sq ft.
Business services was the most dominant sector during the quarter, representing 25 per cent of overall take up.
During the period, Convene took 67,245 sq ft at 80 Fenchurch Street, Verisk Analysts moved into a 50,418 sq ft space at 22 Bishopsgate and Adecco Alfred Marks took 44,912 sq ft at 10 Bishops Square.
Banking and finance companies accounted for 23 per cent of central London office take up, and creative industries made up 21 per cent of the total, according to the latest research by real estate services firm CBRE.
The amount of space taken by flexible office operators dipped in the quarter, following heightened activity in the previous three month period.
Meanwhile, office availability fell to 12.3m sq ft, lower than the 10-year average if 14.1m sq ft and the 14.3m sq ft reported in the fourth quarter of 2018.
CBRE UK research director Simon Brown said: “The diverse nature of Central London office occupancy provides an exceptional degree of resilience and this supported healthy levels of take-up, both for the final quarter of 2019 and across the year as a whole.
“Looking ahead, we expect the occupier markets to remain strong in 2020, with under offers above trend and a high level of demand.
“Against a backdrop of low and tightening supply, we expect further rental growth.”
Research published last week showed that central London office investment soared in the fourth quarter, with a 125 per cent jump on the amount invested in the previous quarter after the result of the General Election sparked a flurry of deal activity.