Commercial rent edged up in the second quarter, with London outperforming the rest of the nation
Central London shops have been helping to boost rental growth in the second quarter of 2016, according to CBRE.
Rents in UK prime commercial property were up one per cent in the second quarter of 2016; high street shop rents were up 2.8 per cent. Industrial rents grew by 1.4 per cent.
Read more: Demand for commercial property "subdued" and could hit rents
Retailers are still happy to fight over the limited space available in London. The highest growth in high street shop rent was in central London, up by 8.9 per cent in the second quarter, compared to a 0.2 per cent growth in rents across the UK generally.
Miles Gibson, head of UK research at CBRE, said: "The second quarter wasn't exactly business as usual for the UK's political and economic landscape, but despite the heightened uncertainty in the run up to the referendum vote, the commercial property sector demonstrated strong underlying health, with yields largely unmoved in core markets.
Read more: Investors are getting cold feet about UK commercial property since Brexit
"In particular, ample demand for commercial space pushed up rents nationwide, especially in prime London retail, which saw some of the highest rental growth on record.
"Although the shadow cast by Brexit means rental growth is unlikely to grow at this pace next quarter, the UK is well positioned to capitalise on the demand for new space."