Investment in London office space returns to pre-pandemic levels
Investment into London offices has returned to pre-pandemic levels, new research has revealed, after the pandemic nearly killed off the traditional workplace.
Investors pumped £11.3bn into office transactions last year, preliminary data from property agent CBRE found, matching 2019’s figure.
The cash injection was nearly 50 per cent higher than the £7.6bn recorded in 2020, and comes as firms look to pull in more staff with sparkly HQs amid a restricted labour pool.
One newly acquired office includes Brookfield snapping up 30 Fenchurch Street for some £635m.
Despite levelling out at the closest pre-pandemic marker, investors still spent far less than the 10-year annual average of £14.5bn.
“Given the pent up demand for income producing assets, there will likely be a continuation of the momentum that has been building over the last couple of quarters into 2022,” head of London investment at CBRE, James Beckham said.
It comes as the government advises Londoners and the rest of the UK to work from home amid a record spike in Covid-19 cases.
Around one in 15 people had the virus last week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).