The City of London was rated as the strongest performing district within Central London during the month, partly due to large-scale deals like that which saw the insurance giant Aon sign up for 191,700 sqft of offices within the Square Mile.
A total of some 1.1 million sqft of office space was taken up across central London during November, with Aon’s letting of space at British Land’s Leadenhall Building the largest single deal agreed in the month.
Overall leasing activity was up 80 per cent on the month before, but the availability of offices across London increased in the period as second-hand space flooded back onto the market, CBRE’s figures suggest. Demand grew most strongly in the West End.
“The strong take-up in November was down to deals completing from earlier in the year,” explained Digby Flower, CBRE’s executive director.
“There is still a sizeable amount of space under offer which should translate into leasing activity over the next six months. Beyond this, occupiers are likely to delay taking space until there is greater clarity on the macroeconomic picture.”
The largest office space lettings were agreed upon in November after Aon’s at the Leadenhall Building. The London Borough of Camden signed up for 137,670 sqft of offices at Phase 3 King’s Cross, and the professional services firm Deloitte signed up for 87,558 sqft at Murray House in EC3.
The under-construction Leadenhall Building at 122 Leadenhall Street is among London’s most talked about office developments. At 48 storeys, it promises to be a dramatic addition to the City skyline. Aon’s letting will see it occupy the lowest ten storeys of the building, which is widely referred to as the Cheesegrater.
Editor’s notes: In Q1 2024, Central London’s take-up of office space through leasing deals reached 1.5 million sqft which was 25% lower than the amount transacted in the corresponding period in 2023, which was 2 million sqft, and 56% down quarter compared to the previous quarter. The 2024 Q1 figures were 31% lower than the 10-year Q1 average of 2.2 million sq ft.
In the same period, 903,000 sqft of office space was leased in the City of London, down 60% from the previous quarter and 25% from the 10-year Q1 average of 1.2 million sqft.