A recent study of corporate bosses in London on behalf of the commercial property advisor Cushman and Wakefield has reflected a good deal of positivity about the prospects for the city’s economy over the next 12 months, which is in turn expected to have an impact on the real estate sector.
Cushman and Wakefield reckon there to be some 55 million square feet of “lease events”, meaning breaks or expiries of office space leases, over the next five years, which clearly highlights the importance of economic positivity among London-based businesses.
Ipsos Mori carried out the latest research on the subject, which found 87 per cent of London firms feeling confident that the next year will be better than the last and 71 per cent actively seeking out new growth opportunities.
Only representatives of companies worth over £25 million per annum were quizzed by researchers and the commercial property firm behind the study described the general attitude among respondents as “bullish”.
“As we hopefully move into more economically stable times, these findings show that occupiers in the capital are feeling cautiously optimistic about their own business prospects,” said James Young, head of Cushman and Wakefield’s London office.
“A continued lack of development finance is likely to lead to a resurgence in the pre-letting of buildings, in order for developers to de-risk their scheme,” he added.
British Land, one of the largest commercial property developers in the UK, recently revealed its intention to invest £35 million into refurbishing an area of central London office space that is currently occupied by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Editor’s notes: You can read our London office space guide here.