View Office Spaces for Rent in London
Figures from the real estate consultancy firm show that roughly one in four ongoing London office space development schemes are now refurbishments of one sort or another. The trend is most marked in the City of London, where 14 of the 27 office space creation efforts are now focused on overhauling established developments.
According to the DJD report, roughly 1.4 million square feet of office space is being created across the so-called Square Mile. Meanwhile, in the West End of London, 23 office development schemes are in progress, and 2.3 million square feet of new space will be delivered as a result.
The latest Crane Survey’s overall picture of the UK capital’s office space market shows increased pre-let activity encouraging developers to consider prospective new office building ventures.
“Office development in Central London continues to fare well despite the wider economic malaise. This Crane Survey has shown that sentiment remains positive in the London office market,” commented DJD partner and head of research Anthony Duggan.
The DJD report also noted, as others have recently, that technology companies and insurance firms are increasingly taking up office space across the City of London, where banking groups were, until recently, much more active in the market.
Another DJD partner and its agency head in the City, Matthew Elliot, said: “The City is an interesting market at the moment. Banks, traditionally the mainstay of the market, are sitting on their hands for understandable reasons. Some that could relocate are extending their leases for a few years rather than incur the considerable capex and lease commitment. But as banks retrench so insurers are boldly moving into new buildings and paying high rents.”
DJD announced in November that it intends to drop the Drivers Jonas element of its name in the new year and start operating simply as Deloitte Real Estate. Deloitte acquired the nearly 300-year-old Driver Jonas brand and business in 2010.
Editor’s notes: DJD rebranded as Deloitte Real Estate on January 21st 2012.