The Office Providers – Office Spaces in Central London
The research, carried out by real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), found that there has been a rise of 12 per cent in the City, compared to last quarter. This is an increase to 7.8 million square feet of office space.
In the West End, demand went up by 11 per cent to 4.3 million square feet.
Jonathan Evans, Head of London West End Office Agency at JLL, said: “While the increased demand for London office space further demonstrates how strongly the market has recovered since the financial crisis, there is a growing imbalance between quality supply and increasing demand for Grade A space across London.
“As the development pipeline continues to deplete, upward pressure on rents will only get stronger during the rest of the year. During the next six months, the West End market will definitely see prime rents in the core consistently surpassing the GBP 100 per sq ft mark.”
JLL said that activity in the city has continued at a fair pace, despite the uncertainty generated by the tsunami in Japan and the conflict in Libya.
The head of the City of London Office Agency at JLL, Dan Burn, said: “Going forward, the Banking and Finance sector will continue to dominate the City market as they look to expand staff numbers, and we expect to see landlords reducing lease incentives during the next few months and pushing hard on rents as supply falls and demand continues to increase.”
He added that the City market will continue to be shaped by flight to quality.
Recently, top Tory donor Henry Angest said that if the ‘persecution of bankers’ continues, the City could lose its status as a global financial centre.
Editor’s notes: Reporting in Q4 2022, JLL advised that active demand across Central London had increased to just over 8.6 million square feet, which was just below the ten-year average but was up on both Q3 2022 and December 2021 demand levels.
In London’s West End district, demand for office space stood at 4.7 million square feet, reflecting a rise of 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Of this total, active demand stood at 3.1 million square feet, which constituted a rise of 14 per cent quarter-over-quarter, although this was down 19 per cent on volumes that were recorded in the first quarter of 2022.
In the City of London, demand decreased by 8 per cent to 9.1 million square feet in Q4 2022. This compared to 9.9 million square feet at the end of Q3 and was 7 per cent below the 10-year quarterly average. The quarterly fall was driven by a 20 per cent decrease in potential demand, which ended the quarter at 3.0 million square feet, down from 3.7 million square feet in the third quarter. Active demand remained broadly stable at 6.1 million square feet but remained 4 per cent below the 10-year quarterly average of 6.4 million square feet.
It was expected that submarkets across London that were popular with organisations within the Technology, Telecoms and Media (TMT) sector would experience decreases in demand throughout 2023, as layoffs continued.
In May 2026, Savills reported on the active office space demand in Central London over the first quarter of the year.
It was reported that office space under offer at the end of Q1 totalled 2.8 million square feet, which was 7 per cent up on the previous quarter and 2 per cent below the long-term average.
In Q1, the Insurance & Financial Services sector accounted for 34 per cent of space under offer across Central London. This was followed by the now-named Technology & Media sector at 25 per cent, with AI, software, and app-related occupiers accounting for 14 per cent of total space under offer.j
Active demand across Central London reached a new record high of 14.6 million square feet, up 17 per cent on Q4 and 57 per cent above the 10-year average.
It was also noted that incumbent occupiers remained optimistic about future space requirements, with 47 per cent seeking to increase their footprint compared with just 15 per cent looking to downsize.
The rise in active demand during Q1 was driven predominantly by the Financial Services sector, which recorded a 23 per cent increase on Q4 2025. Demand from the Technology & Media sector grew by 18 per cent.
There was also a notable increase in requirements from occupiers currently based in flexible workspace or were establishing a new London office during Q1, which together accounted for 27 per cent (by square footage) of new demand.
The Insurance & Financial Services sector was the main driver of active demand and, at 5.2 million square feet, stood at its third highest level on record. This was up 66 per cent on the sector’s 10‑year average, with 41 per cent of this consisting of occupiers who have been at their existing building for 15 or more years.
Such extended periods of occupation have historically increased the likelihood that firms in this sector would upgrade to new space. However, this demand is emerging against a backdrop of increasingly constrained supply, which resulted in many larger occupiers choosing to extend leases in 2025
The Technology & Media sector accounted for 3 million square feet, which was a record level. Of that, AI‑related occupiers accounted for 19 per cent of the sector total.
Further research found that AI and technology firms accounted for more than a quarter of total central London office lettings take-up in Q1 2026.