According to British Land, the UK commercial property market is strengthening and not just in Central London but into the regions as well. From a Central London point of view, the level of interest for office occupiers has dramatically increased. The years after the recession and generally throughout the recession, the market was dependent on the TMT sector and was being held afloat simply from the tech firms. This saw new areas start to appear across Central London. With the once undesired area of Shoreditch, now booming with start-up tech firms driving rents up to £42 per square foot in some places. It has also led to see some of the major developers, such as Derwent Property starting to look to acquire sites in the area to develop their schemes.

However, the levels of occupancy over the past 2 quarters have gone up again due to the financial sector re-emerging. The financial sector was hit the hardest during the recession with many firms looking to downsize or consolidate their current space, some firms going into administration and even fewer firms looking to start-up in the City. This has left a huge amount of supply to sit vacant for years and allow potential occupiers to have a pick of their space whilst achieving huge incentives. This however has now changed as offices in the City are on the rise again. The financial sector has finally woken up and we are starting to see more and more occupiers becoming active in the market. Again, with even the skyscrapers attracting some attention and British Land announcing they have let the entire 30th floor at the Cheesegrater to an upmarket serviced office.

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.