The London office market is becoming increasingly tighter as a lack of space and increased potential occupiers make it a very tough situation for tenants in the market. This, combined with the more relaxed planning application laws across the country, stretching into the capital have meant the market is moving into new areas, one of which is Southwark. 

Southwark is not an unestablished market by any means, it has always been reasonably stable and a cheaper alternative to the skyscrapers of the City. However, over the last 18months, Southwark has really started to pick up speed. With the Shard development now complete and the new mixed used development along the Thames also complete, it now boasts a fantastic new residential development with shops and restaurants below with Grade A spec offices in tow.

Alex Goode from Morgan Pryce states that ‘’rents are really starting to push up with the top buildings (not including the shard) achieving in the high 40’s on a regular basis. Combine this with the punchy rents in the shard and strong rents achieved in the blue fin building, Southwark is starting to pick up steam’’. 

However, the battle Southwark will face over the next few years is change of use. With the planning laws relaxed to try and encourage further residential dwellings in the country, it has made the tired, older, vacant office buildings from parts of Southwark a prime area for landlords to apply for change of use and see the value of their building triple and quadruple. If this doesn’t happen and the landlords continue to spend money on refurbishing and redeveloping the existing buildings across the area, London could see Southwark really establish itself in the market and demand higher rents for an area that is fantastically located and well catered for.

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.