The offices in Shoreditch has taken off in recent months, with top rents reaching £42.50 in certain parts and the iconic Tea Building reaching £36.50. If you compare this with two years ago, when the Tea Building could only command rents in the low £20s, you can really start to see how the market has stepped up. 

The main reason for this increase in rents is the demand for “media type” warehouse space. The converted warehouses with exposed brickwork and wooden floors is almost always a must-have among the media tenants now, and with only three places that host such buildings – Shoreditch, Clerkenwell and London Bridge – the limited stock is really pushing the rents up. Soho was always traditionally seen as the home of media and tech companies, but Alex Goode from Morgan Pryce believes that, “with rents increasing and business rates extremely high in Soho there has also been a huge upsurge of occupiers from Soho looking to move over to Shoreditch. The lower rents, matched with the break in business rates they can achieve in Shoreditch, have allowed for huge savings for occupiers who are making the transition from Soho to Shoreditch.”

This noticeable influx of new businesses moving to Shoreditch, together with large amounts of investment coming into the area, has led to plans for a residential tower being approved. The redevelopment of the Crown House, which is situated adjacent to the Silicon Roundabout, will form part of a new 450,000 square-foot mixed-used scheme. The scheme will consist of 37 storeys of residential use along with a 251-bed Premier Inn and a 673-student accommodation scheme. 

Morgan Pryce is 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.