The current financial crisis has had a direct impact on the battle to attract London’s businesses, between the West End office scene and its neighbour in the Square Mile.  A lack of investment in new stock has compounded the age old problem of availability with the market for Mayfair offices especially becoming tighter and tighter.

“Landlords have either been reluctant, or unable, to finance major developments in the West End and Mayfair and this has led to a serious lack of supply.  Even tenants with money to spend are struggling to secure space and we are starting to reach a point of critical mass where enough people are making the switch to offices in the City to make it seem acceptable en masse” Says David Perrins, Managing Director of Morgan Pryce, the London office search specialist based near Oxford Circus.

“Once the decision has been taken to at least consider office space in the City, it is often an easy job to find a building that really interests a tenant.” Confirms Sally Brough, Associate Director with Morgan Pryce.  “Rents are often half those of offices in the West End, rates are cheaper, the buildings are often more modern and better value for money and more importantly, there is so much more availability.”

Even with direct and rapid investment in the West End office market, the effects of the past few years will likely prove difficult to undo.  With many of the traditional market makers, such as Hedge Funds and media companies, either battening down the hatches or moving to office space in Shoreditch and the Fringe, it is possible that a major correction may be in the offing.

Morgan Pryce is a tenant acquisition agency, specialising in acquiring London office space for tenants.