In Q4 2012, Derwent London acquired a 68-year leasehold interest in 25-27 and 29-33 Berners Street for £36.5 million, later extended to 127 years. Planning consent for the ‘Copyright Building’, 30 Berners Street, Fitzrovia, was granted in October 2014, to provide 87,150 sq ft of offices and 20,000 sq ft of retail space. Construction began once vacant possession of 25-27 and 29-33 Berners Street was achieved in 2015.

The gap between London and regional market office occupancy costs has decreased by 2% since 2016. The six largest cities in the UK – Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow – now have occupancy costs of 42% lower than London, down from 44%.

The flexible workspace trend is on the rise, not only in London but all over the world, with predicted growth of no less than 18% in 12 months. In central London, a desk will cost anything between £500-£1100 per month. The Instant Group – a flexible workspace specialist – has found that New York City remains the most expensive place in the world to rent a desk on a flexible basis, with San Francisco and Chicago following closely behind. London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, is also included in this top tier.

The glass fronted 20 Canada Square is a 12-storey building comprising 527,000 sq ft, that was constructed in 2003. Designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and developed by the Canary Wharf group, it was acquired two years later by Brookfield for £326.4 million (£619.34 per sq ft).

In May 2017,the American bank JP Morgan acquired 200 Capital Dock, a 130,000 sq ft building located in Dublin that marks a slow diversion away from the world’s financial haven of London. The building was bought from Kennedy Wilson, Fairfax Holdings and the National Asset Management Agency.

The Crown Estate has delivered a substantial yearly return of 8.1% in a busy year that saw it complete sales, acquisitions and capital expenditure totalling £1.2 billion.

Morgan Pryce, on behalf of a multi-national marketing firm, has recently completed the acquisition of approximately 5,000 sq ft of prime office space in the prestigious area of Clerkenwell. The office floor, in a building which has just undergone a complete refurbishment to Category A specification, was acquired on a brand new, five-year straight lease at £67.50 per sq ft with nine months rent-free to be taken up front, representing an above average deal in the Midtown submarket.

As flexible workspace continues to be a hit with the global office market, it seems that traditional landlords are looking to get a piece of the action. British Land has recently launched its new flexible office offering, called Storey, which aims to focus on companies with 20-70 employees who have outgrown co-working space but need flexible lease terms for just a year or two.

Recently, there’s been several articles on the Morgan Pryce website regarding the uncertainty in the current economy, with Brexit looming and the General Election taking place. There has also been much speculation regarding what effect this will have on the previously booming commercial office market.

The Workspace Group is a real estate investment trust, established in 1987, who let office, industrial and workshop spaces to small and young businesses who want flexibility from their leases. The company owns several freeholds and leases across London, and was valued at £1.7 billion as of March 2016, with a net rental income that increased 6.9% in 2017 to £79.2 million.