The West End market saw a huge surge in office space being put under offer in May 2017, reaching a record-breaking 1.4 million sq ft, further increasing the amount of space in the early stages of acquisition in Central London to an impressive 37% above the 10-year average. Large acquisitions at 21 Moorfields and 2 Southbank Place have increased the total across the capital, however the West End is experiencing vast take-up over a range of size requirements.

After the recent terrorist attacks in London Bridge and in Manchester, where several lives were taken, London landlords have been improving security measures on their assets, such as increased CCTV, 24/7 manned security on site, and the installation of bullet proof glass. Some have even gone to the extent of putting up blocks, gates and barriers. This increase in security has mostly been seen in the retail and leisure industry, as well as the general commercial property market.

First Property Group and Fund Manager and Investor Ben Habib have put together a £30 million special reserve from two Oxford and two Cambridge university colleges. First Property Group’s Shipbuilding Industries pension scheme’s funds and money reserves were enlarged to a staggering £170 million from £125 million last year, as the company found a number of interesting opportunities to invest in.

US serviced office giant, WeWork, has agreed to take 280,000 sq ft of the 300,000 sq ft site at Almacantar’s Two Southbank Place, making it one of the biggest offices they hold in London.

Dual agency, or ‘double dipping’, is when an agency acts on both sides of the transaction. For instance, they will be acting for the landlord letting a space as well as for the tenant acquiring the space. The problems this causes lead to the surveyor being unable to act in both clients’ best interests.

Marlet Property Group has collaborated financially with M&G Investments, and together they have appointed leading real estate firm Savills (London headquarters) to sell and dispose the Dublin Living portfolio. This is a significant move, as Dublin Living is the largest ever portfolio of private sector properties in Ireland. Savills has been instructed to put this portfolio to market at £370.9 million.

Morgan Pryce, a chartered surveying firm that specialises in advising tenants in central London on leasing office space, development projects, and purchase and sales, continues to hold its impressive 100% success rate for the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC).

WeWork holds a staggering 181 office locations in 47 cities, establishing it as a major league player in the real estate industry. The company has now taken on an additional 72,000 sq ft in the Vivo Building to add to its empire. The new location will be the firm’s second on London’s South Bank, and will be able to accept an extra 1,000 new WeWork members.

As the cost of living in London has increased, forcing much of the workforce to move and commute from further afield, the desirability of Waterloo has continued to grow, because it provides great transport links to outside London, and out of towners who come into Waterloo station don’t need to increase their commute any further.

Due to recent political events, such as the Brexit referendum and election, only 1.15million sq ft of speculative development was announced in 2017′, compared to 4.7million sq ft in 2016. This is a substantial drop. “The market is changing, people don’t want to revert back to 2008”; explains Eugene O’Sullivan, Managing Director at Morgan Pryce. “Developers don’t want to take unnecessary risks; the UK market is sensitive and, at this stage, the future seems a little uncertain”.