The 317, 000 sq. ft. Aldgate Tower development has been handed another boost with news that TAG Worldwide, the global branding services company, will be taking approximately 40,000 sq. ft. in the newly completed development. Formally, TAG Worldwide are the first tenant to commit to taking space. However, other major companies including BskyB (30,000 sq. ft.), Uber (40,000 sq. ft.) and the Maersk Group (20,000 sq. ft.) have all been linked with occupying space in one of East London’s newest and most attractive developments.

Recently put up for sale is a significant proportion of the portfolio held by the Jersey-based Hercules Unit Trust (HUT), the UK’s largest specialist retail warehouse fund, managed by Schroder Property and advised by British Land. The trust was established in 2000 with the intention of acquiring and managing some of the UK’s largest retail developments, with traditional tenants such as Arcadia and TK Maxx. 

Cardiff-based Regen World is thought to be the frontrunner in negotiations for a site close to the Vauxhall gyratory. The Vauxhall Cross island location, near to Battersea Power Station, has planning permission for two towers made up of  residential and office space, with 31 and 41 storeys respectively. Planning permission was granted in August 2012 to Wendover Investments and Kylun, a private investor consortium.

Desperately needed commercial office space is seen to be coming to the market in Soho. Amazon Property who is predominately a residential developer is selling an office redevelopment in London’s West end.  The site 47, 48, and 50 Poland Street is estimated to be sold for a whopping £45 million pounds totalling at 43,938 sq. ft. making it £19,772 per sq. ft. 

The stalled Pinnacle Tower development, 22-24 Bishopsgate, in the City of London is finally nearing a deal to further its construction. With development stopping in 2012, the Pinnacle Tower space was known throughout London as the ‘Stump’. However, developer Lipton Rogers and fund managers Axa are in advanced negotiations to take over the development of one of London’s best known prospective buildings.

A new refurbishment has been completed in St James and it is all the talk of town as it is being said to be the next record rent achieved in the St James area. With rent predictions as high as £150 per sq. ft. which match the height of rent achieved in Mayfair, this space is sure to be a record breaker.

London is again showing its strength as a global business hub. Take up of office space in the Capital is at its highest point since 2000, with approx. 15 million sq. ft. of space taken up in 2014 – leaps and bounds above the 10 year average of 13 million. Not only is take up on the rise, rents are also hitting new record levels. City averages of £62.50, Midtown and Clerkenwell £52.50 and Mayfair £107.50 psf show the strength of the London market across the board – this is expected to continue throughout 2015.

As time goes on and the market tightens further, the landlords who have seen greatest rental growth in their office stock seem to have dollar signs in their eyes. Greedy landlords are more prevalent on the fringes of the central London office market due to these areas seeing the highest increase in rental growth. Ollie Salter a surveyor at Morgan Pryce explains that a deal he was working on in Chiswick fell through, however he found himself negotiating on same building 3 months later – only the quoted rent had increased by £5 psf.

VGV is really getting its teeth stuck into the UK having purchased three offices in Birmingham and one in London Victoria already this year. Verwaltungsgesellschaft für Versorgungswerke (VGV) is a pension fund for doctors and dentists in Berlin who are trying to diversify their portfolio to reduce risk.