The influence of Asia on the London commercial property market is continuing, with India following where China has led in investing in the UK capital’s property.  Indiabulls Real Estate is the third large investment by an Indian company within less than a year. 

A persistent faith in the London economy, and specifically the London commercial (and residential) property market, has become entrenched over the last couple of years.  When the events of 2007 and 2008 occurred, no one could have predicted how the capital, nor the UK as a whole would react, or fare over the subsequent years. 

Recent property research, by CBRE Global, highlights the variation in cost of commercial property throughout the world.  Once again, London’s West End tops the chart as highest-priced office market in the world, with costs of £164 per square foot per year, and significantly more expensive than Hong Kong, which was in second place.

The IPD UK Property Index is showing continued positivity in London in terms of property investment, particularly commercial property, demonstrating it as a popular choice of investment often over and above other options such as equities.  There are ever more start-ups on the scene while well-established and burgeoning businesses are taking on more staff – which mean they need more space. 

The office leasing market in Central London is as tight as it possibly can be at the moment. West End vacancy rates are hovering around the 4% mark and all the way across Midtown to the City, occupiers are really struggling. With demand constantly increasing and supply only very gradually increasing and any major development or large scale refurbishments still 12 months away, this will continue to be the case for at least the rest of this year and most likely through most of 2015 as well.

As a tenant looking office space in the Central London market, you have probably become very bored and frustrated with agents telling you how tight the market is with a sever lack of supply of good stock, especially between 1,000-3,000 sq. ft.

Morgan Pryce meets a lot of clients who are looking for between 800 and 1,500 sq. ft. At this sort of size companies sometimes tend to be unsure of whether they need an agent to find and secure them new office space or not. They have often moved a couple of times before, often between serviced offices and do not realise how complicated and time consuming it can be to take a lease. 

London property prices are featured in the news on a daily basis at present. The upward surge in prices isn’t limited to residential properties, and companies are finding themselves priced out of Central London and even the surrounding areas more than ever. Businesses are being forced to weigh up the benefits of being centrally located against the cost of rents in that desired location – and many businesses are deciding it isn’t worth it. 

As Q2 starts to draw to a close it means the summer is fast approaching. The next couple of months are going to be extremely busy as agents look to pack all of their business into 2 months as August is usually a write off. So where are we 6 months into the year? Are things really as positive as the Politicians are telling us?

The latest London building to offer a ‘sky garden’ is 20 Fenchurch Street, or more commonly known as the ‘Walkie Talkie’. The sky garden at the top of this skyscraper is due to open by the end of this year, and will provide diners on the 35th storey not only with views of London but pleasant surroundings as well.