One of London’s attractions is its wide range of architectural styles and designs, both historical and contemporary. As the price of residential space in the UK capital continues to increase substantially, some developers are becoming more ambitious, happy to take some decisions that might have been considered not ‘safe’ enough, or too expensive, in the past. 

Over the last week, the weather has been giving us hints that we are seeing the end of winter.  A couple of glorious days last week in conjunction with us waking up earlier and going to bed later has seemed to put a spring in everyone’s step. We have managed to fight our way through the depressions of dry January and February where there was nothing to look forward to. Now March has arrived, the sun has come out the and the next holiday doesn’t seem so far away and beer gardens aren’t just the place smokers dare go. 

London’s position in the commercial property stakes has topped any other city in Europe, recent figures show, while investment in Europe as a whole is also at its highest since 2007.  During 2013 23% of European commercial property investment was absorbed by London, with property transactions amounting to €32.2/£26.5 billion, a figure that has never been exceeded by a European city. These figures are up 43% from 2012, a year in which investment was still 45% higher than the year before. 

The Shard, of which 95% is owned by the Qatar Central Bank, has now let 30% of its office space to various financial and media companies, the property manager advised recently. These include the media group, Al Jazeera, the New York-based investment bank, Duff & Phelps Corp, as well as Mathys & Squire LLP law firm. These companies combined have acquired around 170,000 square feet of office space in the skyscraper, according to Real Estate Management UK Ltd.

The London office market is becoming increasingly tighter as a lack of space and increased potential occupiers make it a very tough situation for tenants in the market. This, combined with the more relaxed planning application laws across the country, stretching into the capital have meant the market is moving into new areas, one of which is Southwark. 

The way we work is getting more and more important to office occupiers, gone are the days of cellular offices, large executive private offices and a small dingy sink with no sitting or break out area. Google were the first major occupier who challenged the thinking behind how best to produce efficient employees through office fit outs. Google offices are all about producing places where employees want to be, a place where employees are happy to come to work and enjoy their day and the environment around them.

This week the Morgan Pryce offices are being refurbished to present a more client-facing office, which is in line with the clients that they are meeting on a day-to-day basis. We, the staff, have been asked to be mobile in the way they work this week and to spend as little time in the office as possible to avoid getting in the way. 

Last year we reported on London’s position in the world office market, particularly in terms of price per square foot. Once again, for the second year in a row, the West End has claimed the prize as the most expensive office market in the world. Hong Kong, whose office market is renowned for its high cost per square foot, once again came in after the West End, partly because rents in this London area continue to rise. 

A collection of five properties comprising office space in King’s Cross, Camden, Highbury and Islington has been acquired recently by the London developer Development Securities plc, the company has announced. 

The Shard, the building feted as London’s tallest skyscraper, which opened in 2012 and which became a tourist attraction in its own right, appears to be slowly but surely filling up its rental space.  While some ambitious construction was put on hold during the recent financial crisis, The Shard was completed but tenants were cautious and not quick to sign up.