Canary Wharf for many years was thought of as a desolate, high rise, tumbleweed strewn office submarket where rents are low and the morale of workers even lower. As rents soared in central London and vacancy rates were becoming unhealthily low, you could still find plenty of space for a mere £20psf office space in Canary Wharf. It has long been thought amongst central London agents the Docklands and Canary Wharf area has potential but is lacking the life, and facilities of central London. 

Transport has played a key role in the improvement and success of the project and this began in 1985 with the extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Bank Station, they also upgraded the frequency and capacity of trains; the DLR now serves a wide area and further improvement have been made along with the extension of the Jubilee Line in 1999 and now the construction of Crossrail due to complete in 2019.

Further to improving transport links, Ollie Salter, a surveyor at Morgan Pryce believes that, “Canary Wharf managing to secure a £820m funding deal will bring a huge uplift to the area; the money will be used to bring forward 1.6m sqft of development at the site previously named Wood Wharf. The aim is to change the feel of the area from a business sector and give a residential vibe.” Another loan of £200m was provided by the Homes and Communities Agency for the infrastructure of the project. The project will provide 3,200 new homes, 100,000 sqft of retail and leisure and 300,000 sqft of office space over two buildings with opportunity for further growth on the JP Morgan owned site currently up for sale.

Could this be the new cool place to live and work in London? We shall see.

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.