Research has shown that office leasing activity in central London bounced back sharply last month.
The CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) report revealed that during August transactions were 72 per cent higher than during the same period in 2010.
Among the deals was a significant pre-let in the City, with European Medicines Agency’s 250,300 sq ft lease at the proposed 25 Churchill Place in Canary Wharf.
Digby Flower, head of central London agency, CBRE, said: “August was a busy month for leasing deals and under-offers continue to remain healthy at 2.9 million sq ft.”
Leasing in the West End reached 278,100 sq ft during the period, with the City holding firm at 313,000 sq ft, according to the report.
The report showed that overall central London supply reached just over 14 million sq ft – a climb of 2 per cent – thanks to rising levels of new space currently being developed. This helped the overall availability rise from July’s figure of 6.3 per cent to 6.4 per cent in August.
Across central London, supply was up in the City, the West End, Southbank and Docklands. The only central market not to record rising supply was Midtown.
The month saw a number of heavyweight deals, such as law firm Trowers & Hamlin taking up 95,500 sq ft on Bunhill Row, in the City.
Among the other key transaction revealed in the report were Detica, a business and technology consultancy which took 40,000 sq ft at 110 Southwark Street.
Investment bank Evercore Partners also took 34,700 sq ft at Stanhope Gate in Westminster, according to the CBRE report.
Hannah Holdroyd, London development manager at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “It’s clear that certain central areas of the city are still healthy and they generally always have been.
“Our concern would be in those areas outside of the city. Outer London and the less affluent areas are not seeing the same kind of uptake. The centre of the city will always be attractive to outside investment, but we should not forget those areas in outer London that still need help and support – particularly in the context of the civil unrest in London.”
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