Top five West End agents left scrabbling for deals as competition rises

London’s West End market has begun the year as an unhappy hunting ground for office agents, according to new Radius figures published today. EG’s Radius Leaderboards show the top five West End office agents transacted a total of 301,942 sq ft of space between them in Q1, less than a third of the 913,522 sq ft let or sold by the top ranking five agents in the same period last year. City core agents also underwent a noticeable dip, with the top five accounting for 872,732 sq ft of space, compared with 1,197,745 sq ft in Q1 2023. The West End saw its numbers boosted by a 106,000 sq ft letting at Derwent London’s 25 Baker Street, W1, to Pimco as well as a deal that saw Virgin Media O2 take 83,000 sq ft at British Land’s 3 Sheldon Square, W2. By comparison, the biggest West End office deal in Q1 2024 was the sale of the 52,000 sq ft 15 Marylebone Road, NW1, followed by the letting of CBRE GI’s 29,000 sq ft Charlotte House on Windmill Street, W1, to Databrick. Shaun Dawson, director and head of insights at DeVono, says there are a number of factors behind the new figures, including a decline in the overall volume of deals compared with last year, when there was a high level of activity in central London. He also believes City fringe is becoming increasingly attractive. “There’s been a lot more movement of tenants looking eastwards in search of value, although a lot of firms do still want to be there and will pay the £100 per sq ft you see in Mayfair,” he says. However, he believes the biggest factor is the number of new companies entering the agency world in central London. “Lots of people have left and set up on their own, so we’re probably seeing the smaller agents getting a bigger bite of the pie,” he says. “There’s now a spread of agents who have been brought on to buildings to basically get rid of them, so deals aren’t just being shared by the big boys.” Of all the main London office markets, only the City fringe saw the top five agents transact more space than in the same period last year, with combined take-up rising by 46% to 561,060 sq ft. In Midtown, Docklands and southern fringe, volumes were down by 32-57%. At a national level, the latest Radius figures offer some encouragement for UK commercial real estate. Overall deal numbers for Radius users across the country are up by 8% on on the same period last year, with 3,241 completions in the first three months of 2024. There were also more investment sales, although combined values fell from £2.03bn to £920m. Office lettings and occupational sales across the country dipped slightly, although there was an increase in space transacted. Both the industrial and retail sectors saw an uptick in deals numbers, with transacted space up by 30% and 52% respectively. Image © Nicolas McComber/iStock