News

Docklands doubles Greater London’s office supply

News

Estates Gazette

31 January 1987

by Alex Catalano

Development proposals in London’s Docklands have boosted the amount of office floorspace in the pipeline in Greater London by 96% to 23.3m sq ft in 1986, according to Jones Lang Wootton’s annual survey of development in the capital outside the central area.

“The potential importance of Docklands can be guaged by the fact that the quantity of proposed floorspace in the Isle of Dogs exceeds the total amount of completion for the whole of the Greater London area for the period 1981 to 1986,” JLW say. According to their figures, there is nearly 10.3m sq ft net of office space in the pipeline in the Isle of Dogs alone.

In the rest of Greater London, the proposed similar 10.3m sq ft of floorspace was only up by 3% over the 1985 figure. The western boroughs of Hammersmith, Hillingdon and Hounslow, together with Croydon, recorded the largest stock of development proposals.

The largest individual schemes outside Docklands include Bredero’s and London Regional Transport’s proposal for 500,000 sq ft of offices on the central island site in Hammersmith and Rosehaugh’s permission for 620,000 sq ft at East Croydon Station.

Take-up of new space fell marginally in 1986; at 2.5m sq ft, it was down 4% on 1985. As previously, west London was the most popular with occupiers, accounting for 49% of take-up. And, for the second year in a row, the supply of available new office space fell. At 2.8m sq ft, it was 26% below the 1985 figure and 40% below the 1984 one.

West London also continues to have the most office floorspace available, 1.2m sq ft, while south London accounts for about a third of both availability and take-up in the study area. But the 840,000 sq ft occupied in south London during the year represents a rise of 35% over 1985. At 260,000 sq ft, Delta Point in Croydon, taken by British Telecom, was the largest letting of a completed new building in Greater London in 1986.

As for space under construction, this rose to 2.3m sq ft, an increase of 19% over the 1985 figure. However, 29% of the space was already prelet or for owner-occupation, leaving 1.6m sq ft in 46 schemes to come on to the market.

The bulk of the building activity is again concentrated in west London, 1.3m sq ft in total. However, Docklands is the most important single location for office development with a total of 440,000 sq ft in 11 schemes under construction in Tower Hamlets.

This year, JLW also take a closer look at the occupiers of new or refurbished space in 1986. Their survey found that business services account for just under a third of all take-up. Within this category, publishing, public administration, hotel, catering and distribution were particularly importantly.

Industry occupied only 15% of the total, while computing — which includes both manufacture and distribution of both hardware and software — accounted for 11.7%.

Banking and finance, which have featured prominently in the central London market, occupied 10% of the total in London outside the centre.

by Alex Catalano Development proposals in London’s Docklands have boosted the amount of office floorspace in the pipeline in Greater London by 96% to 23.3m sq ft in 1986, according to Jones Lang Wootton’s annual survey of development in the capital outside the central area. “The potential importance of Docklands can be guaged by the fact that the quantity of proposed floorspace in the Isle of Dogs exceeds the total amount of completion for the whole of the Greater London area for the period 1981 to 1986,” JLW say. According to their figures, there is nearly 10.3m sq ft net of office space in the pipeline in the Isle of Dogs alone. In the rest of Greater London, the proposed similar 10.3m sq ft of floorspace was only up by 3% over the 1985 figure. The western boroughs of Hammersmith, Hillingdon and Hounslow, together with Croydon, recorded the largest stock of development proposals. The largest individual schemes outside Docklands include Bredero’s and London Regional Transport’s proposal for 500,000 sq ft of offices on the central island site in Hammersmith and Rosehaugh’s permission for 620,000 sq ft at East Croydon Station. Take-up of new space fell marginally in 1986; at 2.5m sq ft, it was down 4% on 1985. As previously, west London was the most popular with occupiers, accounting for 49% of take-up. And, for the second year in a row, the supply of available new office space fell. At 2.8m sq ft, it was 26% below the 1985 figure and 40% below the 1984 one. West London also continues to have the most office floorspace available, 1.2m sq ft, while south London accounts for about a third of both availability and take-up in the study area. But the 840,000 sq ft occupied in south London during the year represents a rise of 35% over 1985. At 260,000 sq ft, Delta Point in Croydon, taken by British Telecom, was the largest letting of a completed new building in Greater London in 1986. As for space under construction, this rose to 2.3m sq ft, an increase of 19% over the 1985 figure. However, 29% of the space was already prelet or for owner-occupation, leaving 1.6m sq ft in 46 schemes to come on to the market. The bulk of the building activity is again concentrated in west London, 1.3m sq ft in total. However, Docklands is the most important single location for office development with a total of 440,000 sq ft in 11 schemes under construction in Tower Hamlets. This year, JLW also take a closer look at the occupiers of new or refurbished space in 1986. Their survey found that business services account for just under a third of all take-up. Within this category, publishing, public administration, hotel, catering and distribution were particularly importantly. Industry occupied only 15% of the total, while computing — which includes both manufacture and distribution of both hardware and software — accounted for 11.7%. Banking and finance, which have featured prominently in the central London market, occupied 10% of the total in London outside the centre.