Strong demand for offices in Mayfair and St James’s has pushed the available space down to a fifth of what it was in the spring, according to Cluttons’ autumn 1987 survey of the area.
Only 90,700 sq ft of offices in units of 5,000 sq ft or more is available for letting, the bulk of it in Mayfair. In St James’s, only 32 Haymarket and 30 St James’s Street offer space over 5,000 sq ft, 14,750 sq ft in total, although there are also smaller chunks in eight other properties, amounting to 40% of the total available in the area.
However, both Mayfair and St James’s are in the throes of a development boom, with 693,000 sq ft under construction and another 874,000 sq ft proposed. The former includes Lansdowne House in Berkeley Square, due to be finished in early 1988, while among the latter is the 133,560-sq ft office component of the Criterion redevelopment in Piccadilly Circus.
“It is becoming difficult to find prime accommodation at less than £40 per sq ft,” say Cluttons.
