Knight Frank is expecting to fall shy of its 2011 M25 office take-up forecast, despite strong Q3 deal volume.
Between July and September 708,659 sq ft of offices were taken in the M25, more than double the 326,951 sq ft recorded in Q2, and up 57% on the 452,031 sq ft transacted in Q1.
Large deals were also recorded by Knight Frank during Q3, such as truck maker Iveco renewing a 74,970 sq ft lease at Watford Central.
Despite the year-to-date growth, Knight Frank said the poor Q2 performance had prompted it to reduce its total 2011 forecast to 2m sq ft, from 2.3m sq ft.
Emma Goodford, Knight Frank’s head of South East offices, said: “Demand remains steady and largely driven by lease events and a desire to upgrade to better-quality accommodation. The M4 corridor has shown a 0.5% drop in the vacancy rate in the last quarter, down to 11.1%.
“This market area has the highest percentage availability of new and Grade A space, and is attracting the greatest level of take up.”
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
