If it were not for the Olympics, how much gloomier would 2012 look for London?
The greatest show on earth may have shifted eight million tickets – and will focus four billion pairs of eyes on the capital – but will it be enough to distract us from a central London market buckling under the combined pressures of a depressed economy, a financial services sector in retreat and a scarcity of development funding?
Too gloomy? Perhaps. After all, the Olympics will provide an economic fillip, albeit a temporary one. And it will – it must – provide a lasting boost to Brand London.
More significant for the industry perhaps is news that, for the first time last year, the TMT sector took up more office space than finance companies. The capital’s property industry is pinning its hopes on this trend continuing.
This sector and the Games will reshape London. Development around the Olympic Park will revitalise the east. And new buildings in emerging locations will appear to meet the demands of the bright new things who work for the capital’s burgeoning TMT sector and want quirkier space in accessible locations.
The capital will also see new landlords as foreign money continues to snap up prime product and the insurance sector plugs some of the gap in development funding left by the banks.
So if it feels gloomy right now, there are signs that the future may be a whole lot rosier.
? This month also sees the launch of EG’s London Forum. Supported by BNP Paribas Real Estate, the initiative will see some of the capital’s leading lights chew over a number of London’s most pertinent issues. Look out for regular features and live web debates.
