Universities and colleges have become the fastest-growing group of London office occupiers, more than doubling their footprint in the last decade.
According to Deloitte’s London Business Footprint report, educational establishments have increased their office occupation in the capital by 204% since 2004, meaning they now account for 2% of the total office space in London.
The only sector to show a significant decline was government departments, whose market share decreased by 29%.
Finance is still the capital’s largest sector, occupying nearly a third of all office space, but a surge in technology firms taking space, where leasing activity has more than doubled, has seen the TMT sector rise to become the second-largest occupier in central London, occupying 16% of all office space.
The City’s share of space rose by two percentage points to 34% over the period. Midtown and the West End saw their share of occupied space fall to 14% and 28% respectively.
Shaun Dawson, manager of real estate research at Deloitte and author of the report, said: “Professional services are changing their perceptions. Two decades ago insurers wouldn’t go into a mixed environment. Now they are taking tower space.”
