Take-up in the South Bank office market has plunged in the first quarter as available space dropped to its lowest level on record.
Research from Union Street Partners, the niche agency joint venture between South Bank specialists Farebrother and Tuckerman, found the area had registered just 228,415 sq ft of leasing deals in the first three months of this year – down by 16% on the five-year average of 273,457 sq ft.
It is the second lowest quarterly take-up since January 2012, when the market was only just emerging from recession.
Total availability in the area now stands at 672,300 sq ft, with vacant space in the Shard and 240 Blackfriars Road, SE1, accounting for 52% of that total.
Jules Hind, partner at Union Street Partners, said: “There will certainly be a significant regression in annual take-up this, and likely next year, conceivably 50% lower than what we have seen in 2013-2014. Looking ahead to the next quarter, there is currently less than 74,000 sq ft under offer.”
Investment in South Bank offices stood at £169m in Q1 2015, down from £174m in Q4 2014.
