Central London office take-up rose by 6% during Q3 this year, compared with the same period in 2017, reaching 3.7m sq ft.
The take-up is also 18% higher than the 10-year average, according to the latest data from Knight Frank.
The three largest deals in the quarter were:
- Facebook’s agreement to take 600,000 sq ft across three buildings in King’s Cross Central, N1;
- Publicis taking 212,000 sq ft at White City Place, W12; and
- The V&A taking 145,000 sq ft at Here East in Stratford, E20.
Will Beardmore Gray, head of central London at Knight Frank, said: “Despite all the talk of companies putting decision-making on hold until after the Brexit conclusion, this is clearly not what we are seeing in the central London office market.
“This is contributing to the fact that over 50% of the offices being built are already pre-leased to tenants and on current take-up levels will lead to a significant shortage of grade-A offices over the next three years. Companies will have to make their decisions now if they want to find the right space in the right location or they will miss out.
“One trend we are definitely seeing, and expect to continue, is an appetite to look outside of the traditional central London core locations. King’s Cross, White City and Stratford are three markets that are flourishing as developers have used placemaking, well connected transport links and modern new office buildings to appeal to a new breed of occupiers.”
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